For the second straight week I borrowed a Cannondale bike from the Downtown Billings Association's Loan-A-Bike program. First I need to thank Joe Trout who heads up the program for loaning me a bike over the weekend. Luckily on Saturday the weather was fantastic so I got a great ride in whereas last week it rained the whole time.

One of the cool things about the bike trails (similar to riding the train) is that you get to see a side of Billings you would never see in a car. I started from the parking lot at the top of the rims on the east side of the airport, went down the hill to Swords Park and the Bootstrap Cemetery, under main street and through a ravine toward the Yellowstone river. At that part of the path I was directly behind Metra Park and snapped the photo above. I'm guessing it was the old horse race starting gate and by old I mean one they haven't used for years. It's hard to imagine it could get this weathered from just 2 years outside. From there I took the trail all the way to Mary St. and then headed back toward the airport... about 17 miles in all. One word of caution... if you're going to attempt this particular route, remember that the last 3 miles are mostly uphill. My legs were absolutely burning by the time I was done.

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