Day Four – Ranchester WY to Red Lodge WY - Miles: 247
Day four was going to be a short ride but there was lots to see. This was our fifth ride over the Big Horn Mountains on US14 and it never disappoints. We had decided to have breakfast at the Bear Lodge Resort as we have passed by it many times and thought we should try that sometime, and 2024 was the time. The ride was quite chilly as we were riding in the early morning where the temperature was in the mid-40s. It was hard to believe that in little more than 12 hours we were riding at 60F cooler. The breakfast was a buffet, with plenty of food but nothing all that great. We stayed on US14 rather than ALT US14 as we wanted to stop by Shell Falls which we hadn't been to since 2003. Not much had changed but we needed a refresher after 21 years. The riding through this area is quite good and we were really enjoying it, but we could not pass up a stop near the Shell Creek at the Beef Trail Interpretive Site. It was only a few miles past Shell Falls but we were in no hurry today. The great ride continued and after we got through Greybull we stopped at the Museum of Flight and Aerial Firefighting. This place was well worth the stop. They had many planes out that can be walked around and some if not most can be entered. They are all in fair or worse shape but there is enough to them to make the visit worthwhile. We continued on to Cody where we stopped for a pint at Cody Craft Brewing. This was an old Thriftway Grocery store which is very surprising to me as I didn't think that chain was this far west, but maybe it just used the same name. It was noon and while we hadn't ridden that many miles the best was yet to come. We left Cody riding north on WY120 and turned on the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway. This was a first ride for me but Steve had ridden once before on a couples trip. We stopped at Dead Indian Summit and at the Sunlight Bridge. We walked across the bridge and just soaked in the scenery. We headed east and north on US212 as we approached the Beartooth Highway. This is a can't miss for anyone let alone if you are on two wheels. We made several stops as one view is better than the next. It is a delicate balance of riding the great road and taking all the curves and having your head on a swivel as the sights are unreal. Before we knew it we were in downtown Red Lodge. We passed a number of good looking restaurants but we were staying on the North side of town and we knew Red Lodge Ales was within walking distance so we were not looking hard on where to eat. We got to the motel which is an old style motel but kept exceptionally clean. The workers there were really nice and they even had a bike wash area. We bumped into the owner and struck up a conversation and he told us about the Piccola Cucina Ox Pasture restaurant. We had told him where we were going to dine but if he had recommendation we would be all ears. He said this restaurant was top notch Italian and the owners catered for big high end corporate events in the area and decided to open a restaurant identical to one they had in NYC. He even told us to mention his name, which we did. It wasn't a big hurdle but this was easily the best food we had on the trip. The food really was delicious, and when we paired our pasta with Nebbiolo from Gattinara is was off the charts. We ended up walking to Red Lodge Ales for our nightcap. Even though we only rode 247 miles it was a great day.
