So, we do 120 miles on Thursday, rest on Friday and then pull a century plus on Saturday. Are we tough guys or what? I swear, we are so into the routine, that riding a bike all day is starting to seem pretty normal. Tomorrow is close to a century, with a few pretty good climbs and I'm not freaking out. I think I'm about to drink the cool-aid.
Today was another early start-in the saddle by 6:30 AM and finally got off at 4:00PM. Now I'll grant you I set no land speed record, and the route was reasonably flat and we had no serious headwind. So what took so long? Not sure I have the answer, other than 3 sags, two other breaks, my THREE FLATS, and a charity flat fix for Jan from Tuscon (I stopped, those renegade Miller boys did not)- I guess all that stopping sorta answers the question, no?
Anyway, we pulled the line through Casper early this morning, all of us agreeing that there would be no tears shed- this town is below average any way you want to score it. Not very pretty terrain, no great restaurants, the hotel sucked, hotter that hell, ugly buildings, etc. Did get a parting shot of a cool statue on Center St- that was the high point of my stay. You probably can't see it, but it's a cowboy with a calf across his lap, riding through snow. The title was something like "Chance of Snow". I liked it- after taking the picture I had to ride like hell to catch my crew- the heartless b****rds wouldn't wait for me.
Our route today was eastbound along Hwy 20, then I-25 for 15 miles or so, then more two lane county roads with fair shoulders. We eventually ran through Douglas (cute little town) and then on through prairie land and high speed two lane roads to Lusk, WY. The weather was warm this morning and I heard reports that we hit somewhere between 96 and 106 by afternoon. Whatever it was, it was scorching. Drinking water and eating salty food became a survival exercise and while most did OK, the sag wagons
were busier that usual. By early afternoon, the front that had been promised, began to show itself to the west and the big ole cumulus clouds began forming.
By 3:00PM the sky was darkinging and as I was changing Jan's flat for her at about 3:45, I had serious doubts as to whether we'd avoid getting rained on. Fortunately, we got things fixed up quickly and I was able to pull her in to town without mishap. In fact even now, at 7:45, things have stayed dry.
Tomorrow, we leave Wyoming and start our way into South Dakota. SD is a huge state and I think we'll spend most of the days remaining in our third leg there. I'm excited about what the next few days will bring- I'm expecting some great sights in the Black Hills, but with that we'll be expected to put our climbing shoes back on- at least until we get to the east of Rapid City.
Around mile 70 or so, we began running along railroad tracks and saw a number of trains that were pulling nothing but coal. I suspect they were taking the coal to a coal powered electrical generation plant.
It's now after 8:00 PM and I have been on the move since 4:30 AM. I am, as the French say, poopied. And I think I'll sign out, or off, or whatever the hell you do when it's time to quit. Buh-bye.
