The alarm came early. Getting up in the dark before the sunrise we needed to pack up and head back out to where we left off yesterday. Because of the lack of services again our only option was to backtrack to Rawlings. Actually there was a bike hostel in the Jeffery City church, but that wasn’t happening now that Lisa Marie is with me. Driving back out this morning our eyes were scanning the sides of the road looking for wandering wildlife. Thankfully we didn’t see any and none came across the road. As we came over one of the passes we could see city lights off in the distance. It turns out that city was 20 miles away but it was the only light in the basin so it was obvious to spot. Arriving at our starting point I finished getting ready. For some reason I was anxious but I didn’t know why. I wasn’t feeling great and I took that to mean I didn’t get enough sleep. We both agreed we needed to start very early today to try to cover as many miles as possible and avoid the heat and the wind. It was extremely quiet starting out and the sunrise was spectacular. It was at my back so I had to turn around to get a great view. Early on there was a lot of Pronghorn activity on both sides of the road. That was pretty much the extent of the traffic for the first hour. All morning there was a threat of rain and you could even see it falling from the clouds ahead and to the side. For the first two hours I just couldn’t shake my funny feeling. I was very concerned that I wasn’t gonna be able to make the miles even to the destination town, let along going beyond. Approximately 26 miles in I stopped to talk to Lisa Marie and contemplate the rain that I knew I was going to ride through. Lisa Marie asked me if I was really going to ride into the rain. You can’t wait for perfect you just gotta move forward. The good news is we were standing at the top of a 6 mile descent with signs warning of a very steep grade. This meant you had to take extra caution with the speed, the wind, and more importantly, the wet road conditions. With my rain gear in place I began the descent on the shoulder of the road. Keeping the speeds under control, I quickly realized that the shoulder was too slick and the road surface was rougher, making it easier and safer to navigate. There was virtually no traffic the whole way down the 6 Mile descent. I was able to navigate the downhill and keep my speeds low because of the heavy headwind pushing against me. This would be the first time I was happy to feel a headwind. The scenery quickly changed upon the descent. I wished I had turned on my video camera to record the ride, but I wasn’t about to let go of my handlebars. That descent renewed my energy and strength. After the downhill I met up with Lisa Marie to take all my rain gear off. The humidity set in but the temperatures remained lower. After moving through some rolling hills the scenery turned and we had our first glimpse of the snowcap mountains that are in our future. The terrain and road was picturesque. I met Cameron who was on a mountain bike doing a combination ride of the TransAm and Continental Divide Trail. We talked for a few minutes. I made sure he didn’t need any water and we both moved on. I think the change of scenery also helped my attitude from earlier in the morning. Before long I could see the end town insight, and we were both looking forward to sitting down and having lunch. Lisa Marie found a fabulous restaurant with a great variety and excellent food. After that break feeling much more refreshed I determined I was gonna head out of town to complete some additional miles. The temperature had clearly risen, but riding these extra miles would make tomorrow more enjoyable. Riding a little bit more than an hour, we came to a gas station and both decided to stop there. There was a storm brewing and I started to see flashes of lightning and I didn’t want to be on the bike when it rolled overhead. From there we returned to town and the storm blew through producing gusts of wind beyond 35 miles an hour. It’s a good thing I was off the bike because there was no way I could have ridden in that. I stopped in at a local bike shop to pick up another mirror in case I broke or lost the one I was using . The bike shop was huge for the size of the town. They see a lot of bike tourers coming through. I signed their bike touring guest book and they offered me a free ice cream sandwich. How could I resist. So now it’s time to just rest and prepare for tomorrow.
Insights from Lisa Marie
Today was an early start getting up when it was still dark out. We drove an hour to where Norm had stopped the day before. The cool thing was the amazing sunrise that we got to see coming over the mountains. There was rain off to the west that was definitely coming our way but the cool little thing that God did for us was the rainbow. Again going through the basin saw some of the same wildlife. The big thing that God did for me personally was I got to see the only rest area within probably 100 miles at just the right time. The outhouses are very few and far between as I said 4 days ago. I was very happy to see it and it was actual real plumbed toilets! This was at Sweetwater, what a great name, sorry a little weird humor there. From that point the mountains could be seen out on the horizon with the snow cap peaks. The scenery started to get more exciting as we were getting closer as you can tell from some of the pictures. There was a point where the red dirt as I called it was very prominent. I wondered what was growing in that dirt or what was the purpose of it being just in that spot. Anyway it was really pretty. The other thing I was pondering as I drove and waited, I saw a lone cow by itself twice and no others to be seen for miles. I saw this twice, wondering having seen so many together in a herd, why these two. I guess they are loners or needed time away. Remember I was up at 400 AM so weird thoughts? Digressing again….anyway I have continued with my second book. Lunch was early for us today at a great place in the town of Lander Wyoming. Norm decided he wanted to continue to bike for at least another hour. Cool things along this part of the route was the horses and going through the Indian reservation. There was sanctuary for wild horses. Wind River Wild Horse Sanctuary, where I stopped to take pictures, hundreds of mustangs were in the pastures. Looking at the website, it is one of only four in the US that protect these wild horses. It rained again and this time with lightning, so Norm decided it was time to stop. We drove back to Lander and had a wonderful dinner at a local restaurant.
