Hello from Saratoga.
The last two days, from Dubois to Lander, then Lander to Rawlins, have absolutely sucked. Riding through eastern Wyoming sucks. It's sagebrush with slowly rolling hills the entire way. The scenery isnt great at all, and its windy.
So... on the 10th, we just rode about 10 miles further east of Lander. See my last post for a description on it. Believe me, it sucked a lot.
July 11th: Lander to Rawlins, WY -- 120 miles, 9 hours.
This day was perhaps one of the longest and worst days of riding. We did left at 8am, and got to Rawlins at around 7pm, making it one of the shortest start-to-finish days yet. With 9 hours of that riding time, it means we only had two hours of breaktime. Its not that we didnt want to take breaks, just there was absolutely nowhere to stop really.
We passed through this town of Jeffrey City, which had a population of about 50 people. We only saw three, and at the cafe we were in, we were served by an 8-yr old kid. He was about my eye leven when I was sitting down. The place was an absolute ghost-town, and it must be a really boring life there. A sign inside the cafe said there were only 150 people in a 20-mile radius.
I dont know what else to say about the day... but it was bad. Oh, we got to ride through about six miles of construction--and the roads were grooved. Though it feels like nothing in a car, its hell on a bike. Super bumpy. Worse than riding a road bike on a gravel road. A lot worse.
The worst part about the day was that Rawlins was pretty piss-poor too, with not much to see or do. At least we bought a 5-5-5 Dominoes deal, so I got to eat a pizza and a half. I was really hungry, so that was good. There was a nice thunderstorm at night, but we slept under this pavillion in their city park, so we were fine. Sprinklers woke us up again in the early morning. They were loud, but I guess something has to keep the grass green in the middle of the desert.
Today has been better--we found this little Menonite grocery store that had some awesome baked goods, and everything was super cheap. They must be losing money; Michael got Clif Bars for $0.20/each and got free bananas because they were overripe. We rode along I-80 this morning, which was actually a lot better than the majority of roads we've been on. The shoulder was big and smooth, a good change from all the back roads.
Today we're going to get into Colorado!!!
I decided I'm going to go to Boulder with Michael, hopefully stay at Rob Dahl's mom's place for two nights, and then head south to Pueblo. Somewhere in there I guess I'll meet up with Jamie.
3 comments:
Not all the route can be beautiful you know, it's a big country! I remember driving through Nebraska once and thinking it went on and on without end, and that was driving!
This blog is amazing. Reading it I smile, worry, laugh, and I'm generally awed by what you've experienced so far - and you're not even into Colorado yet! I'm honestly pretty envious of all the experiences you've had/will have. I'm sorry about the crappy rides in eastern Wyoming, I really hope that Colorado goes better.
Take care bud
Hey, I tell someone everyday what you are doing, and often tell them about your blog. Everyone who reads it gets hooked and supports you, waiting eagerly for your next post. You have no idea how many supporters you have.
So, people, if you can do it, send Stephen a comment or an email once in a while and let him know who you are, and how much you enjoy his blog, reading about his ride, and maybe our encouragement will help him get through those long miles ahead with boring scenery or road construction or achy legs.
Stephen, exciting stuff is on the way again too, and if you continue as well as you have been able to go - you're going to make it!
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