Monday, August 22, 2011

Day 46

Monday, August 22

Miles today: 46
Saratoga to Rawlins WY

Well, we were warned yesterday about the winds in Wyoming and today we experienced the phenomenon for ourselves. We had planned to go 30 miles further to Lamant but once we reached Rawlins we had nothing left so we decided to stay here.

This morning was beautiful- I woke up at 7am to a dry field (thankfully no sprinklers) and walked into town to get us coffee. Ben really likes this new habit because he gets to sleep a little longer and then there is hot coffee ready for him when he gets up! It's a great method to get him out of bed, so I guess it's a win-win. We had the last of the English muffins, cheese and almond butter for breakfast- finally. We also had peaches which were delicious!

We started out with a pretty hilly ride to Walcott Junction, 20 miles away. The hills here are extremely long and gradual, not too steep. They are good because it isn't too tiring to ride up them but it just takes forever because we are going sooo slow. At Walcott, we stopped at a gas station and met another couple that had been on a road trip for the past 6 months (22,000 miles in 25 states). They were driving a Prius, started in Maine and had known each other for only 2 weeks when it started. Now they are a couple and have spent every second tougher since February! They were really cool and interesting to talk to. They gave us a chocolate bar for the road, and then another guy came up to us and gave us granola bars and trail mix packages! He said he was a cyclist as well and knows "how it is" so he gave us some snacks. It felt pretty cool to ride out of there like celebrities, with gifts in our bags.

We had to ride on Interstate 80 for 13 miles after Walcott. We said our prayers and rode onto the onramp, cursing Wyoming for it's low population and limited roadways. We had a very wide shoulder and were separated from the traffic by a rumble strip, but it was still pretty scary. On top of the semi trucks screaming past us, we had to contend with the wind and long hills for the whole time. We could have taken the highway all the way into Rawlins but we exited as soon as we could at Sinclaire to get off that awful road. Just as we approached the exit ramp, Ben got a flat in his front tire so we walked off to the nearest gas station. I guess when you ride on the freeway, you have to expect some metal pieces to get into your tire somehow. He changed the tube easily and we rode the next 6 miles very slowly to Rawlins. The wind was directly in our faces and the strongest that we've experienced on this trip. We rode into town and stayed at McDonalds for at least 2 hours. We were exhausted! Once we decided to stay here for the night, we went grocery shopping and then to our campground a few miles down the road. Again, we had very strong winds so we were happy not to be riding any further.

Ben made us a delicious dinner of tofu, broccoli, and green pepper sautéed in a Thai lemongrass sauce. Yum!

Ben hard at work
 The sun setting over the mountains behind us

A cowboy chillin at our fence/wind shield
The end product :)


Keeping our fingers crossed for some kinder winds tomorrow! We are headed north so there is hope that it won't be directly in our face.

1 comment:

  1. Ben looks pretty intense making that salad. The salad looks great, so I guess that intensity is needed. I hope the wind abates, or is at least kind enough to blow at your backs.

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