Long, long, long day of riding...111 miles. Please excuse my typos as I am half asleep as I type.
We woke up really early, hoping to get a early start on our long day of riding. Of course it was raining and thundering and windy. Ugh! We puttered around long enough until the rain let up to just a drizzle. So we suited up in all the cold weather gear and the rain gear for our ride. On our way out of town we stopped at Safeway store for some munchies and by the time we left the sun was shining! So after 3 miles of riding, we were now undressing and taking it back down to just shorts and a short-sleeve jersey.
The weatherman forecasted 15-20 mile winds in our favor for the day. We were lucky enough to ride those tailwinds all the way up the foothills out of Sheridan. It was fantastic! (For those of you that don't bike, tailwinds are the cat's meow of weather forecasts. You feel like you have bionic legs and can go 5 mph more than usual with the same effort.)
We rode those tailwinds for the first 35 miles or so. Once we got up in the hills, the winds seemed to slow to a stop. Bummer! However, the scenery did not disappoint. This was one of the most scenic routes yet. There has been an usually large amount of rain in Northern Wyoming so the mesas and hillsides were emerald green with an abundance of wildflowers. It was a very hilly route with basically no services the whole ride. We packed our bikes full of food and took 7 water bottles, 1 bag of water (about 6 cups) and 2 gatorade bottles. Marc said the trailer was heavy!
Along our ride we passed a fellow bicyclist, he was riding from Rapid City, SD to Oregon. He told us that he got caught in a hail storm yesterday and some kind stranger allowed him to stay at in their home. Poor guy!
It was a tough ride into Gillette. Our tailwinds dissapated in the hills but when we came down onto the plains the winds were roaring. For the last 15 miles or so we had to fight 20-30 mph crosswinds/headwinds and go uphill into town. Of course, Gillette is the only town that has to be on a hill!
By the time we got to Monahan's house, we were dead tired. So thankful to have such friendly, wonderful host's for our night in Gillette. Thank you Bill and Diane for opening your lovely home to us. We are so grateful!
(No pie today... I'm just too tired to care. Sorry to disappoint - I'll be sure to eat two slices tomorrow to make up for it. I did eat a huge delicious slice of orange cake with cream cheese frosting.)
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