Day 33
July 3, 2005
Today I woke up and realized I’d probably be riding to and camping in the ghost town of Jeffery City all by myself. I guess I was just confused as to what they were thinking. There weren’t any solid plans for a lift to Rawlins, but they were still telling me to set aside what I wanted them to take with them.
So after breakfast I stripped the horse of the panniers and trimmed her down to just my tent, sleeping bag and mat, and a set of clothes to hang out in if I decided to camp out on the way to Rawlins, which is what I was planning on. When I was thinking about making the long haul the night before I wanted to be on the road by 7 to beat the heat, the wind, and get in at a decent hour. I was now getting on the road at 10 and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it all the way to Rawlins.
I was about 30 miles into the ride when the trio caught me in a nice big truck. They stopped to top off my water and see how I was fairing. Jackson let me know they could take the rest of the weight off the bike and make it that much easier to get to Rawlins, but I wasn’t ready to commit that early. They wished me well and sped off in their Dodge chariot – cheaters…
The next 15 miles after they left were the worst of the day. The road turned and the wind turned against me, there were also a few nice hills to tackle as well. In the middle of that stretch, I was sure I wasn’t going all the way to Rawlins. I made it through the rough patch and pulled into a little picnic area right behind a guided Adventure Cycling tour headed in the opposite direction.
They have had some of the worst luck possible. They had one man suffer a heart attack and taken to the hospital, the following day a man had severe heat exhaustion and had to be taken to the hospital, and shortly after those two incidents, they were on the side of the road when a car slammed into the group, totaling five bikes and killing a 69 year old man on the tour; just a terrible string of incidents. Amazingly enough, they were able to keep at it and maintain their good spirits in the process. I chatted with them for about 45 minutes before I got back on the road and headed for Jeffery City. Jeffery City was 20 miles up the road and I had a nice tail wind to take me there.
I got there around 3:30 and decided to grab a bite to eat while I figured out if I was going to distance to Rawlins. I ate a burger, fries, and chicken nuggets while I pretended not to hear the fight between the female proprietor and one of her former co-workers drinking at the bar. I finally got out of Jeffery city around 5 and decided to go to Muddy Gap. I still had the tail wind, and would be able to get there in little over an hour. I also heard there was a spot to crash there if I needed to.
As I was approaching Muddy Gap there was a slight cross wind coming from my right. I could see down into the valley and see the road heading up to the left; the wind would once again be at my back. I came to the crest of the little hill before the down into the small junction and saw I would be making a right; I would actually be heading straight into the wind. I had 40 miles from Muddy Gap to cover to get to Rawlins, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it going against the wind.
I pulled into the little gas station at the tee and hoped to find a local to ask about the café 11 miles up the road. The plan was to make it to the café, if it was open, get some dessert, rest, and head to Rawlins. The store of the gas station wasn’t open, but I was able to ask a nice couple pumping gas. They didn’t think the café was open, it being a Sunday, but offered me snacks galore to get me to Rawlins. I turned down the snacks, but did trade them the Diet Coke I just got from the vending machine by mistake for a Dr. Pepper, V8, and frozen liter of water. As we talked, they offered to give me a ride over the nearby hill to Lamont where the café was. I declined telling them I had already been faced with the temptation of hitching a ride. We got to talking again when the gentleman’s hat got blown off his head by one of the gusts. They asked again if I was positive I didn’t want a lift over the hill, and a voice spoke up and told me, “Don’t be stupid.” I quickly realized I wouldn’t be able to make it if I didn’t take the ride. And I was right.
The wind was whipping down off the hill, it would have been awful. And I had just finished pounding the Dr. Pepper when we headed up the hill. The time it took to ride up the 11 miles was just enough time for the caffeine to kick in and give me the last boost to make it to Rawlins. So a huge thank you goes out to Mr. & Mrs. Terpening for their generosity in helping me reach Rawlins.
The rest of the ride was great. I had a slight cross/tail wind for the straightaway to the last hill before Rawlins. Then once I got to the top of that, I had a shear tailwind to carry me the last twenty miles.
I got into town right at nine o’clock. I spotted a McDonald’s in the distance and headed over for a snack before going to the RV park and joining the trio. As I was pulling into McDonald’s, I hit a pothole or something and my rack broke and fell to the ground, dragging my tent and sleeping bag. I quickly rigged it with duct tape to get me through the night, and went in for a Double Cheeseburger and two McChicken sandwiches. I got directions from a guy, and headed across town for the park.
As I was getting closer, I stopped and asked a guy, about 18, where exactly the park was. He told me it was on the other side of town in the other direction. I asked him if he was sure, and he said he was. So, unhappily, I made my way over to the campground. I got there and found it was a KOA campground, I was looking for the Hillside campground and RV park, I knew this wasn’t it. I spent ten minutes looking around to be sure, then knocked on the door of the camp host to ask, once again, for directions to the right place. He sent me back the way I came, back over the Mini-MacKenzie the kid unnecessarily sent me over, and past the store where I asked the kid for directions. I was so over it, I was less than a mile away when I asked the kid for directions. I completely forgot I could have looked at my map for the address… On the way to the campground I spotted a motel marquee advertising rooms starting at $30. I pulled in, got a room, and headed up to the campground to get my bags from the trio.
I was so thrilled when I got to town that I had just pedaled 120 miles and didn’t feel like death. But after painting the town looking for the campground, I was completely exhausted. I finally got to the room a little after 10:30 and crashed.
But other than the little frustration there at the end of the day, I couldn’t have asked for a better day of covering so much ground. Of course, it definitely felt good to sleep in a bed that night.
Day 33: 124.22 Total: 1,577.98
** The 124.22 does not include the Terpening treat. That is still the total number of miles pedaled for the day.
Today I woke up and realized I’d probably be riding to and camping in the ghost town of Jeffery City all by myself. I guess I was just confused as to what they were thinking. There weren’t any solid plans for a lift to Rawlins, but they were still telling me to set aside what I wanted them to take with them.
So after breakfast I stripped the horse of the panniers and trimmed her down to just my tent, sleeping bag and mat, and a set of clothes to hang out in if I decided to camp out on the way to Rawlins, which is what I was planning on. When I was thinking about making the long haul the night before I wanted to be on the road by 7 to beat the heat, the wind, and get in at a decent hour. I was now getting on the road at 10 and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it all the way to Rawlins.
I was about 30 miles into the ride when the trio caught me in a nice big truck. They stopped to top off my water and see how I was fairing. Jackson let me know they could take the rest of the weight off the bike and make it that much easier to get to Rawlins, but I wasn’t ready to commit that early. They wished me well and sped off in their Dodge chariot – cheaters…
The next 15 miles after they left were the worst of the day. The road turned and the wind turned against me, there were also a few nice hills to tackle as well. In the middle of that stretch, I was sure I wasn’t going all the way to Rawlins. I made it through the rough patch and pulled into a little picnic area right behind a guided Adventure Cycling tour headed in the opposite direction.
They have had some of the worst luck possible. They had one man suffer a heart attack and taken to the hospital, the following day a man had severe heat exhaustion and had to be taken to the hospital, and shortly after those two incidents, they were on the side of the road when a car slammed into the group, totaling five bikes and killing a 69 year old man on the tour; just a terrible string of incidents. Amazingly enough, they were able to keep at it and maintain their good spirits in the process. I chatted with them for about 45 minutes before I got back on the road and headed for Jeffery City. Jeffery City was 20 miles up the road and I had a nice tail wind to take me there.
I got there around 3:30 and decided to grab a bite to eat while I figured out if I was going to distance to Rawlins. I ate a burger, fries, and chicken nuggets while I pretended not to hear the fight between the female proprietor and one of her former co-workers drinking at the bar. I finally got out of Jeffery city around 5 and decided to go to Muddy Gap. I still had the tail wind, and would be able to get there in little over an hour. I also heard there was a spot to crash there if I needed to.
As I was approaching Muddy Gap there was a slight cross wind coming from my right. I could see down into the valley and see the road heading up to the left; the wind would once again be at my back. I came to the crest of the little hill before the down into the small junction and saw I would be making a right; I would actually be heading straight into the wind. I had 40 miles from Muddy Gap to cover to get to Rawlins, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it going against the wind.
I pulled into the little gas station at the tee and hoped to find a local to ask about the café 11 miles up the road. The plan was to make it to the café, if it was open, get some dessert, rest, and head to Rawlins. The store of the gas station wasn’t open, but I was able to ask a nice couple pumping gas. They didn’t think the café was open, it being a Sunday, but offered me snacks galore to get me to Rawlins. I turned down the snacks, but did trade them the Diet Coke I just got from the vending machine by mistake for a Dr. Pepper, V8, and frozen liter of water. As we talked, they offered to give me a ride over the nearby hill to Lamont where the café was. I declined telling them I had already been faced with the temptation of hitching a ride. We got to talking again when the gentleman’s hat got blown off his head by one of the gusts. They asked again if I was positive I didn’t want a lift over the hill, and a voice spoke up and told me, “Don’t be stupid.” I quickly realized I wouldn’t be able to make it if I didn’t take the ride. And I was right.
The wind was whipping down off the hill, it would have been awful. And I had just finished pounding the Dr. Pepper when we headed up the hill. The time it took to ride up the 11 miles was just enough time for the caffeine to kick in and give me the last boost to make it to Rawlins. So a huge thank you goes out to Mr. & Mrs. Terpening for their generosity in helping me reach Rawlins.
The rest of the ride was great. I had a slight cross/tail wind for the straightaway to the last hill before Rawlins. Then once I got to the top of that, I had a shear tailwind to carry me the last twenty miles.
I got into town right at nine o’clock. I spotted a McDonald’s in the distance and headed over for a snack before going to the RV park and joining the trio. As I was pulling into McDonald’s, I hit a pothole or something and my rack broke and fell to the ground, dragging my tent and sleeping bag. I quickly rigged it with duct tape to get me through the night, and went in for a Double Cheeseburger and two McChicken sandwiches. I got directions from a guy, and headed across town for the park.
As I was getting closer, I stopped and asked a guy, about 18, where exactly the park was. He told me it was on the other side of town in the other direction. I asked him if he was sure, and he said he was. So, unhappily, I made my way over to the campground. I got there and found it was a KOA campground, I was looking for the Hillside campground and RV park, I knew this wasn’t it. I spent ten minutes looking around to be sure, then knocked on the door of the camp host to ask, once again, for directions to the right place. He sent me back the way I came, back over the Mini-MacKenzie the kid unnecessarily sent me over, and past the store where I asked the kid for directions. I was so over it, I was less than a mile away when I asked the kid for directions. I completely forgot I could have looked at my map for the address… On the way to the campground I spotted a motel marquee advertising rooms starting at $30. I pulled in, got a room, and headed up to the campground to get my bags from the trio.
I was so thrilled when I got to town that I had just pedaled 120 miles and didn’t feel like death. But after painting the town looking for the campground, I was completely exhausted. I finally got to the room a little after 10:30 and crashed.
But other than the little frustration there at the end of the day, I couldn’t have asked for a better day of covering so much ground. Of course, it definitely felt good to sleep in a bed that night.
Day 33: 124.22 Total: 1,577.98
** The 124.22 does not include the Terpening treat. That is still the total number of miles pedaled for the day.
posted by SuperByron3000 at 7/07/2005
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