Day 24: 75 miles - Last night we were trying to avoid paying for a campsite while still being close to shelter from the iffy weather. We hung around downtown Debois for a while and eventually ran into a guy named Josh who offered us the front yard of his dentist office. It worked out perfectly since it was less than a block from the public restrooms where we hung out for the rain and cooked some dinner. We waited to put up the tent until some of the rain had passed, so we ended up having a nice dry night on his patch of grass.
This morning we got up and got rolling to Lander with a very nice tailwind. Combined with the gradual descent, we averaged 24.5 mph for the first 40 miles. After that, the wind shifted a little on us and the terrain became a little slower as well. Even with that, we still set an average record for the day at 20.5 mph and had covered 60 miles before 12:00 noon.
As we descended out of Dubois, we rode through some really beautiful red-rock canyons. The colors and shapes in the canyon walls were pretty captivating for the first bit of the ride. After that, we got out of the canyon and rode through some high desert pasture. At one point, we saw a lone horse in the field next to the road, so we called and whistled for it and got it to run along side us for probably close to a quarter of a mile. Just a few minutes later, there were two Pronghorn Antelope running along with us before eventually turning up the hill.
This morning we got up and got rolling to Lander with a very nice tailwind. Combined with the gradual descent, we averaged 24.5 mph for the first 40 miles. After that, the wind shifted a little on us and the terrain became a little slower as well. Even with that, we still set an average record for the day at 20.5 mph and had covered 60 miles before 12:00 noon.
As we descended out of Dubois, we rode through some really beautiful red-rock canyons. The colors and shapes in the canyon walls were pretty captivating for the first bit of the ride. After that, we got out of the canyon and rode through some high desert pasture. At one point, we saw a lone horse in the field next to the road, so we called and whistled for it and got it to run along side us for probably close to a quarter of a mile. Just a few minutes later, there were two Pronghorn Antelope running along with us before eventually turning up the hill.
After getting into Lander, I called up some of my parents friends who invited us up to their house just out of town. Before dinner, we took a ride up to Sinks Canyon, where a river flows into this cave and then reappears about half a mile down the mountain. It was pretty interesting to see the river bubbling up out of the side of the hill. Also while we were there, a Big Horn Sheep made its way right up to the visitor center. Afterwards, we returned for an incredible dinner of antelope burgers, home grown asparagus, and homemade apple sauce. The best meal we've had on the trip by far.
Tomorrow we're going to try to get out of here early and make a long haul to Rawlins, WY. Hopefully the wind and weather will be with us, making the 124 miles doable. If not, we'll probably end up in Jeffery City for the night.
P.S. Apparently here you say, "ride with the wind" not "ride like the wind".
Visuals?
ReplyDeleteImagine his rippling calves glistening in the sunlight as the spokes on his wheel twist and shatter from the sheer brute force.
ReplyDeleteVisual enough?