My "what if" fantasy while riding today - "what if" I was 5 inches taller AND 15-20 pounds heavier? Would I be able to roll down the hill without having to pedal furiously against the head wind just to move forwards?
The Dubois locals all told us that the prevailing winds came from the west, meaning we should have an easy ride from Dubois to Lander as we rode in a south easterly direction. I'm not sure if all the locals were just pulling our leg or if they were actually all just plain delusional, but we had a tailwind today for all of about half an hour out of Dubois, then it was head on for the rest of the ride.
I'm sure every time Steve turned around to check where I was, his beard was twitching with laughter as he watched my little legs going round and round pushing against the wind as he cruised down the hill barely pedalling, his weight and momentum making it easier for him to roll forward while if I wasn't pedalling, I would have been going backwards.
The winds first started toying with us in the middle of the night when we woke to our tent rattling and shaking, the leaves in the trees around us rustling as a wind storm blew through the campground. This was followed by a short smattering of rain. We knew then that we might have a bad day ahead of us.
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| The fingers of god shining down on us as we left Dubois |
However, despite the winds the ride was still really enjoyable. As we left Dubois, we hit the Badlands which again came as a surprise to us, not knowing what to expect from Wyoming. This whole area seems virtually untouched except for the roads that have been forged through the plains. We got a sense of the areas rugged wildness as we cycled through, a vast expanse of land and geological formations as far as the eye could see, with very few buildings in sight. Part of the ride was through the Wind River Indian Reservation. Sadly, our only encounters with the Indians was seeing them pull up at the gas station in their big new trucks at Crowheart and Fort Washakie.
Today was also a day when the view in my rear view mirror competed solidly with the view in front of me, presenting a new perspective of the landscape from the flip side.
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| Looking behind us |
We kept leap frogging the other cycle tourist from our campground last night. Turns out Chuck Daniels was riding across America on the Trans America trail in celebration of his 75th year. He wanted to go out and do something big. Chuck has already hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide and the Apalachian Trail, so this time he turned to cycling. In another two years, he plans to cycle back across America in the reverse direction on the Northern Route. Chuck was such an inspiration and I hope we are still out and about on new, epic adventures when we are his age.
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| Crowheart Butte |
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| The vast emptiness engulfed us |
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| The open road |
Lander is a very likeable town in the middle of Wyoming. Of course we headed straight to the micro-brew pub, Lander Bar and Garnett Grill, for a couple of pints of local brew and a really good burger. The people in the town and pub are so friendly. Wyoming gets my vote as one of the friendliest states in the U.S.
CRANKING ODYSSEY STATS
Total Odyssey miles: 1,586
Overall Fastest Speed: Steve (46 miles per hour) Mandy (35.4 miles per hour)
Bludge Days: 1
Bonks: nil
Dog chases: 3
Dummy Spits: Steve (2 - Day 10 because it rained; Day 16 - because the rocks in the river were slippery)
Mandy (1.5 - 0.5 Day 14 those freakin' wreckless Idaho drivers!; Day 26 because my bike computer had a meltdown)
Flats: Katie (4)
Wrong turns: 6
Beer of the day: Lander Brewing Rockchuck Rye
Lesson of the day: trust the Adventure Cycling Maps, not the locals - the maps said the winds in Wyoming are predominantly from the southeast and warned you can expect a head wind at any time!
No. of days with no shower: 11
No. of days in a hotel: 6
Starting weight: Steve (90kg) Mandy (51.5kg)
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