June 7, 2018
Day 20 Shell
Shell, Wyoming
After a great night’s sleep and a wonderful breakfast of eggs, bacon and fresh berry pancakes we set off from Paul and Jane’s at about 8:00. We had some rolling hills and a bit of a climb out of Cody, then more rolling desert-like hills on our way to the foot of the Bighorn National Forest. The day got pretty warm pretty quickly and as I reached for my second water bottle, I realized it was empty. Jon grabbed his spare one to give me and it too was empty. Doh. Neither of us grabbed the extras to fill. Prep fail. We rolled into a small town (population 10. Seriously) and happened to see a sign for a post office. There were a couple of ladies out front who asked us about our trip then told us to hurry on inside to catch the clerk before she left for lunch at 11:00. The clerk told us the water wasn’t potable, but she had some bottles in her car she’d give us. One of the other ladies also told us there was a church about a mile down the road. “Just go on in the back door; it’s unlocked. There are bathrooms and more water there. You two be careful!” Such good hearted people. Rehydrated for the time being, we pressed on into a headwind (Stop with this east wind already. It’s supposed to come out of the west and blow us eastward). After 55 miles, we coasted down a big into Greybull. As we’re flying along some big ol bug goes right into my eye, somehow in the gap between my helmet and my sunglasses. Yay. Corneal abrasion. Only me. Thankfully it just grazed the cornea, so only mild. A few drops in the eye and feeling better after our break in Greybull. We were getting pretty warm at this point as well; he temperature in town was 85. We got some ice water, iced coffee and chips and salsa to fuel us for the next 15 to our final destination for the day. Seemed like it took forever to get here, but the place is great. It’s a campground that also had cabins. We decided to splurge on the cabin, as the forecast was calling for thunderstorms again. We actually saw them building as we progressed through the day. So, we have a cute little cabin with a blessedly strong shower and a cafe with paninis and draft beer. Not long after we arrived, the skies let loose. We watched the storms roll in for a bit, then got a couple of sandwiches and talked to the locals for a bit. We got the lowdown on where to get water up in the mountains tomorrow and what sort of road to expect. Gonna be a long climb, but from what we hear, it’s beautiful! And a screaming ride down to the valley!
Today's ride: 72 miles (116 km)
Total: 2,763 miles (4,447 km)
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