Day 51 - June 23 - Saratoga, WY to Rawlins, WY - Two Old Guys Take On A Continent

June 23, 2023

Day 51 - June 23 - Saratoga, WY to Rawlins, WY

On the Road Again!

Ed’s Story

Slept in a little bit longer this morning, maybe 5:50 before I got out of bed. packed up my sleeping bag and the other clothes that finished air drying overnight. Took all my bags downstairs before I had breakfast.

Breakfast was a cup of coffee, and orange juice, and the leftover pasta dish we made yesterday. It was still spicy. Nothing like pasta before a long ride.

Said our final goodbyes to Reinhold before we took off. He was thinking about going back to bed for another hour, saying it was too cold outside. We mentioned him going back to the hot springs but he said it would make him even more relaxed and tired.

We took off. Now came the big test. Would my derailleur work. My goal was 5.3 miles out of town. Because that is where I broke down on Wednesday.

I made it past 5.3 miles from Saratoga and kept on going. As we rode up and down the different hills, I shifted my derailleur up through all the gears even using my granny gear. There were no issues shifting, and I had no concern of the chain falling between the large cassette and the wheel. I’d say it worked perfectly, but let’s just say it worked well.

It was foggy this morning when we left. Although the fog near us lifted, it was still foggy in the distance.

For once John’s not all foggy, only the mountains.

The ride continued and the bike continued to operate well..

This is one of the few historical markers received so far in Wyoming

I thought you might want to see the handsome duo, also.

We continued riding north to Wolcott Junction. There was a Shell station there we took advantage of before taking our lives in our hands going west on the shoulder of Interstate 80.

Wyoming is one of the states you can ride on the interstate as a cyclist if there are no other routes available. That was the case with us. There was no way to get from Saratoga to Rawlins without being on I 80.

The photo doesn’t do it justice. There was a lot more traffic on the interstate than shown here. I must admit if drivers had the opportunity they did go to the other lane to move away from us.

We were on the interstate for about 12 miles. We got off at Sinclair Wyoming. If Sinclair sounds familiar, it is because it is a brand of gasoline. There was a huge refinery at Sinclair.

It’s a company town. I just wonder how many people owe their souls the company store.

I like the stair step effect of this hill. You can almost walk up it.

These mountains look like a serpent, slithering over the ground.

We had a fairly good ride until we got to Sinclair. Once we left the town, the wind shifted, and the speed picked up. It was right into our face. We might have been traveling at 8 to 10 miles an hour at the most. On top of that there were several hills we had to climb between the two cities and the wind made it even more difficult.

We got into Rawlins and went to a City Market grocery store to stock up on some food essentials. It turns out this store belongs to the Kroger chain. I was able to save a few cents on my purchase because I entered my phone number as an alternate ID to gain fuel points. See, I’m helping my wife out even though I am not at home.

The last 3 miles to the Red Desert Rose Campground were into the wind again. It felt like it has picked up even more while we were in the store.

We checked in and I was able to get a discount as retired military. I think I saved around three dollars on the overnight fee.

The tent area where we are camped has wind breaks for each of the sites. The wind being so strong is still very noticeable inside the wind break.

We went to a local restaurant called Cappys for a beer as they had a bar. Luckily, it was only about a quarter of mile from the campsite.

They did not have a very large selection on tap, and their bottle selection was the usual Bud, Bud Light, Coors, Coors Light, etc,

We each ordered an Amber Ale. First the bartender could not find the proper 22 oz glasses for us. Then he tells us the amber ale keg is empty. He has no luck installing the new keg.

We then order a Brown Ale. When he brings us our beer, the glass is half foam. We asked him to fix it, and he mutters under his breath about making him mad, but he does fix the beer situation.

He eventually does come back, and apologized for his behavior. He said he’s not normally like that, and that he had a bad day. He offered to pay for one of the beers we drank. Additionally, he gives us the glass of the original amber ale we ordered that was filled to the 2/3 level before the keg ran out.

Back to the camp for a shower, charging the electronics, and relaxing. They have some easy chairs and couches inside the building we can sit in to keep out of the wind.

This is our wind forecast for tomorrow morning. We will be heading north most of the time and then turning west the last 20 miles. It will definitely be a windy ride.

Well, I learned how to share videos. Although we are no longer climbing to Cameron Pass, I took the following video of the river while we were climbing.

Tomorrow’s ride is 70 miles to Jeffrey City. There is another bike hostel there we can stay at. Let’s just say we’ll stay there if we can beat the wind.

Until then happy biking!

John’s Story

More About Reinhold

Had a chance to talk to Reinhold more. He is involved in a sponsored coast to coast bicycle race of some sort. It seems many of the participants are from Europe. He talked about the Frenchmen somewhere ahead of him, and about Birgitta, the German woman his met at the beginning of the race who is a day ahead of him. Each participant has a SPOT satellite locator that allows them to be tracked. He showed me on his phone a map with the phone current location of every racer. Reinhold seems to be at the back of the pack. Twenty of the original 48 racers have dropped out. He’s hoping to be in the top 20 finishers if eight more give up. 😂 Reinhold takes each day as it comes. He starts out in the morning and at lunch begins to think about where he might end up at the end of the day.

In Dubois, Wyoming he exploded one of his tires by overinflating it with a service station air pump. A kind soul lent him a pickup truck so he could drive two hours to Lander to buy a new tire. He said that such a trusting kindness would never happen in Europe.

Three years ago Reinhold was in a terrible bicycle accident when an elderly man pulled into the street in front of him when he was sailing down a hill at high speed. It took two years to recover from the accident. He had to close his consulting business because he couldn’t work. Coming to America to participate in the race is part of his healing process. He was disappointed when he saw pictures of the car he hit, that there was not more damage to the vehicle, considering what it did to him.

We said our farewells to Reinhold and took off to the north. He sounded like he might stick around the hostel a little longer before heading south. Maybe a quick trip to the hot springs.

Today

It was 42 degrees this morning. Once again a great time to have indoor accommodations. The morning was foggy, but it burned off pretty quickly. The wind was very light. I’m sure Ed heaved a sigh of relief when we passed the point where he broke down two days ago.

As I rode along I started thinking about how difficult it would be to hide from a severe storm out here in this emptiness. No trees. No buildings for many miles. I thought perhaps if the hail were wind driven I could hide next to one of the snow fences positioned at intervals along the highway. The other day one of the bikers we were with suggested one could spread a tent over a bike laid over in its side and hide under it. I don’t think that would provide much protection. Fortunately the forecast is for virtually no rain for the foreseeable future.

I wondered what animal might live in this burrow by the flowers I photographed. I got a clue farther down the road.

I saw out of the corner of my eye an animal the size of a small dog standing in the right of way of the highway. I quickly stopped to try to snap a picture. At that point it was crouched down facing me on a mound of dirt. I thought it might be readying to take a run at me. It had pointed ears and at first I thought it might be a bobcat. Before I could get my phone out to take the picture, it disappeared into a burrow at the base of the mound. I saw it had a long bushy tail. No bobcat that. After a little research, and based on the coloring, I’m pretty sure it was either a grey fox or a swift fox.

That house has a heck of a driveway to be plowed out in winter.

As we approached I-80 the topography changed a bit.

Finally, the intersection with I-80 at Walcott Junction. To tell you the truth, riding on the shoulder of the interstate wasn’t much worse than what we’ve been riding. The speed limit was 5 mph higher, but the shoulder was 2-3 times wider. Because the traffic speeding by created something of a wind tunnel, we made short work of this 12 mile stretch.

When we left the interstate at Sinclair we stopped at Stinky’s truck stop. I leave it to the reader to decide which of these three is Stinky.

Haley, I found another dinosaur for you. I gave it a big hug for you.

The rail yard at the Sinclair refinery. I don’t know if those tank cars contain crude oil, finished product or something else. I saw similar cars parked on sidings immediately next to the refinery that were all labeled “molten sulfur”.

It was a real trudge getting from Sinclair to Rawlins and then to our campground. Before Sinclair the wind was at worst a gentle breeze. It turned into a gale in a matter of minutes. It should peak this evening at about 35 mph sustained with higher gusts. My tent stakes are driven completely into the ground.

This was the wind situation at mid-afternoon.

Where the wind is headed later this afternoon and evening.

A Chase?

While at Stinky’s at the Sinclair exit, a motorist told us he’d seen 12-15 cyclists south of Saratoga this morning headed this way. We thought it might be an Adventure Cycling Association guided tour, so I called ACA in Missoula to inquire. No, they said, we don’t have a tour running in this area. They suggested that many outfits run bicycle tours through here in the summer, and it might be one of them. We’ll see. We don’t want to have to compete with a horde of other cyclists for scarce resources, like tent spots in campgrounds and hostel spots. On the bright side, a guided tour likely has accommodations worked out far in advance and wouldn’t be staying at a hostel anyway. We are headed for a hostel in Jeffrey City tomorrow.

Day’s End

It may be a cold dinner tonight if we can’t find a still spot to light the stove. Could be I’ll be eating tuna and vegetables out of a can. All part of the adventure!

Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 1,673 miles (2,692 km)

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Kelly IniguezHurray for problem solving on the fly and getting back on the road again!
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10 months ago

Ed ChimahuskyTo Kelly IniguezIt’s a good thing the place we stayed had a bike stand otherwise it would have been much more difficult.
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10 months ago

Nancy GrahamYou seem to be doing well in the $$ saving part of your tour: gas points at Kroger; $3 military discount; free beer at the brewery. And all in one day! Keep up the good ‘work’.
I sure hope you can miss some of the high winds.
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10 months ago

D. PrattDid I say earlier that it was windy in Rawlins, WY?
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10 months ago

John ChimahuskyYes’m.
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10 months ago