June 22, 2022
Day 32 - Rawlins, Wyoming to Jeffery City, Wyoming
Through the Great Divide Basin
Greetings from the Split Rock Cafe in beautiful downtown Jeffrey City, Wyoming.
Our plan for the day worked like a charm for 3/4ths of the ride. Then the wind demon returned.
We ate dinner in our hotel room at the EconoLodge in Rawlins. Corey and Mark bought the vittles at WalMart. Salad with tomatoes and avocado, potato salad, and toasted chicken. There was even some left over for breakfast.
The hotel kicked in a grab bag. Mine contained apple sauce, apple juice, and a blueberry muffin. Just what I needed for a seventy mile bike ride.
We left a little after 7 with a barely perceptible tailwind. I stopped to buy two candy bars to supplement the Econobreakast.
We rode north through a geology primer. The Rawlins Uplift ran along our left for many miles.
We crossed the continent divide twice at relatively low elevations. The divide splits near here and reconnects thereby forming the Great Divide Basin. Rain that falls on the basin side drains into the basin. Rain that falls on the outside of the basin drains into either the Pacific or the Atlantic via the Gulf of Mexico.
After riding through the basin, we rode over the divide and through Muddy Gap to the only convenience store on the route. It was closed for the clerk’s bio break so we chatted with two eastbound riders and snacked from our on-bike stashes of food.
The clerk returned but his shelves were nearly bare. I chose a large Gatorade and a small bag of pretzels.
We turned west into an increasing headwind. It’s Wyoming, y’all. We followed the road through the path of the famous trails that took the settlers west and gave swift passage to the Pony Express. We stopped to admire Split Rock, a cleft in the rock formations overlooking the trails that was a landmark for travelers of old.
The winds picked up. We were fortunate not to have any climbs to deal with. We did have to deal with cracks in the pavement that were sealed with tar. They caught my wheel often but my only option was to ride in the roadway where the speed limit was 70. Not gonna happen.
We arrived in Jeffrey City, a nearly abandoned former uranium mining town. They have a bar/restaurant and a hostel in a church. Both are rather Spartan but it’s better than riding another 30 miles to a campsite with no food.
Miles today: 72. Tour miles: 1,686
Today's ride: 72 miles (116 km)
Total: 1,690 miles (2,720 km)
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