Day 54: Riverside to Muddy Gap

July 3, 2006

Man oh man. What a long day. I tried to wake up early to hit the road, I really did. But I gave myself an extra 30 minutes in the cozy bed before heading into the chilly morning. Delayed a little more by talking to the Witt family about their trip, but Saratoga and breakfast there were calling.

The Witts found me in Saratoga chomping a breakfast burrito and they kept catching up with me each time I would stop after that. Had a chance to talk to Hunter at Walcott just before getting on I-80 while he was waiting for his parents. He seemed happy that his parents were moving a lot faster than normal today since they'd arranged to have someone carry their broken trailer and much of their gear to Rawlins to wait for new parts there.

EB rider Brandon (oh, I hope this is really Brandon...I didn't write it down, so if someone knows differently, please correct me!)

I don't think this is in business anymore...

The Witts on their Bike Friday tandem, unloaded for the day because of a broken trailer.

We all stayed on the interstate instead of following the Adventure Cycling route on 76 through Sinclair on the recommendation of somebody, and it ended up being a good decision if for no other reason than that I saw a sign for Taco Bell. I was so hungry for Taco Bell. Sadly, the line wasn't moving AT ALL when I got there, and when the Witts pulled in and I was still in line, we all decided to skip the Taco Bell. They had to head to their hotel (sniff, sniff) on the other side of town, and I had another 35 miles to do, so we parted and wished each other well on our trips. I'd been glad for the company, if even for a short time.

This wasn't as scary as it looks. In fact, we stayed on the interstate an extra few miles to avoid an ugly side road and save a little time.

There aren't many services through the next couple of days, so I stocked up on important things like gummie bears in Rawlins, got some different lotion to try on my now-raw bum, grabbed a sub, and headed out of town, knowing I needed to escape its grip if I wanted to get somewhere else by dark.

Wait a sec...I live on Happy Hollow!!! (but not this one...)

My target was Lamont and Grandma's Café. I'd been told the camping area was creepy, but I didn't know where else to go if I had any hope of being in Lander by the 4th. God knows I didn't want to be in Jeffrey City for the 4th, especially after some EB riders told me about a hog roast there that consisted of slaughtering and decapitating the hog on the floor of the only eating establishment they saw in town. No thanks.

About 15 miles or so past Rawlins, had a great downhill into the Great Divide Basin but had to fight an awful headwind all the way across it. I was stopping really often to refuel with gummie bears. Lamont, or what I guessed must be Lamont, came into view, but Grandma's café was closed and the junkyard in the back did nothing to dispel the creepiness I'd heard about. Middle aged men had been afraid to camp here.

Rain rain go away--you already brought me a headwind, and little do I know that I have to go 13 miles farther than planned...

So Grandma's Cafe in Lamont was supposed to allow camping. Here's where I was supposed to camp, I guess...in a junkyard. Nope. 13 more miles into a headwind to the next camping area after I'd already done 95 miles to get here. sigh

I'd done 95 miles, much of it into some awful wind, and I didn't know what to do. Priority #1 was to pee, so I took care of that by an abandoned building. Priority #2 was getting out of the wind, if just for a little while. I sat beside the building and contemplated my options. The biker hostel marked on the map had provided great hospitality to the AC group, but their answering machine had said they were unavailable for a few days. I could have stayed at Grandma's and been freaked out all night. Or I could keep going, knock off a few miles from tomorrow's total, and do another continental divide crossing in the process.

So I pulled Kert back into the wind and struggled up the road, stopping to again call the hostel, to no avail. Well, I'd find something even if it was a scrubby spot up a dirt road. The Muddy Gap camping info hadn't been too specific, so I kept an eye out for potential spots I could come back to if that plan petered out. 7 p.m. had come and gone by the time I got to the gap, but the store marked on the map was open (and had regular and generous hours for those of you coming this way) and had fresh fruit, so that gave me hope. However, I didn't see any camping and the young people working at the store didn't seem to know where to send me. I guess there was a campsite associated with the store (?) back up the road somewhere but it was occupied. They said I could probably just set up at the store, but they then called the fire station just down the road and I had found my home for the night. The older couple wouldn't let me pay anything, assured me that their water was good, and showed me two outhouse options for the night. I didn't care. I needed to sleep and eat and rest my butt after that many miles. Lander is within reach

Believe it or not, this campsite outside a junky trailer at the firestation of muddy gap was way better than Grandma's cafe would have been. And I got another continental divide crossing out of the way on the way here.

Today's ride: 108 miles (174 km)
Total: 2,774 miles (4,464 km)

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