September 7, 2024
Day 20: Leaving the Basin past Rawlins, Wyoming.
Problems of the Day:
Buying 1 roll of toilet paper at Walmart. What to do with extra ziplock bags?
Problem 1 was solved by buying 4 and walking around the parking lot to donate the others. Found a couple who were very happy. Problem 2 I caught a lady exiting and she was ecstatic when I handed her half a box of 1 gallon ziplock bags. Completely unrelated gas was $3.04 per gallon.
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Today started with a beautiful sunrise, a huge bowl of oatmeal, and a plan to get past Rawlins, Wyoming to a recreation site. The day riding was a beautiful continuation of yesterday. We had perfect gravel descending most of the way until we hit a tired paved section of road. We were all shocked that we’d ridden well over 30 km in record time.
We hit the pavement and each took turns breaking the wind. Todd is still riding with us and he’s been a welcome addition to our stellar team. We took a brief break along the road and I decided to call my daughter. Todd and Peter were rolling about 75 m ahead. There was almost no traffic so I was in the middle of the right side when I spotted a snake right in the middle of the road curled up and sunning itself I’m guessing.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Basin_rattlesnake
4 weeks ago
Ironically my daughter is petrified of rattle snakes and I’m terrified of grizzly bears. Both fears seem rational but statistically you are much more likely to die in a motor vehicle. Peter reminded me of the grim statistics for the US (40,000 deaths per year). I digress.
Peter and Todd looped back while I stopped almost immediately but still about 15 feet away. They both snapped photos and then the snake started sticking its tongue out to get a sense of them. I bet it thought they really stunk because it decided to leave. As they sort of chased it away the other guy we met in Atlantic City rolled up in his RV with his wife and their Labrador retriever stuck its head out the window. It was a lot of commotion but in a really fun way.
I continued talking with my daughter and she accompanied me halfway up a big highway road climb. We then carried on for another 10 km and pulled off the road for lunch. We took a nice break and then continued on the highway towards Rawlins.
When we got to Rawlins Peter expertly got us off the highway and we weaved around industrial areas before arriving at Walmart. Todd and I headed inside and found they had excellent selection at very low prices as advertised. After doing our usual Jenga to fit everything for 2 days and 200 km of riding we went to McDonalds for a milkshake.
Then with new energy we peddled the last 25 km to a nice camping spot. When we rode in we saw the lake and I considered a swim but later while trying to fill water we discovered it was this nasty deep black mud protecting the waters edge. We managed to get water but they spent time cleaning off the black and smelly mud.
Another good day on the bike. It was fairly easy riding and we are all looking forward to Colorado. Some have said that Montana is the most difficult but we know Colorado will be a lot of climbing and New Mexico has the famous peanut butter mud if it rains (essentially you must stop riding).
More photos to come, service is spotty at camp. We don’t know what service we’ll have the next 2 days. Tomorrow we plan to ride 110-115 km with significant elevation gain to reach a cabin where we will bunk.
Highlights:
-catching up with several people by phone
-seeing a rattle snake
-riding the last gravel of the Basin
-resupply and milkshake break in Rawlins
-amazing weather again, and not cold at night or in the morning
Distance - 118 km / 682 m elevation gain
Today's ride: 118 km (73 miles)
Total: 2,329 km (1,446 miles)
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4 weeks ago