Day 72 - Douglas to Casper - Two Far 2021 - Sooo... Far

June 19, 2021

Day 72 - Douglas to Casper

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I take back every word of complaining about headwinds I've done in the past. They were a breeze in the face. Today we had HEADWINDS! The forecast called for 20-30 mph winds with gusts up to 40 mph. I'm sure it was every bit of that. Kerry had to work hard to keep the bike upright. I found it pretty scary when the wind was really strong. We pedaled hard even going downhill. The good part was the strong headwinds were there for "only" 25 of our 50 miles. Most of the climbing was before the winds kicked up, so that was something else to be grateful for. Today we are very happy just to be in our hotel safe and sound and out of the wind!

When we left Douglas this morning, we were on I-25 for 21 miles. A low volume interstate is not a bad cycling road. It is nice not to have to watch for turning vehicles and intersections.

Image not found :( — Good road for cycling on a Saturday morning

80 mph here was much less concerning to us than those 70 mph two lane rural roads in Texas.

Leaving Douglas, we saw a giant jackalope watching over the town.

Half way through the ride, we completed most of the climbing and were looking forward to an easier ride for the second half. We stopped in the little town of Glenrock.

Glenrock has two museums. One was a privately owned "fossil and dinosaur" museum. A quick look inside the single room made us decide it wasn't worth our time. We went on the Deer Creek Museum, where we had the pleasure of meeting Sandy.

Sandy, museum board member, treasurer and Saturday volunteer. We had fun talking with her.

It was a small museum with local artifacts and historical cords. Glenrock was on the Oregon and Mormon Trails and a stop on the Pony Express line. In later times, the main business of Glenrock have been oil wells and coal mines.

We loved the first sentence of this document. Was it by design or did the writer need all four directional adjectives?

An old oil well jack pump - the first one we've seen in a museum

This log cabin was the home of a local resident's parents. It was moved here to be restored and furnished with many of the original furnishings.

This is my unknown object of the day. (I didn't ask Kerry, because he would know, then I couldn't call it unknown.)

Kerry really liked the bathroom wallpaper.

Just outside town is the "Rock in the Glen" for which the town was named. It was a landmark on the emigrant trails.

As soon as we left Glenrock, the strong winds started. I didn't take many more pictures. I needed both hands to hold on to the bike!

A lull in the wind allowed me to get the remains of this cool old railroad trestle.

About twelve miles past Glenrock, we saw this place on the side of the road. We were so tired, we would have stopped anywhere!

There were no other customers. The owner had three dogs and two cats to keep her company. The place reeked of cigarette smoke and she was adding to the aroma while we were in there. All the canned soft drinks we checked were long out of date (the Diet Coke Kerry checked was dated 2018!). Kerry ordered a beer and drank about half of it.

Playing with the animals was the best part of the visit - no, that's wrong - resting out of the wind was the best part!! But it was fun playing with the dogs and this one cat who had to get between you and the dog you were trying to pet.

We finally made it to Casper. I had an image of Casper being a western cowboy and outdoor recreation type of place. I was surprised to see this big oil refinery.

So, we'll rest up tonight and be ready for our long 72 mile ride tomorrow. The good news is that the forecast is for only a 15 mph headwind:)

Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 2,715 miles (4,369 km)

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Keith A. SpanglerJeanna and Kerry,

What do you think is the proper amount of zero (rest) days on a long trip like this? What are the primary goals for this time off the bike? Thanks, Keith
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3 years ago

Jeanna & Kerry SmithTo Keith A. SpanglerKeith,
We try to schedule a rest day every 4 to 6 days. The goal is to have a nice hotel with restaurants nearby and an attration to visit. (On travel days we can put up with most any motel, but on our off days we like to be comfortable!) We generally will visit the attraction in the morning and then just "chill" the rest of the day - the older we get the less ambitious we are on our days off!
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3 years ago