At lunch yesterday, the TV was on. Bill glanced at it and said “The best thing about being on the road today is that we don’t have to watch or even hear about Michael Jackson’s funeral.” Amen to that.
Also from yesterday, there were a couple of comments from Basically Boring Blog readers about the 3.5 miles on a flatbed trailer. Well, I’m not going to worry about these mandatory lifts. Besides, there were 3.5 miles extra today just to eat breakfast.
Re today, who would ever thought that an 80 mile day could be a day for rest and relaxation? Well, with most of the ride downhill, it can be pretty relaxing. To sweeten matters, the first half also had a tailwind. But either we changed direction of the wind changed because it was against us the last half. Like yesterday, it was cold when we started, but warmed fast. The temperature went from 41 to 61 between 6:00 and 8:00, and was 90 when we arrived in Riverton. There were very few cars today: Who wants to go from Dubois to Riverton? The road had hundreds, maybe thousands, of frost cracks but there was a wide shoulder all of the way.
We totally lost the great scenery we had yesterday as the Tetons faded in the distance. Shortly out of town, we went through a red rock canyon but after that it was as desolate and lonely as West Texas.
We saw two things of interest on the road today, both going in the opposite direction, but I didn’t stop to explore either:
1. First I saw a recumbent tandem pulling a Bob (single wheel) trailer. I hollered “Hello” to the couple; then told myself I should go back and visit with them. But it’s hard to stop the bike when you’re going downhill with a tailwind.
2. Next I passed a guy with a long gray beard riding a horse. I thought that would be a great photo of local color – but didn’t stop. Later I learned from others in our group that this guy is riding his horse across the U.S. And you thought I’m crazy!
Day 17, 83 miles, 892 feet climbing, 5,1 hrs, 1,254 miles so far
33 days remaining, 2,433 miles remaining
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