Ride Report: 70 Miles, 1,728 Total Miles, 16.0 Avg. mph, 2,385 Ft. Climbing, 5,125 Calories.
As Ride reports go, this one is largely unremarkable. It’s what the reader doesn’t know that makes it stand out. I’ll fill ya in. When we left Rawlins it was early and the wind hadn’t kicked up. But by the time we reached Walcott Junction 23 miles later (By using I-80 no less, more on this below.) the wind had, in fact kicked up. Worse yet, was generally coming out of the south. So, quite naturally, at Walcott Junction we turned South into what was, at best, a quartering headwind of 16-20 steady and gusts to 25. This according to “AccuWeather” so it’s suspect, but still, it was windy. When side gusts move me a couple of feet - it’s windy. This went on for the better part of 40 of today’s 70 miles. Oh - and the route was generally uphill. Wonderful. So - the reader can see why I’m (justifiably) enamored with that 16 mph average. Delta and I earned it today.
Oh - and for you Google Maps fact checkers, I rode about 10 miles past Riverside in order to take 10 miles off tomorrow’s jaunt to Rand, CO. That was gonna be about 71 miles and the extra miles today chopped it to a manageable 61. Why? Another uphill course tomorrow - all day. We’re now officially in the run-up to the Colorado Rockies and Hoosier Pass. The route profile for this section of the T/A is just amazing. I’ll include it below for the reader’s perusal. Blah, blah, blah - on with today’s pics...
The small town of Sinclair is just East of Rawlins and provided today's stroll down memory lane. It's the late 60s, DDT are just three letters strung together at random, I'm maybe 9-10 years old, Downs had a "fogger" mounted on the back of the City pick-up truck to "fog" for mosquitoes. Me and my buddies used to ride behind the pick-up in the "fog". Now take a look at the truck to my left. Yup - same thing. And just to bring the nostalgia to unprecedented levels, I got lost in Sinclair and had to turn around and go back thru the "fog" again. Just like old times. And to my kids... If you're reading this; getting rid of the extra toes was really not a big deal - you were little and prolly don't even remember it.
And pretty soon I figured out why the town was named Sinclair. The refinery was huge - and smelly.
These were right across the street from the refinery. Delta was aghast when I explained to him that automobiles drink this stuff.
It was also at Sinclair that the T/A route joined I-80 for a 13 mile stretch. Hey, it's literally the ONLY paved road to get to where the route needs to go. The unfortunate part was that 6 miles of it were under construction. As a result WY-DOT (I could have fun with that, but refuse to do so) moved WB traffic to the EB lanes - our lanes. On the positive side, we had a 12 foot shoulder to work with when the trucks zoomed past. WY-DOT was kind enough to lower the speed limit to 65 in the construction zone. On the down side, there were three bridges with only 6 foot shoulders. When we reached those I looked for a break in traffic and we sprinted across in order to get back to the wider shoulders as soon as possible. I must say - all the drivers were respectful and gave us as much room as they could.
Delta took this shot maybe eight miles or so after we turned into the wind. As for me, I was glad for the break - I needed a rest. I included this pic because one thing about it reminds me of Kansas - ya can see forever out here. Well, that and Delta insisted.
Though I didn't ask, Susan shortened the first stretch into the wind from eleven miles to nine. I was glad to see her and The Rig. Plus, this is just a great shot. The section immediately after we turned into the wind was the most brutal part of today's ride. I checked my splits on that section (I run 5 mile splits on my Garmin) and they were the slowest of today's trip at just under 20 minutes each. The proficient reader will do the math and realize that we barely averaged 15 mph on those two splits.
And in keeping with the theme of meeting new and exciting people on the T/A, this is Tyler. I met him just North of Saratoga, WY. He flew from Cincinnati to Denver where he got on his bike and headed for St. George, UT where he will start his college career. He had been working as a trucker to make enough money to go to college and study computer science. He had quite a touring history having done Canada, several other parts of the US, etc. He said he was headed for Rawlins and when I told him about the construction on I-80, he decided to take dirt roads along the river to get there. Just like that. OK...
Today'a obligatory snack pic. When I showed up at the rig after talking with Tyler, Susan had a hand stirred, fresh blueberry shake ready for me. She's become both adept and quite sneaky about getting calories into me. While I was eating this, Susan saw a rather large jet land near Saratoga - a town of 1,600 people. We were both surprised. But sure enough, Google Maps showed they have an airport.
Speaking of which, the airport was a going concern. There were two good sized private jets readying for departure and one single engine turbo prop. I've no idea what generates all this traffic in and out of the Saratoga airport, but have obviously missed something.
But I didn't miss everything...
This was right across from the airport. Prolly a rental car for the bigwigs on the private jets. Yes - for the humor challenged reader, those are round bales where the tires should be.
All day, baby...
And this is Eric - he's from Fruita, Colorado. Yes - it's a real place, just West of Grand Junction, CO. He was passing by when I stopped for a break in The Rig, so I hailed him and asked if he'd like an ice cream sandwich. So far - no refusals. Anyway, he was on his first day of a rather circuitous route of his own design and intended to do 5,000 miles in about three months. "You don't do it all at once. If you ride 50 miles a day, at the end of a hundred days you've gone 5,000 miles." Well - there is that... This wasn't his first time touring either. We chatted with Susan inside The Rig for about 20-30 minutes and then went our separate ways.
This is a shot from one of the more elevated portions of today's route. In all honesty, I forget precisely where I was when I took it. But it is beautiful - in a way only Wyoming can pull off. Given the sameness of the countryside and the flitting from town to town, it's almost inevitable that I lose track of where I am. Mostly I ride till I see The Rig. If Susan ever gets lost, the reader may never hear from me again. And no - don't call her with suggestions.
Finally, I think I said earlier that we're in the run-up to the Colorado Rockies. The reader who clicks on this pic and opens it will be amazed at the elevation gains depicted. Further, the run-up to either of the two major climbs of this section of the T/A are: 95+ miles for Willow Creek Pass (the first big hump on the chart) and approach 80 miles for Hoosier Pass (the second big hump). Wow. That's a lotta uphill riding.
We shall see how it all shakes out. As always, tune in here for the facts and nothing but the facts.
Till next time.
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