Day 14 – Mon/Jun 30 – Glenrock WY to 25 Miles East of Lusk WY

Today we once again got an early start – 6:40 AM. The temperature was expected to top 90 degrees (and it did by late afternoon) for the first time in a while and we want to be able to finish in the early afternoon before that happened. The first 26 miles were on Interstate 25. The shoulder on the interstate was approximately 12 feet wide and for the most part clear. There was very limited traffic on I25 – at least during the time we were on it.

Our revised schedule had today as an 82 mile ride, but since we still have a 160 mile day ahead of us on July 4th, we decided to get an additional 25 miles in. If the weather holds, and we can get a few extra miles in over the next 3 days, we should not ride over 120 miles on the 4th. The additional miles put in took us out of Wyoming and into the state of Nebraska.

The maximum elevation today was 5,356 feet with a total climb of 2,336. We ended the day at approximately 4,800 feet of elevation. Tomorrow we will have a 1,200 foot descent, with about 1,000 feet of this over a 5-6 mile distance less than 20 miles into the ride. My legs have steadily recovered over the last few days, ever since we put the big climbs behind us. Occasionally we hit a small climb that slows me down, but the recovery is quick and since I know there are no big climbs ahead, I can push through these for the most part.

The terrain for most of the day was better than yesterday. We were surrounded by grassland or hay fields – both which were green. Some areas had Pondera pines. Bob has picked up where Larry left off – the support has been great. We now have two full weeks of riding behind us – covering just over 1,400 miles. We hope to put in almost 700 miles over the next 6 days before we take a day off to rest - that is if the weather continues to cooperate. We seem to have hit a good pocket in the weather so far. According to a couple of the local residents, a few days ago, the temperatures were in the 90s with winds around 60 mph. And no – it would not have been a tail wind. I hope our luck continues to hold with the weather. The forecast for the next 6 days has the temperatures in the 80s with a chance of rain Wednesday through Friday.

Day 13 – Sun/Jun 29 – 35 Miles East of Riverton WY to Glenrock WY

Today started early with cool temperatures (55 degrees) and a steady climb of 700 feet over the first 30 miles. After that, we descended 1,400 feet over the next 79 miles with numerous small ascends mixed in to remind our legs of the climbs of the previous week. The total climb for the day was just over 1,800 feet. We traveled on Hwy 20/26 again all day. The road remains very favorably for biking.

For the past 10 days, we have been riding at elevations close to or over a mile high. At times it has been difficult taking a deep breath, but I believe the worst is behind us. We had about 80% of our ride today completed by noon. The temperatures were in the 80s over the last 26 miles, which was still relatively cool. We are trying to stay off the bike when the temperatures get into the 90s.

I am glad to be getting through this dry desolate part of the ride – nothing but sand, grassland and sage brushes with very few trees. A couple times during the day when we stopped to take on fluids and nutrition, you could not see any buildings and the road itself seems to disappear into the vast open terrain. Even though this was a very desolate place, I saw hundreds of deer, antelope and other wildlife. There was a section that ran along the North Platte River where farmers were growing wheat (via irrigation). It is so much easier riding down the road when you can see the crops growing in fields along the road. We hope to hit the Nebraska border tomorrow afternoon (before temperatures get too warm).

I finished the day with a flat – one I didn’t notice until we were cleaning our bikes. The tire was not completely flat but getting soft. The tire/tube count is now – Matt 2 tubes/1 tire – Gary 6 tubes/2 tires. I lost a tube and tire back in Jackson WY.

Day 12 – Sat/Jun 28 – Dubois WY to 35 Miles East of Riverton WY

Today’s ride was scheduled to be an easy 78 miles starting at 6,900 feet elevation and stopping at 4,900 feet elevation. Tomorrow’s ride is scheduled to be 147 miles. We decided to ride an additional 35 miles today since the temperatures were relatively cool and the section of Wyoming we are riding now is basically the high desert – nothing but sand, low grass and a few sage bushes. You could go miles without seeing a building. This would be a difficult ride if the temperatures reached the 90s.

We were on our cranks by 7:10 AM with a temperature of 54 degrees. We finished the day with 113.1 miles with a temperature of 76 degrees, averaging just over 19 mph. Total climb for the day was 2,034 feet, despite the fact that the elevation decreased by almost 2,000 ft. Once again today we were on SH 26. Sections of this road had a shoulder of 12 feet, while on other sections the shoulder was 5-6 feet wide. With low traffic, this highway seems to be a good fit for bikes. We will spend most of the day tomorrow on SH 26.

Today, Bob Loch joined us to provide support while Larry is in Texas working with one of his clients. Larry will rejoin the team on July 5th. Larry spent about two hours “training” Bob. I doubt that we will even notice the change.

Hard to believe this is already day 12. We have a hard time remembering what day of the week it is, not that it matters if you wake up every morning and the only thing you need to accomplish is the same thing you did the day before. So far we have no complaints about the weather. We have had just a few sprinkles over the past twelve days. It looks like that may change starting the middle of next week. And yes, we watch the weather channel every night for an hour or so.

Day 11 – Fri/Jun 27 – Jackson WY to Dubois WY

Once again we got an early start, on the road by 7:15 AM. Today’s ride is relatively short (88.3 miles). We donned our cool weather gear as the temperature was in the mid 50s. The first 40 miles of the ride was flat as we rode on the high plateau. The mountains ranges ran on both sides providing a great view during the ride. At the 40 mile mark, we started a 17 mile-2,800 foot climb. The grades were in the 5% to 7% range, far less than yesterday’s climb. Except for the road work a mile and a half from the summit, Matt and I rode to the top without stopping, but not together. My only hope was that when I reached the summit, Matt would still be in Wyoming.

The road work took one mile from our ride. Matt arrived at the road work area first (surprise) and that allowed me time to catch up. He asked the flag person if bikes could go through. She said yes and when Matt clipped in to proceed through, she clarified her statement…and said “in the back of a truck”.

Larry transported us through the road work zone and we rode the last half mile to the summit – the Continental Divide – 9,658 foot elevation. As you can see from the pictures Larry took, there was a considerable amount of snow on the ground. It took us about an hour and 20 miles to cover the last 31 miles into Dubois, a small town of 960 people.

With today’s ride, our total miles traveled exceeded the 1,000 mile mark (1,085). The other significant accomplishment today was that after reaching the summit, we have only one big climb day left – and that occurs on the second to last day of the trip.

Larry continues to refine his support skills (I’m starting to think he will be applying for a support position in the Tour de France someday). Since we did not stop on the climb today, we would hand our empty to water bottles to Larry, he would drive ahead of us, refill our bottles, run along side of us and hand us full water bottles or what ever else we needed – just like they do in the Tour, except they use cars.

Tomorrow we will continue our descent from 6,900 foot elevation to just under 5,000 feet. Total climb – just over 300 feet.

Day 10 - Thu/Jun 26 - Idaho Falls to Jackson WY

Today was the first big climb of the route, maximum elevation of 8,425 feet. It was also the last day in Idaho and the first day in Wyoming. We got off to an early start finally (7:00 AM). The first half of the day was relatively flat (total climb of 1,000 feet) to Swan Valley (45 miles in). The last 43 miles were a bit more challenging. Although it was only an additional 3,757 feet of climb, the climb was limited to about 25 miles. This is the first day when the grades jumped to 9%, 10% and even 13%.

Matt rode the entire distant from Swan Valley to the summit without stopping. I stopped briefly about 6 times. The only explanation I have for this is the Rule of 27. Matt is 27 years younger and 27 pounds lighter. Adjust for these two factors and I am certain that we would have climbed to the summit together....I know this is pretty weak but it is true. Even though I stopped several times, I think my legs are ready for the highest climb of the route which is tomorrow (over 9,500 feet, but the grade will be much less). If we can get through tomorrow, we will have only 3 days with over 1,000 feet of climb the rest of the trip.

The descent to Jackson was on the same grades as the ascent (approximately 10%). Add a stiff head/cross wind, and the descent was almost as challenging as the ascent - just took less effort. We were glad to get down from the summit and arrive early in the afternoon for a change. We had time to find a local micro brewery again and grab a bite to eat (and a beer). To top that off, we found a coffee shop and enjoyed a mocha while updating the blog. This may be the last time we can find a coffee shop for several days.

The temperatures were ideal for the climb we did today. It was 62 degrees went we left Idaho Falls and 78 when we arrived at Jackson (I don't think it was near that warm in the higher elevations though). Once again, we managed to get our ride in without any precipitation...hopefully this trend will continue.

We rode SH 26, SH 31, and SH 33. These roads were smooth, wide and had a 4-5 foot wide shoulder (most of the time). Once again the drivers gave us plenty of room. Getting back into the mountains provided us with spectacular scenery. Larry posted over 140 pictures for you to see at least part of what we saw.

Once again, Larry provided us with first-class support.