Day 17 Coasting to Riverton

Today was a prefect day.  We started at Never Sweat (Dubois), WY and headed to Riverton, WY,  The ride was 79 miles - right on our average day's ride.  It was billed as a rest day to get ready for the long ride to Casper (120 miles) and I was skeptical.

But the ABB crew was right!  It was 79 miles downhill.  We started at elevation 6700 and ended at about 5500 (my guess).  We could practically coast the entire way.  As mentioned previously my average speed is 12.5 (on a good day) and today I registered 15.6 mph.  Also got to rest the body as my heart rate for the entire ride averaged 89 (versus 101).  Just adding these facts to show you what a dream this ride was.

The views continue to be breathtaking.  Again the formation and color of the rocks have changed from the Tetons.  Here are a couple of shots right out of Never Sweat..

Riding today was a dilemma.    Should I stop to take pictures or keep coasting downhill to avoid pedaling.  In the end there really was no choice - you had to stop and take out the camera.  Stunning views around every corner.

As we rode, we went past ranch after ranch..  It seemed every farm had a snowmobile, a 4X4, an ATV and a horse trailer in the front yard (or all of the above).   Sometimes we'll see a commercial on the TV in Boston where they try to sell you an ATV.  I often wondered why they ran these commercials in Boston.  Where the hell would you use one of these tiny monsters?  I now know.  Miles and miles of open range.   

About 20 miles into the ride, I glimpsed into my helmet mirror and saw the snow peaks of the Continental Divide.

Pretty stunning when you think "I climbed that yesterday".  Damn it looks high.

Thanks to my friends that confirmed that Brian (from Australia) was correct about where water flows on either side of the Divide.

Even got a confirmation from David Morse who was from my original ski house at Killington.    The Banana's (that's what we called ourselves ) were the bomb!  I was 20 years old and these guys ( David, Peter, Billy etc.) were all bachelors in Boston.   I was taught the golden rules of the ski house -

• Stop skiing early to get ready for happy hour
• don't date a girl that does not live on the mountain

But I digress again....  In any case about that Continental Divide thing.  Guys.... How come the Truckee River which is in the Sierras flows east down to Reno.  Does this not violate the Divide water flow rule?

About 58 miles into the ride, the sky started to get dark and in the distance you could see it beginning to rain.  Luckily we had a sag stop so we took shelter in an abandoned store.

Our support vehicle was waiting for us.  We have two trailers like this and one "bike repair" van that helps us when our bikes break down.

Even our bikes got to take a rest.  

We missed most of the rain and our bikes were raring to go..

At about 71 miles I lost my virginity.  That is I got my first flat tire.   The roads are really rough and there are lots of junk on the sides of the roads.  I had considered myself pretty luck to have avoided a flat.  Luckily I had just passed the mechanic's van and Mike came by and helped me repair my tire.

They had told us to buy tweezers to pull out the little wires left on the side of the roads by big truck tire blowouts.  Thank god I took their advice.  I had a wire that was so small it was like a mini operation to remove it from my tire.

With new tube installed I took off and coasted the last 8 miles into town and into the hotel.  About an hour later, the skies opened up and we had a tremendous downpour.    So all in all the gods were with us today (except for the flat).

Tonight will be an early night.  As noted earlier we have a 120 mile ride ahead of us (to Casper).  At my average rate of 12.5 mph, it will take me about 10-11 hours (with breaks).

We are all hoping we get a tailwind to help.   Quite an interesting way to spend the Fourth.