Today our ride was a short 106 miles (as opposed to the 120 riding into Casper).
Yesterday I got a special delivery package from home. It was 40 brownies with a special card from my daughter Ellen.
It really was a treat so I arranged to have them handed out at our second sag stop at mile 68 (I did steal one before I gave the box to the tour director). Yummy!!!!
Heading out of town we were expecting strong headwinds and there was a 40% chance of thunderstorms. So we all packed our rain gear. This is the best way to prevent rain. When you are carrying - it rarely rains. When you decide not to carry your gear - it always rains.
Today it did not rain before we ended. Better yet for most of the ride we had strong tailwinds (versus the headwinds we expected) which made the ride easier and faster. I cranked out the 106 miles with an average speed of 15.6 mph and most of the ride was uphill. The wind was my friend today.
There was not a lot of scenery to shoot. A couple of bluffs and that is about it.
I did see my first oil well which is turning Montana and the surrounding States into boom States.
These wells are dotted all over the land. Makes you smiles when you pass them when you think that these wells are helping us gain some ground on making the USA energy independent. Sick of getting "stuck up" by OPEC. Just saying.
Yea I know this is short lived and we have to figure out some other energy solutions - but right now it feels good riding by them.
There are also natural gas wells - but they are ugly as sin so I did not take any photos.
At mile 14 we had to get back on the Interstate as there was only one road over the pass.
Again there was not much to see along the route. At mile 68 we had our second sag stop and out came the brownies...
Now I am usually one of the last people to arrive at the sag stop - but not today. I wanted another brownie (this might have been the reason I posted a personal best time for a century today). I know my fellow riders and I needed to get there asap.
They were a hit and they were gone in a flash. Got lots of thanks and high fives from the crew (who were getting a little sick of sucking down bananas). Thanks Ellen!!!!!
We pushed on with the goal of beating the rain (which again did not materialize). At about mile 78 we entered the metropolis of Lost Springs....
We debated what the population was made up of. Single people, a family or possibly a small cult. In any case, they need to fix their chimney before winter sets in.
There might have been at least 8 people at one time cause right down the street it looked like the neighbors left town.
We cruised into Lusk and are staying at the Covered Wagon Motel. It is right out of the 1950's
We bikers are resourceful and creative types. When it comes to laundry we will do anything to dry our bike wear...
Well this ends our third week, I think. Here are the stats for the ride to date.
Distance:
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1,492.74 mi
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Time:
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118:26:10 h:m:s
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Avg Speed:
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12.6 mph
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Avg HR:
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100 bpm
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Enjoy,
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