Day 57: Saratoga, WY to Rawlins, WY (47 miles, 2705 total)

There is nothing quite as peaceful as sleeping next to a gently flowing river. As the mileage was going to be lower today, we decided to forget about setting an early alarm last night and opted instead to let the sun be our nudge awake.

We leisurely packed things away and then headed to town for some breakfast. We ran into an English woman cycling west to east yesterday and she highly recommended a café called Lollypops for breakfast and coffee. She was very right! The place was cooling their homemade croissants when we walked in and they looked too good to pass up. They also make their own ice cream there (we did not decide to have dessert that early in the day).

While waiting for our breakfast to arrive, we talked with Bruce and Marilyn, a couple who happens to live in Boulder. They had only wonderful things to say about it. We also talked to a couple from Vail. Seems that Saratoga was a hot destination this weekend!

Our first 20 miles of the trip today followed State Road 130 to Walcott. The terrain gently rolled its way through wide open ranches. At one point I saw movement off to the left side of the road and focused in just in time to see the horns of a pronghorn antelope disappear behind a ridge. I pedalled faster to try to get a better view when he popped up the ridge and onto the road. He eyed me warily and continued to run slightly ahead and to the right. This guy was not interested in jumping the fence on either side of the road, so he ran with me for about a 1/2 mile crossing back and forth across the road before finding a place where he could duck under the barbed wire fence. Once on the other side, he stopped running and stared at me. I stopped and stared back and then we both decided to move on.

The wind was at our back and Jeff and I made fast time to the town of Walcott. We stopped for cold drinks and decided it was high time to figure out a rental car situation for Alecia and Matt's wedding next weekend. The first place we called in Lander was asking a ridiculous price so we may have to go to the next town over where there are two options. Dale joined us again at the stop.

After Walcott, we had our first journey onto an interstate in this trip. There are no other roads that lead to Rawlins from where we were, and Wyoming allows cyclists on their interstates, so we pulled ourselves up the ramp and then rode as close to the right side of the shoulder as we could. The road noise was heavy and you couldn't spend time looking out over the scenery as debris was plentiful, and so were the 18-wheelers. After about 7 miles, I saw Jeff pulled over off the shoulder. "Uh-oh, flat tire," I thought. No such luck. It was a broken spoke. This was the first broken spoke for us since the first week of the trip, and I guess of any day this week, this was the day for it to happen without delaying us too much.

We just happened to be very near a freeway rest stop so Jeff walked and Dale and I rode to the shade. While there, a couple gave us softdrinks, apples and a donation for the FFB! What a treat!

After about a 2 hour maintenance break, we got back on the road and were slammed with a headwind for the remaining miles of the day. (Note from Jeff: While fixing my spoke, I also noticed that my rear tire was extremely worn. I swapped it out for the spare and we should have new tires waiting for us at the bike shop in Lander.) We were all thrilled to finally exit the interstate. Jeff called for directions to the bike shop in town and then the three of us headed to Subway for a very late lunch. Three other touring cyclists were there and they were gross! They were not hesitant to say that they hadn't showered in a week and they really looked it too. One guy looked like he hadn't brushed his teeth in weeks either. Another "bragged" (?) that he was so cheap he was wearing USED women's shorts. Now those are some seriously low standards. After being grossed out by these guys, we were happy to take leave of them to find our campground. Jeff had gone to the bike shop while Dale and I were finishing our sandwiches and returned rather quickly. Turns out that he knew WAY more about bikes than the person in the shop so he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. (Yes, spokes come in different sizes, no, they are not measured in inches, yes, sometimes people actually want to buy tools.)

Thankfully, our campground for the night is much better than the bike shop. Mountain Hills RV Park is on the opposite side of town from where we came in but the showers were immaculate, the grass plush, and the internet service available (though for a high price).

The wind is still blowing in gusts and we have all decided (Shawn is here too) that tomorrow has to be an early day to try to get as many miles in before the winds kick up.

One major milestone was hit upon entering Rawlins. We have finished 7 map sections now and only have 5 remaining. Yay us!

Oh, and no good news on the rental car for us. The outrageous price given us before seems to be the best deal out there. Let's just say it is more than most people pay for a car payment in a month and we're only using it for a week!!

AKB