Rawlins to Riverside, WY

(Ridden Tuesday, August 25th)

Via Hwy 76 (to just past Sterling, I-80 to the Walcott exit, then Hwy 130 and 230. 61 miles.

It was a fairly uneventful day, although for the first time on our entire trip we had to ride on an interstate highway. The ACA route we are following uses I-80 from about a mile east of Sterling to the Walcott exit (about 13 miles). We had a good shoulder to ride on although there was an 8-mile segment that was being repaved. The new pavement was down (and was great) but the highway crew had all of the left lane PLUS part of the right lane blocked off, so the traffic had to share the shoulder with us. There were a tremendous number of BFTs on the highway and, after we experienced a few "blow bys" that were uncomfortably close, we moved into the blocked off (left) lane. We figured that between being side swiped by a semi and being ticketed by the highway patrol, we'd take the latter consequence every time.

We got off the interstate at the Walcott exit, and we pulled into the gas station/C-store there about 10 a.m. to take a break. The clerk (a dour-looking guy about our age) was standing in the doorway as we arrived, and as we rolled to a stop I greeted him with a cheery "good morning!" His only response was to say "don't park that thing in front." After using the bathroom* we brought a couple of drinks and a Slim Jim (meat snack).** The guy was a complete drone during the purchase transaction. I couldn't decide if he was just terribly unhappy or just had the personality of a doorknob. As we were leaving a family with 4 kids (approximate ages 11 to 5) stopped us in the parking lot to ask about our trip. A lot of people have done that, but in this case the parents asked us how old we thought kids needed to be to make this kind of trip with the parents. When we told them about the Williams' who were doing it with their 8-year old son, the eyes of the eldest child (a boy) lit up. He was clearly excited about the prospect of doing a similar trip with his mom and dad, and they were obviously considering it. That really made our day.

We stopped in Saratoga (mile 43) for lunch and to try to figure out what the weather was going to do. Clouds had moved in and it looked like a storm might erupt. We don't really mind being rained on (at least once we've begun the ride for the day), but hail and/or lightening are another matter altogether. It is not a good idea to be out in the open and sitting on a large piece of steel in a thunderstorm.*** We struck up a conversation with a local woman who told us quite a bit about the town, etc. Since we were concerned about the weather, we asked her if there were ranches or other buildings along the final 18-mile stretch from Saratoga to Riverside where we might be able to seek shelter in the event of a violent storm. She said no, there was nothing - that we'd have to crawl down into a culvert if things got bad. As it turned out, there was no storm. But she was very wrong - there were lots of places to seek shelter, fairly regularly spaced along the route. These ranged from houses (most off the road a ways, but easily reachable if need be) to bridges over creeks, etc. As we were riding, we were making very careful mental notes of such spots, which someone traveling in a vehicle would not do (because there was no reason to do so). This again illustrated how differently a cyclist sees the road from a vehicle driver. I have to acknowledge though that through most of Wyoming there are no houses or other buildings, or even overpasses of any kind - just miles and miles of emptiness. A cyclist caught in a storm in those places would have to crawl into a culvert - if one can be found.

*Bathrooms on a bike trip through places like Wyoming are few and far between. You learn to take advantage of them when you find them, whether you think you need to 'go' or not.

**We always try to buy a few things in the isolated towns that we pass through, to hopefully do a little bit to keep the store in business. Such stores are a true lifeline on a trip over long, empty distances. Conversely, trying to do a trip like ours without such 'islands of service' would be much more difficult.

***No, the rubber on a bike's tires would not protect the rider from the electric surge of a lightening strike, any more than an automobile's tires help protect the car's occupants. That idea is a complete myth. What protects you in an auto is the car's roof.
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