Monday, July 5 - Day 22 - 59 Miles - 1594.3 Total Miles

This has happened to us once before on this trip. We ride hard for a few days, so we decide to take a low mileage day to recoup. We don't feel like taking any full days off, so short days are the next best thing. Anyway, we planned to sleep in at Rawlins and slowly make our way 60 miles up the road to Riverside, Wyoming. There was no lodging/camping to be found in Riverside, so we planned to shuttle back to Saratoga, which was on the route, and get lodging there. So, we left Rawlins, which involved 15 miles of riding on Interstate 80. That was an experience. It was actually quite fun. We had wide, smooth shoulders and a strong tailwind. Then, we exited the Interstate and started to head south. The strong tailwind was now a strong crosswind. We are talking about sustained 25 mph winds with gusts in the 30s. It was all we could do to keep our bikes upright. With 40 miles to go, our easy day was turning out to be not so easy. It was really quite comical. At one point, I had my head down grinding into the wind, and all of a sudden, I see a big rattlesnake almost under my tire. Yeah....it startled me. Here is a picture.


Rattlesnake on Today's Ride

Kyle and I were together at this time and Bobby was way back down the road, relieving himself. This particular snake just slithered away. It didn't seem to be too upset with us. In fact, it stopped and kind of looked at us, so I got down with it and got this picture:

Close up of Our Friend, the Rattler

I am just kidding...I couldn't get out of its way quick enough. I am scared to death of snakes. It was only a couple of minutes later that we saw another one. They lay in the shoulder of the road, sunning themselves. We have cars to the left of us. If we stop pedaling, we fall over because of the wind. Quite a predicament. Well, this one took offense to us. It coiled up, raised its head and its rattle was going nuts. I then joined Bobby, relieving myself without ever getting off of my bike.

The rest of the day was spent fighting the wind until we got to Riverside. We had some time to kill until Kim and the kids got there, so we went into a little restaurant. I can't remember the name of it, but it did hit the spot.

Kim and the kids did some running around today. A couple of days ago, Kim lost a prescription med that she could not lose. Long story short....she had to get it replaced at a Wal Mart and the closest one was in Laramie, Wyoming, nearly 100 miles away. So, the support van took a little road trip......to Wal Mart. Luckily, Nathan got an AC/DC video out of it or it could have been ugly.

Someone did ask how we do our meals. Here is the exciting low-down on how we eat. For dinner, if we camp....we usually have something on ice in our cooler....ham sandwiches and such. Kim also does an excellent job of having fresh fruit for us. If we are in a hotel with a microwave (such as tonight), we hit a store and cook up some delectable meals. For example...tonight it is a bag of microwavable broccoli, chicken, pasta, cheese thingy. Nathan and Anna also got a little mac and cheese for themelves. Most breakfast meals are pop tarts and cereal. Lunch is an on- the-road thing. We pack our shirt pockets with peanut butter/crackers, granola bars, pop tarts, energy bars, etc. Kim and the kids can usually have fast food or gas station food for their dining pleasure. I am not going to lie....we have also eaten some very good meals out in restaurants. It cuts into our budget pretty quick, so we try to limit that. That is it....that is how we eat.

We have plans to camp tomorrow after about a 75 mile day. If the wind is favorable, it will be an easier day. If not, it could be miserable. I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks for reading.