Staffing Across America North for ABB 2005: Day 17 -- Spinning in the big ring . . .

July 6, 2005

ROUTE: Dubois to Riverton, WY

DISTANCE: 79 miles

WINDS: Tailwinds until about 15 miles out, then headwinds

WEATHER: Sunny but chilly in AM, warming to 93F by noon

TERRAIN: Rolling high prairie with snow covered mountains to the right and left

TOTAL CLIMBING: 1,410 feet. . . but we dropped over 1,900 feet from Dubois to Riverton

RIDE OVERVIEW: For all those who are following our progress and thinking about riding with us someday, eat your heart out . . . you're missing a great ride now! Just when we think we've had the perfect day, along comes a day like this. Everyone really enjoyed today: the terrain dropped overall from Dubois to Riverton, we had light tailwinds, and the temperature was moderate (for this area) . . . not to mention the scenery. The departure out of Dubois was spectacular, and Mike M. spent the morning in the mechanic's van taking hundreds of photos of the scenery and riders. The changing colors of the hillsides caught everyone's attention, and the early morning shadows on the weathered landscape made for some beautiful photo memories of our trip.

Our route today was Hwy 26 all the way to the motel in Riverton. Even Cliff and Aldo couldn't get lost with a route like today's. A couple of riders, sailed right past the first SS, though. I was riding Float today, but when I caught Byron--a "newbie" who joined us in Jackson and who had missed the first SS--I phoned him in so that we didn't release the search and rescue dogs.

Ninety percent of the time we had a nice shoulder and the traffic was almost non-existent. Most of the day we followed the romantic Wind River through the Wind River Valley. The river provided greenery for pastureland, which, with large ranches, was the scenery of the day for the early portion. Many of the ranches in Wyoming have gates made of huge peeled logs and intricately cut and welded scenes across them, and names such as Big Sky Ranch, Wind River Ranch, Red Rock Ranch, etc. As we got closer to Riverton, we found ourselves in high desert with sage and sparse population. The only town, if you could call it that, between Dubois and Riverton was Kinnear and it had a population of 44. You've got to love solitude if you live out here. I really love riding through this area, but I don't think it would be too much fun to have a steady diet of this type of riding . . . only 1 paved road through here.

We were passed by a group of 11 Adventure Cyclists who were traveling self-supported from Virginia to Portland. Today, at least, we had the terrain (mostly downhill) and the weather (tailwind) with us. I didn't envy them their push uphill and into the wind on such a hot day. Speaking of this group reminds me of a group of young cyclists who were in Dubois last night. They were one of three groups of youth who were cycling to various destinations on the west coast for Habitat for Humanity. Dr. Terry talked to several of them and found out that some of them had never been on a bike for any length of time until a week before the ride! They were followed by a luggage trailer and were camping out in churches along the way. One girl that Terry spoke with said that she would kill for a hot shower at the end of the day. Terry passed a hat to collect funds for the group. Our contributions would be matched by two of our group (who wanted to remain anonymous) if we raised at least $500. This morning I had breakfast with Terry and he said that we ABB's donated $535, so he was able to present the group with $1,070. I hope they get to spend the night in a nice motel with hot showers.

Also last night Dianne Harrington, passed out purple "Live Now" armbands in support of Ministry Home Care, the hospice for which she works. Dianne is keeping a ride web site. If you would like to read the web site or contribute to hospice care, go to http://www.ministryhomecare.org and click on "Live Now." The third person to address the group last night was Theresa, who is a sports medicine physician. She discussed why athletes should not confuse anti-inflammatories (Ibuprofen, Advil, etc.) with pain medications such as Tylenol and gave some pretty convincing reasons for taking a pain med instead of an anti-inflammatory.

When riders got in today, they tuned in to the Tour de France. We were all pleased that Lance still sports the yellow jersey despite the rain and wind and crashes on the day's course and his attempt to honor Zabriskie, who crashed in the team time trial yesterday.

I arrived at the motel at noon with the front-runners today. The wind and my fear of the heat saw me booking it straight to Riverton as fast as I could crank out the miles. I would even have beaten Box in had I not stopped to help Byron with a flat. Early riders were famished so ate a quick lunch in the hotel's restaurant before unloading the luggage. Barb and I ate together and had a most delicious cup of soup and a tuna melt sandwich. Everyone was in good spirits at the end of the day. The riding and the weather has just been too good. Riders needed an easy day before tomorrow's tough 120 miles. Tonight they need to rest, because no matter how good the winds might be, 120 miles will make them ready for their day off in Casper. But that's tomorrow.

Tonight we feasted in the hotel's banquet room and said good bye to several riders who will be leaving us in Casper tomorrow: Lisa M., who's been with us since Astoria, and five who joined us in Boise: Gary H, Dave O, and Theresa and her dad, Aldo S, and Dr. Terry J, my fellow Oklahoman.

After Route Rap, Barbara conducted the Sneaky Tee Swap. It's done in the same way my bike club exchanges Christmas gifts at our annual party. Each person gets a number. When the person's number is called, he may select a tee or take one selected by someone else if he likes it. The shirt may be swapped three times. There is always a coveted shirt. I remember that on the Mississippi Ride Tee Swap, everyone wanted the Colorado tee that read: "Bike Naked, It Adds Color to Your Cheeks." My roommate ended up with this tee.

HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:

"Wyoming is beautiful."
"Finally I can breathe again. The oxygen molecules are closer together at this altitude."
"Bring on Casper!"
"This is the ride that I paid for!"

DUH! OF THE DAY: A double DUH goes to Fritz and Byron for hammering right past the first SAG Stop . . . after all, it was pretty visible. Box was the tallest thing for miles on the high prairie and was about 15 feet off the highway.

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME AWARD: Goes to Greg who used his thumb as a brake pad today. He tried to clean off his tire while riding and got his thumb caught between the tire and his rear brake pad. This pretty effectively stopped the wheel, which skidded along long enough to wear its tread off. Miraculously, Greg did not crash or cause any of the others in the group he was riding with to crash. He tore up his thumb a bit and sprained it though and is now wearing a splint.

RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS AWARD: Goes to Val who picked up "Eag," my little eagle finger puppet, from the shoulder and returned him to me at the first SS. I never noticed that Eag had flown the coop. Made him ride inside my handlebar bag for the remainder of the day.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY:

Strange sign--"Watch for drunks in road" as I interpret it.
It was in the middle of vast nothingness, located near
a porta-potty (bottom left) but nothing else, such as
a bar or nightclub, that would merit such a sign.