Day 18--Riverton, WY to Casper, WY

Day 18—July 06, 2006—Riverton, WY to Casper, WY—120 miles—2860’climb

Whatta day . . . 120 miles — 130 for Lil, Ted, Steven, Don, and Dale who made it a double metric century. It was another of those days that the directionally challenged adore—left out of the motel; then ride 120 miles before a left-right-left into the motel.  I drove the luggage truck today in an effort to separate myself and my cold from the guests. Tomorrow I’ll go to the doctor who will probably say “Yes, you have a very nasty cold. Drink plenty of fluids and get some rest.”

For the first 34 miles out of Riverton, riders have occasional interesting rock formations, roadside businesses and houses, trees, parks and other roadside things to hold their interest. After the first SAG Stop, however, there is NOTHING but wide open spaces, occasional cattle and small groups of antelope, and many a poor rabbit that didn’t make it across this highway, which stretches out endlessly over the scrubby sage plains. Yes, riders do pass through some towns: Moneta, pop. 2 (no joke), Hilland, pop. 10, (this is the site of SS#2; the owner of the bar there counted the population as 2, said the other 8 left years ago), and the town of Natrona, pop. 0 (site of SS#3 — a couple of abandoned buildings).

Each year, riders look forward to breaking this monotony with a stop for buffalo burgers at Hell’s Half Acre, a small store/restaurant at the edge of a geologic oddity – a craggy horseshoe-shaped gorge that drops away from an otherwise flat plain where Hwy 20 runs east. The 150+ ft. deep gorge — actually 320-acres total as it spreads south — is filled in one section with jagged rock spires, naturally sculpted into nightmarish chaos by an ancient offshoot of the Powder River. This year we were all disappointed to find the restaurant closed and boarded up . . . for good it seems, unless some enterprising person thinks he or she can make a go of it in the middle of nowhere. An interpretative sign at the entrance explains how Indians used to slaughter buffalo years ago by stampeding a herd over the cliffs to get meat for the winter. Today the gorge with it’s hoodoo spikes and striated walls is a beautiful, peaceful sight that belies its previous use. 

Riders pose before the gorge at Hell's Half Acre

A bit after HHA, Chris and I came upon Peter S. with Hand-on-Helmet. Turned out he had run over something that had gone straight through his tire, tube, and rim, gashing an inch and a half hole in the rim and ruining his wheel. We loaded his bike into the luggage truck and sagged him in. Kirk also ran over something nasty and tore up his tire. After SS#2, riders had a wider, smoother shoulder, and for most of the day they had a kicking tailwind . . . until the last 30 miles or so when the road turned and they had to battle a strong crosswind/headwind that beat them up pretty good. The day also heated up, and many rolled in with sunburns despite repeated applications of sunscreen. Several of the faster riders had completed half the day by 9:30, and this with sag stop.

OVERHEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:

* “Um peanut butter!” [. . .this donated by Dave and Bob, who qualify for DUH of the Day. They bought peanut butter and rolls and made themselves sandwiches for on the road today, giving me the rest of the rolls and peanut butter for the SS . . . then they rolled out this morning and left their sandwiches in the room fridge!]

* “You put the peanut butter on the banana and then dot it with raisins. That’s called ‘ants on a log.’” 

*  “If you have a 120-mile day, this is the weather for it!” 

SHOW & TELL: This is the first night we’ve had an official S & T in a while so riders were surprised to find that Leslie, Kathy, and Dana had seen Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart in a restaurant in Jackson; Jim Benson reported finding a great bike trail that will bring riders almost to the door of the motel next year. While on that trail, which follows the river, Jim reported seeing a woman in a wetsuit trying to boogie board.