America by Bicycle - day 17 - Dubois, WY --> Riverton, WY
Yesterday, the hard day after the day that included Teton Pass, I was too tired at 5:30am
when the alarm sounded. My first thought was, "I don't want to do this." My legs were
heavy but I finished the day although I arrived at a time that made the rest of the evening too busy. It seems that I recover each night barely enough to finish the next day.
Today was a great day. Check the elevation profile to see why but there are more reasons.
The weather was clear but there was a very short, severe thunderstorm that caught a group
of riders at the front. Those of us a few miles back didn't get a drop although we seemed
to be riding straight into it. The scenery was what picture postcards try to be. There
was a nice tailwind from the north. The rolling hills were just right for me. I'm the
world's worst climber but these rolling hills were steep enough going down to get a good
run up the next hill while still short enough to stand up and make it over the top or
close to it.
Wyoming state law forbids bicycles from taking any part of the roadway while a shoulder is
available. "Available" can be a debatable point when the whole shoulder seems like a
rumble strip. Every shoulder has a rumble strip, which is mere vibration to a car but can
unseat a cyclist. Hitting a rumble strip on a bike at 30 mph is not good. The required
shoulder was good enough for most of the day and sometimes better than the road.
The last few miles of today's 80 was not so much pedaling into Riverton as it was coming in
for a landing. The hill was down, the road good, the traffic light, the traffic lights mostly
cooperative, and the pace brisk. When I arrived at the hotel, I thought that my legs had
never felt so good at the end of an 80-mile ride. Check the elevation profile and you'll
see why.
Tomorrow will be one of the tour's hardest days. The 120 miles to Casper is one of the
longest days with 60 miles of a slight uphill and 60 miles of a slight downhill. The towns
are 100 miles apart and the country is empty.
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