We had some surprises during the night. First off, let me say that the green, lush grass should have been a dead giveaway. I didn't give it a second thought, and my first thought was simply that the grass would be a welcome cushion. At exactly 11:30 p.m...when we had finally heard the last of the fireworks and were working on some rapid eye movement, the sprinklers came on. Laura's tent was right on top of one. Screams. I pulled my pillow and silk liner out of the tent and tossed them in the back of the truck. I picked up my tent and in the dark, moved towards a cement pad (an inferior sleeping surface for sure) and in doing so, walked head on to a rotating sprinkler. Laura and Karen were at least laughing. I was tired and grumpy.
There were two neighborhood dogs who must have felt it was their duty to bark every ten minutes or so...all.night.long.
And if that wasn't enough, when I put my tent on that cement pad, I didn't factor in the sprinkler's second session...at 2 a.m...so for 15 minutes or so, when the sprinkler got to the end of its arc, I was in its path. I didn't care...I was wet, but I wasn't going to get up and move. So there...:)
If it hadn't been so pathetic, it would have been funny.
We left the city park before 5:30...our earliest start, and a slight headwind did not bode well. It became stronger as Karen and I rode. She decided to take a break at 20 miles and get some breakfast with Laura...I decided that at 10 m.p.h. it was going to be a very long day. And so...I prayed...and simply asked for mercy. And this is the honest truth, that headwind became a tailwind.
At 30 miles, I saw a cyclist come onto the road. Alan asked me where I was headed, so I told him about our little adventure. He was headed to Crawford to meet his family for a 4th of July parade. We stopped in Chadron, where Karen and Laura were parked, gave him a card and chatted all the way to Crawford. He is cycling to stay in shape so that he can get on the course of the Pro Classic in Colorado Springs, before they close it to spectators.
Karen and Laura had a wonderful breakfast. They had asked in Hay Springs who might have good breakfast fare and were told the airport was offering a "fly-in" breakfast. They saw older planes, hand-built planes, and the pilots who love to fly them. And the pilots were as engaging as they could be. And the breakfast? It was pretty good and definitely hit the spot.
I ended up with 100.3 miles, 2530' of elevation gain, and an average of 14.3. The knee...is feeling better.
We crossed into Wyoming and headed towards Casper. When I rode across the U.S. in 2005, I rode from Casper to Shoshoni in one day. The landscape is bleak and there are few services in that 100 mile stretch. We turned north on Highway 20 along Boysen Reservoir and camped at Tamarask campground. No showers and only pit toilets... :( The camp host was wonderful...let us change our rocky site for a more pleasant one. She warned us that the wind comes up in the evening, and she was right...it blew most of the night. I laid in my tent, willing the wind to be in a favorable direction for tomorrow's ride.
maybe you can't...because you won't...
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