Phase 2, Day 2. Evanston - Farson, WY

131 miles but met with some frustration.

Riding the bike on the freeway shoulder isn't fun but there is no alternative leaving Evanston. I was pleased to find the I-80 shoulder wide and clean and 6am has little traffic. At mile 6 I had the option to bail and ride 10 miles on a dirt road but it seemed to be going so well I elected to stay on the freeway until mile 15 to save a ton of time. Ideal? No, but not as bad as it sounds.

The day was spent riding across vast prairie with the occasional drop into small river valleys. A nice tailwind kept the average pace at about 20mph for the first 3 hours. Then I busted a spoke. Not good. I'm prepared for roadside maintenance to a point but replacing a broken spoke is not on the list. I need a bike shop for that and bike shops in this part of the world are scarce. What to do? Not much really except come up with a plan for repairs down the road.

I soon got to Kemmerer and looked for wifi at the local coffee shop so I could research bike shops down the road. No wifi. The library has wifi they said but I would have to wait an hour for it to open. I went on a hunt for "free wifi" in the neighborhood and it didn't take long to find an unlocked signal in front of "Mr. Linksys'" house so set up shop on his curbside garbage bin. Soon found a bike shop in Lander and made all the arrangements for service first thing Friday. Now, can I make it 150 miles to Lander?

At mile 104 the 2nd spoke busted. Now the rear wheel rolls like a soft tortilla but I had no choice than to carefully press on but with an average speed down to about 10mph. It's getting hot and I'm getting frustrated.

I did come across another historic marker of the Pony Express and Mormon Emigrant trail so stopped to check it out to lift my spirits. It was really cool. Because it's so arid here with minimal erosion the actual wagon wheel ruts in the trail can still clearly be seen.

By this time it was getting much later than I had planned and the afternoon thunderstorms cranked up. Rained a bit on me and with thunder but thankfully no lightning as I was totally exposed.

After nearly 8 hours on the bike arriving in Farson felt good. I was likely the happiest guy to arrive in Farson all week, if ever, and was glad today's ordeal was behind me so I celebrated with an ice cream from the olde time general store. The motel is pretty rough but it will do and there's food next door which is all I need.

What to do tomorrow for the 70 mile trip to Lander? Not sure yet. I'm thinking I will sleep on it and see how I feel in the morning. I can either hitchhike with the bike to Lander or try riding the bike, I made it 30 miles on the bad wheel today after all, and when catastrophe strikes I can still try to hitchhike the rest of the way. I will expect a total catastrophe somewhere...just not sure where. What an adventure. The good thing about these situations is there are always some good stories to share at the end of it.

Not to worry. Tomorrow's ride might be a bust but it's July 4 and I will enjoy it in Lander however I can get there.