Phase 2, Day 4. Lander - Alcova, WY

You never have the wind with you - either it is against you or you're having a good day. ~Daniel Behrman, The Man Who Loved Bicycles

128 miles and 7 1/2 hours in the saddle. A nice ride but the late start had my focus on a fast pace and not scenery.

Wyoming's Wind.  Friend or Foe?

I had to wait for Lander's bike shop to open to get the wheel repair project started. Normally I would be 4 hours down the road by 10am.  The forecast for a hot day with thunderstorms didn't help me feel any better about my delayed start and very long day ahead.  The guys at the bike shop were sympathetic and got me going as quickly as possible.

While I was waiting one of my buds from last night, Sam, showed up at the bike shop so we had a nice chat. They all camped in the city park and Sam said the July 4th celebration was out of control. Seems the whole town brings their fireworks to the park competing for the biggest and loudest. Sam said they enjoyed shooting the rockets, not up, but at each other. Much more fun! Glad I missed that one.

I got rolling at 1045am and calculated I would arrive at Alcova by 7pm so not much time to stop and check stuff out along the way. The day was spent crossing more prairie with gently rolling hills. Some of the downhills were sweet at 30mph for many miles. I have learned to keep an eye out for antelope on the side of the road when I'm going fast. They spook easily and are fast and unpredictable.

Today's route again follows the Emigrant and Pony Express routes. Navigation in those days was aided by far away but unique mountains and rock structures that were easily identifiable to head toward. I've been reading about "Split Rock", "Independence Rock" and "Muddy Gap" and it was fun to finally see these places.

Rattlesnake Range

About 50 miles along I came across an interesting ghost town. Not an old gold mining ghost town but a modern day ghost town. Jeffrey City was, until the late 1980's, a bustling town that supported the nearby uranium mine. When the Cold War ended the mine was shutdown and now only 15 people remain. All the houses, shops and schools are still there but unused and in various states of decay. One guy has "For Sale" on his abandoned house. Funny. The one remaining business is a bar. Not sure how they stay in business with only 15 residents. Jeffrey City is a very odd place.

Jeffrey City and "Bachelor Apt. 2".  Good times!

While riding hard all day it's easy for me to forget I'm at 6000'- 8000' elevation because it doesn't "look" like it. The prairie is deceiving. Nevertheless super important to stay hydrated in this thin and very dry atmosphere. A the end of a long day I struggle to get up the hills because I forget about the altitude.

Wyoming is famous for its wind. Lots of wind. I've been pretty lucky with the wind during the trip until today. The late start left me caught out with some brutal wind to negotiate. I will leave early again tomorrow and hopefully avoid a repeat.

I was getting super tired and thankfully the last 8 miles was a nice descent to Alcova on the Platte River. It's not really a town, more a summer fishing "resort". It's the only place to stay overnight
anywhere near here and my little fishing cabin is quite nice. The guys next door offered me some trout they caught this morning....and a Greek salad too. It tasted wonderful.

Platte River, my companion for rest of this journey.

Traveling as much as I do I appreciate the in-room coffee maker. Everyone's doing it now, even the sketchy Farson Inn from a few nights ago...except they didn't quite grasp the concept, there was a maker but no coffee. Not to worry, I brought along a bunch of the little Starbucks instant coffee packets. Have you tried? Pretty good stuff. Now at least my morning coffee routine is halfway decent.

Tomorrow to Douglas. I think it's about 80-90 miles so a relatively mellow day. Casper is at mile 30 so I'm planning to stop there and have a really good cup of coffee for breakfast.