Ed and I rolled out of camp this morning and were headed
down the road by 6:55 Am. It was
already 73F with the promise of hot and hotter.
The normal route to Gillette had construction on it so we
were rerouted on this other road. This
had the effect of increasing the millage to 102 miles and giving us 3557 feet
of climb . The only redeeming part of
this was the road was very quiet and had a very nice surface.
The route had three legs the first was about 35 miles in the
NE direction and had a very slight downhill trend, the second was about 30 miles
in the east direction and was quite rolling and the last was about 37 miles in
the SE Direction with a lot of rollers each one taller than the previous one.
Down the first section Ed and I were just smoked it making
20+ mph. We passed several riders and
picked up Greg B and the three of us took turns pulling. It was quite a bit of fun rolling along. By the time we turned the corner on to the
second section our speed dropped considerably as we were now climbing a lot of
rollers. The wind had now started to
blow from the SE at about 5-10 mph. It
wasn’t really a factor but was now a quartering head wind. We reached picnic at the 50 mile mark. It was
in a gas transmission station yard as there were absolutely no facilities along
the way. No shade and the temperature
was well into the high 80’s. Ed had been
having problems with his bike throwing the chain so he had one of the mechanics
have a look at it while at we were at picnic. The mechanic took one look and
told Ed his rear derailleur hanger was cracked.
This ended Ed’s ride.
I felt pretty good and as it was only 10:30 I was
pumped. So I set off towards
Gillette. The wind has now picked up and
the road has gotten steeper. By time I got to the 65 mile mark and turned SE
the wind has picked up to around 15-20 mph and is straight into my face. The rollers are now 250- 300 feet. I can ride down the hill at around 15 mph and
grind up the hills at 6 mph. It is going
to be a long grind into town.
As I grind along at about the 75 mile mark I notice that I
am getting a heat induced headache. By
the time I get to the 80 mile mark I am having trouble focusing. At the 90 mile mark the van comes by and I
jump in. I would have liked to finish
the century today but it wasn’t to be.
Auzzie Bob’s bike computer which has a temperature gauge showed that it
was 110F on the highway.
Tomorrow is officially 68 miles into Devils Tower, however I
am going to take a short cut and shave 5 miles off the route.
Terry
Hang in there.
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