July 7 2018 Gillette to Devil’s Tower

When we were handed the route sheet last night I could see that the first section of the ride had us ridding three sides of a square.  Sorry but I don’t think that ridding three sides of a square makes any sense under any circumstances and especially when the temperatures are headed towards 98 F in the shade and 115 F out on the pavement.  I spoke with some of the other riders and when we rolled this morning I had 10 of the 30 or so riders behind me.  This little short cut shaved 5 miles off the ride and cut a bunch of the days climb off. 

The route out of town took us past a bunch of coal operations and a huge railroad marshalling yard.  At one point we passed 60 BNSF locomotives all lined up and ready to be put into service. 

The picnic was at 36 miles but as we had shaved 5 miles off it came up really fast.  I was eating my lunch at 9:30 Am but maybe we should call it second breakfast as that is what it felt like.  I feasted on the mountains of fresh fruit which was laid out.  The watermelon was so refreshing as it was nice and cold and the temperature was already in the mid 80’s.  I packed a few snacks and rolled off.  With only 32 miles to go, I was looking for an early day.

The road turned toward the NE and I was looking for a nice little tail wind to help me along. However no sooner did I turn the corner and the wind died.  The road was pretty flat for the first 10 miles after picnic and I made good time.  There were several short climbs and a few even shorter descents as it was generally uphill into Devils Tower. 

I pulled into the last water stop which was only 3 miles out when the van pulled up.  To my surprise Ken T was in the van. He had broken a spoke and had to be picked up with only a few miles to go.  By now it is in the upper 90’S and well over 100 out on the pavement.  I rolled the last few miles into Devils Tower at 12:30 PM and had the world’s smallest $3.50 ice cream cone.  

Even though the day was only 63 miles and 2100 feet of climb I was wiped out. Setting up my tent and getting set up was all I could muster. I laid down on my cot and fell asleep immediately. I couldn’t find the energy to post my blog.  This was one killer week with over 570 miles, sweltering heat and mountain passes. 

In the evening we had the traditional end of week three margarita party.  Greg and set out chips and dip and a few snacks. It was a lot of fun exchanging ridding stories with the rest of the riders and crew. 

I say goodbye to my good friend Tom R as he is off to Mongolia to do a tour there.  He says Yaks do not smell. I am looking forward to the next opportunity to ride with Tom.  He says we have dig Patrick out and get him to join us.  It would be a great treat.

Terry hot biker