The Past Few Days

June 25th: Shoshoni to Casper
The ride was 101 miles according to my bike computer, a rough one following the 96 miles from the day before but we made good time. It was hot again but there were some clouds in the sky, as opposed to no clouds on the previous day. It doesn't really seem to be getting any cooler so I guess it's time to adjust. We hit some head and side wind early, but we also got some tailwind. Right at the end, we hit this big hill before we got to Kelly Walsh High School. My knees took it pretty hard because I didn't go to the granny gear, just powered up it.
For dinner, we ate with the Kiwanis Club of Casper. It was pretty normal and no friendship visit on this day. We did meet a guy with family in Puyallup though. We had brisket sandwiches and rhubarb pie. In the evening, a lot of guys went out and relaxed at Old Chicago, a local watering hole.


June 26th: aahhh... a day off in Casper!
Got up on this morning at about 9:30 but slept off and on between 6:00 and then due to some volleyball practice or camp going on. You could hear EVERY bounce on the ground and yell/cheer. Showered and ate breakfast and eventually made my way to the bike shop. It was a much needed stop because I had been having major squeakage for over a week. The guy at the shop made a bunch of little adjustments and cleaned a lot of the gear and lubed. No more squeakage! He only charged me 12 bucks too! Soon after, I was able to grab some lunch at Arby's, 5 items for $5.95 is a great deal!
After our team meeting (which we have every day-off) we headed to a park for dinner and a friendship visit. Immediately, the team was engaged in a wiffleball game with a bunch of kids. Well, kind of a wiffleball game. We made fools of ourselves in the field while about 4-5 kids cycled through hitting. A few others played catch with the football and frisbee and more continued to show up and chat. Definitely a very cool visit and we hadn't had one in a while so it was great to get out there and have some fun again.
When it was time to grab some dinner, I got a hot dog, chips, a cookie, and some water (a common meal) and headed toward a family sitting by themselves. I just kind of threw myself into the family (mom, dad, two adopted daughters) and had a great time. The daughters were 13 and 7 and fun to listen to. The parents were also very open and engaging and revealed a lot of the kind of stuff that has been going on. It's great when the parents want to talk to you about those things because you're always curious but a lot of times afraid to ask such personal questions. I'm actually pretty proud of myself for jumping out of my comfort zone and sitting down with complete strangers. It's something I've been working on, not needing another guy with me to help with conversation. After the great visit, it was off to another exciting adventure at the laundry mat!


June 27th: Casper to Wheatland
Well, what can I say? I've never experienced wind like this that lasted so long and always seemed to be in our faces no matter which way we turned. Rolling hills and some heat (plus the wind) piled on top of a 116 mile ride seemed unbearable. Only 7 riders were able to conquer the roads today (I wasn't one of them). Any small complication or drawback, when we had to be ready for dinner at 5:30pm, and it was gonna be tough to make up. It's not like you can get behind and say that you'll just push it harder to make up time. That just doesn't work too well into the wind. The day started out fantastic. A lot of the guys switched up pace lines to ride with guys they don't often ride with. I was real excited about my group and we had just started sharing random stories when we got hit with a slower rider who didn't want to stay at the head of the pack. Just coming off of a sickness, he kinda dragged us down. It sounds bad but we stuck together as long as we could. When he finally decided he couldn't go any further, around 80 some miles, we were in far too deep of a hole to make up the time. I have mixed feelings: on one hand, I really wanted to beat the road and the wind today but none of us were willing to leave a man behind. So, I didn't make it the entire 116 miles today... it's not something I'll be thinking about in Washington D.C.... or even tomorrow.
For dinner, we went out to a woman's ranch who is a member of the Cattlewoman's Association. We had dinner with members of the same organization already once but this was cool and unique in its own right. We got taken on a ride drawn by horses to see parts of the ranch and were fed some real good roast beef sandwiches, fruit and veggies, potato chips and some chocolate cake with chunks of cherries in it. It was a delicious dinner and great company. What an exhausting day though. I may or may not be enjoying a root beer float in about a half hour, so wish me luck. Thanks for reading!