Day 40 : Our 7th and Final State...

From Walden, CO to Saratoga, WY - 75 miles

Story [in numbers]:

Time on bike: 6:20:40
Average speed: 11.8 mph
Max speed: 44.6 mph


Story [in words]:

The day had an interesting beginning. i was just about to get out of the tent, when i heard a pitter patter across the tent. we had noticed before we set up our tent that the grass seemed awfully green...which we had heard could be a bad sign when you are west of kansas...a bad sign because it means there is a good chance they have sprinklers. and sure enough...they did.

i promptly got out of the tent (between sprinkler bursts, of course) and moved the bikes so that at least they weren't getting wet. however, just about the time that i got the bikes situated out of the way of the rain (sprinklers), they shut off. so, i moved the bikes back by the tent and then removed the rain fly to put it over the fence so that it could dry a little. meanwhile, cailyn was finishing packing things up inside the tent. she just about had everything packed up, and we heard another noise...another set of sprinklers had turned on. now, not only were the bikes getting wet, but the inside of the tent was getting wet. so, i quickly tried to put the rain fly on as quickly as i could in a makeshift kind of a way. needless to say, by the time everything was said and done, the vast majority of the things we had were wet.

we finally got things loaded and headed back to the moose cafe to grab some breakfast. we enjoyed eggs, bacon, toast, and one gigantic cinnamon roll. we finally got on the road at about 9.

the cycling today was relatively easy, with just one substantial climb in the middle. we made our way to the summit of the climb and as we arrived at the top, there was a fairly dark looking cloud just off to our left. we were resting for a moment and preparing to descend when we saw a gnarly lightning bolt strike. we decided it was time to go, and fast. so we headed down the other side, and as luck (or unluck) would have it, it began to rain...big, cold drops.

thankfully, we seemed to be able to outrun both the rain and the lightning...and the cycling returned to fairly easy normal going. we stopped in a cute little town to make some peanut butter bagels...it was there that we ran into the two ladies from the netherlands that we have been playing leap frog with the last couple of days. we shared some nice conversation with them and then got back on the road to cover the last 18 miles for the day.

we made really good time finishing the day,,,maybe partially due to our excitement about the rumored hot springs. we rolled into town and headed straight for the springs. we changed into our swim suits and went down to the spring. and man was it hot...so hot that i could only put my legs in and cailyn was only able to put her feet in. so after a little while, we went down to the river that ran right alongside it and enjoyed a slightly cooler hotness (if there is such a thing).

we headed inside and took showers and hopped back on the bikes to find a place to eat. we finished the night with a good meal at a local eating establishment, a quick trip (unfortunately uphill) to the grocery store to pick some stuff up for tomorrow, and then out to a lake just outside of town that has camping. and man, it was a mosquito haven...it was a quick set up and then get into the tent as fast as we could.


oh, and by the way...we are into wyoming...our 7th and final state on the trip...