Daily Summary

A Solid Day

The temperatures started a bit chilly, but I was down to just my shirt by mile 40. There wasn’t a ton of climbing, but it was all concentrated as you can see on the map. The first section of hill actually had a few steep sections. The second long hill was not steep, but it just kept going for 25 miles. It sort of wore me down over time. This was going to be an “easy” 90 miles. Since my body isn’t used to 90 miles, I don’t think there is an “easy” 90 right now. Easy 60 – 70 is possible, but those extra miles beyond that start to hurt.

The road was really nice. Good pavement and a wide shoulder most all of the way. The shoulder in Wyoming was the best. It was some of the smoothest pavement we’ve had. They actually had chipseal over the base on the road, so the shoulder was better than the road for once.

The Sights

I added a video again. It is a 360 view of what I saw at the top of the 2nd long hill on the map. 

The first picture shows the shoulder and, if you zoom in, you can see two people ahead of me riding side by side in the shoulder. It is pretty wide. It also has rumble strips by the white line, so vehicles don’t drift over.

The next couple pictures are by the start. We were along the Yellowstone River again for a bit before turning away. The next couple pictures are the open fields and low hills look of the morning.

I got a shot of some mountains behind me in the distance and then a closer shot a bit later from a different angle.

Mid-ride you can see bigger hills starting again. I then got a few pictures of how the terrain has turned to pretty much desert with cliffs and ridges.

The final ride photo is my entering Wyoming by the welcome sign. As soon as we hit Wyoming, oil wells started popping up regularly. I don’t know if that is due to permit / law differences or if that’s just where the oil starts.

Our motel is really old school. The rooms are actually room and nice. I may start trying some local hotels and motels when I travel if I can validate that they are nice online.

High Carb Intake (Funny But Gross Story)

So, eating so much high carb food when riding can mess with your stomach. We’re downing sports drinks and gels at a level that wouldn’t make sense in any other context. Anyway, one of the guys had a bit of an emergency. Some others came upon him having to go poop over in the bushes by the road. They razzed him good at lunch. His response was apparently a famous movie line — “Don’t trust a fart if you’re over 50”.

More On Chafing Cream 

You can see where someone grabbed a shot of me applying anti-chafing cream. We have a few rules around applying it. I’ll put it into a soccer context in honor of the world cup.

First, you are free to apply the chafing cream openly. If random people are around, you should be discreet and hide behind the door if possible.

Second, when applying the cream you are not to make eye contact with anyone else while you are rubbing it in. Doing so is like a yellow card and everyone will razz you.

Third, under no circumstance do you make eye contact while applying chafing cream with another person applying chafing cream as you are both rubbing it on. That is a major foul and like a red card. Each person should be avert their eyes before they get caught and razzed much harder than for random eye contact with others.

Last, if two people applying chafing cream make eye contact and then maintain it, they may be ejected from the remainder of the ride if caught.

You either found this little discussion hilarious or horrifying. I find it hilarious, of course!