7/9/05 Today was an easy ride for Bob. He is staying at a KOA Camp Ground at Devils Tower (Anyone remember that from Close Encounters of a Third Kind, 1977?). He hasn't seen any space ships yet, but maybe tonight. Not too much to report from todays ride. Tomorrow will be a rest day. New riders will show up for a week or twos ride and some will leave the group. On Tuesday, they will leave Wyoming and enter South Dakota.
7/8/05 Todays ride was short 72 miles, in 95 degree heat. The group rode along an interstate all day, which Bob says is boring, with no services. Staff members Nancy, Jim, Wayne and Christine did a great job keeping everyone well hydrated and good food during the day. Miles and miles of rolling hills with no trees or shade. Fortunately, this tour is planned for maximum miles along scenic roads, so tomorrows ride is supposed to be better. Last night, they stayed in Buffalo, in a historic hotel built in the 1800s. Up until 1972, it was a bordello. Purchased and restored to its original condition, it is very interesting. I has a bar complete with bullet holes put there by wives looking for their husbands during its days as a bordello. Bobs bike is holding up well, and he is very happy with it.
7/7/05 Bob reports that it was a tough day today. Most people on the tour consider the ride from Worland to Buffalo to be the hardest part of the coast-to-coast ride. There is lots of riding 1000 feet up then 500 down, 500 feet up, 100 down. Climbing the pass was not particularly scenic, and there were many false summits. He said you could see the top, ride to it, and find that there is another drop and another big climb. They are above the snow line. Tomorrows ride will be much easier, although they are riding along an interstate (you can do that legally out West).
7/6/05 Bob reports a good day today. He finished the days ride before three other riders. He had a little more information about Riverton, where they stayed last night. There are 3 dams in Riverton, built in the 1920's. Riverton was the subject of a movie made about the taking of land and flooding it for reservoirs Bob says that, if it wasn't for irrigation, there would be nothing around Riverton. Everything that is green has to be irrigated. This morning, Bob rode through a mini Grand Canyon. He said it was very beautiful! Although the morning was cool, the temperature climbed over 100 degrees in the afternoon, making the end of the day a tough ride. Bob is very concerned about tomorrow. Between the high temperatures and an 8000 foot climb, he says it is the hardest day of the whole trip.
As Bob was riding along today, someone yelled "Hey! You!". He stopped and looked around, saw a house, but no one around. Then again, "Hey You!" It was a parrot in the window of the house, successfully stopping people as they rode by!
7-5-05 Today was an easy day, only 76 miles. Bob says quite a bit of the day was riding downhill. Nights have been cool; it was 38 degrees this morning, however, the day gets hot after lunch. Tomorrow the temperature will be in the 90s which will be a tough day. Thursday will be worse. They will climb 8000 feet in hot weather!
7-4-05 Bob left camp at 6:00 am in an effort to finish his day a little earlier at camp. He was disappointed to be the last in again, but he is building strength and stamina. He is having to take fewer rest breaks. The people who made it into Dubois early rode in the Dubois 4th of July parade. Unfortunately, it was all over by the time Bob made it in. The climb today was 3000 feet, most of it gradual until the last 4 miles when it became very steep. The crossed the Continental Divide today. Bob says tomorrow should be an easy day, only 76 miles and very flat.
7-3-05 Sunday is the groups day off. New riders come on for the next leg of the trip and some riders leave. They have a varied group from all over the world. They have people from Hawaii, Holand, Canada and England. There are 55 people on the Wyoming leg of the trip; about 40% of them women. The number of people doing the whole Seattle to Boston trip is about 45. There is an Ace Hardware team raising over a million dollars for a children's hospital. Bob says he is getting to know more people.
Bob expects tomorrow's ride to be another tough day. They will be going over another pass at 9600 feet above sea level.
7-2-05 Bob rode from Ashton to Jackson, Wyoming on Saturday. He says it was his toughest day yet, partly because of the climb but more because of cross winds. "The top of the hill you can see, the wind you can't and it really wears you down" says Bob. Of course, everything that goes up, must come down, and the steep downhills can be dangerous. The group managers recommended that, if the riders wouldn't take the van down the ill, to let some aire out of the tires to reduce brake-wear. (??) Some members of the group are absolutely adamant about never accepting a ride from the sag wagons, and one person did crash on the way down the mountain. Another guy who developed a bubble on the side of his tire, flagged down a sag wagon and insisted that they patch it with postal tape until he could find a replacement.