Greetings from Jeffrey City, WY! Before jumping into the details of our journey, we’d like to thank our latest donors, the Ventura Museum Part Timers, Gregory and Cameron West, and Danielle from Belgium, your support is very much appreciated by us and the people helped by Action Against Hunger. We are closer to our goal of $1,000 and we are counting on our readers to make that goal a reality.

Click Here to donate to Action Against Hunger’s life-saving efforts worldwide!

 

 

We don’t know much about Wyoming but we quickly learned one disappointing fact: the wind blows something fierce around these parts. The day we crossed the border was rough. We left Walden, CO once the rain had cleared but the local thermometer read a chilling 39 degrees at 10am. Shortly after leaving town Mi’s back tire lost a battle with a bent, rusty nail. The nail had plunged almost all the way into the tire so the damage was more extensive than the slime could fix. It was cold out and changing the tube on the back tire is more fussy than the front so the process was all the more unpleasant. At noon we finally began our day.

The wind was coming in from the side at 30-40 mph blowing with it the occasional snow flakes and/or freezing rain. We got to the Wyoming border, made a quick sandwich then jumped back on our bikes if only to stay warm.

That evening we stayed in Riverside, WY at a lovely campground named Lazy Acre. The owners were excited to see us, said they heard we were on our way, and hoped we were going to stop and stay with them. We made camp, had dinner, and once we were warm quickly drifted off to sleep.

As we expected it rained over night forcing us to stay later in the morning in order to let our tent and bags dry off. We set off ready to tackle a 60 mile day but got 20 miles down the road to Saratoga and decided to stay when we saw the signs for hot springs.

The next morning we had breakfast in town and then hit the road again to ride the 40 miles to Rawlins, our halfway point. On our way out of the restaurant we met another cyclist who was headed in the same direction so when we departed we hoped to cross paths again later down the road.

After another day of struggling against the wind the other cyclist did catch up with us and we rode the last nine miles into town together. Our new friend, Henry, stayed in the same hotel and we were virtually inseparable for the duration of his stay. Henry left Monday but we had a package waiting for us at the post office and due to Memorial Day we had to wait to leave until Tuesday. We gladly spent another day resting and eating everything we could get our hands on.

Early this morning we had breakfast at the hotel, went to the post office to pick up the package (thanks Brian and T for keeping us healthy!) and then began the second half of our journey.

We decided we want to make it the 350 miles to West Yellowstone in 7 riding days, which means riding at least 50 miles a day. We passed the first of five continental divides 10 miles outside of Rawlins, then headed to Lamont (23 miles away) for our lunch break. When we arrived at the only establishment in Lamont, 3 other cyclists were also enjoying their mid-day break: two Germans going in the same direction as us, and one ex-marine in the opposite. He told us we must get 33 miles down the road to Jeffrey City where he stayed with nice man named Byron who took him and our friend Henry in. Even though the wind was against us again, we pushed on passed the second continental divide of our Wyoming tour in order meet this generous person.

Between Lamont and Jeffrey City is Muddy Creek, a historical junction of the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, and the gold rush California trail. Split Rock National Monument is a unique feature in the landscape that helped emigrants and the fearless riders of the Pony Express find their way west. We stopped briefly, then continued on the meet Byron.

Byron is a potter, and artist who has let hundreds if not thousands of cyclists stay in his trailer where we will stay as well. We just had dinner at the cafe where he works, and now will check out the trailer he has named “The Octopuses Garden.”

Henry texted us and said he is in Lander and when we get there tomorrow to give him a call so we can meet back up and all ride together. We are excited to see our friend, the only person our age that we have wanted to hang out with thus far.

Thanks for staying tuned and interested in our journey. If you haven’t had a chance to visit Action Against Hunger’s website to learn more about their incredible programs, please do (and then Click Here to donate to our cause on our team page so we can reach our goal of $1,000 raised!). Goodnight!