Day Forty-two (67.1 miles, 1975.36 total): Cloudy Days To Desert Plains

5:30AM RING! RI- I shut off my phone and go back to sleep. 6:15AM and daylight is creeping in under the curtains. I had slept later than I had intended! I send a message to Bill to see what his plans are this morning. He is already eating breakfast and heading back to the room to pack. Ella is pacing back and forth like a sentry and I take her outside for her morning routine. Once I'm back in, I quickly pack away all of my gear and make sure my tires are inflated. Bob is barely awake, but he heads to the lobby with me for breakfast. I have three bowls of Frosted flakes and four blueberry muffins for breakfast. Bob is being a bum and packing about as fast as a sloth. Carol is still here because she has to go to the post office as soon as it opens.

I wheel my bike out into the hall and load my panniers onto the racks. Bob and I walk down to the front desk to pay for the bill. I head back to the room and get Ella settled in her Captain's Chair. Bob isn't anywhere close to ready, so I take my bike and ride out front to meet Bill and Carol. The three of us roll out and start our ride to Jeffery City. Carol splits off and heads for the Post Office. Bill and I ride on into the grey morning. I have to stop and put on another layer to knock off the morning chill. Leaving Rawlins is just one big uphill. Bill and I didn't even realize how far up the hill we had gone until we looked back. It is amazing how good conversation can distract you from things like a droning hill.

On and on we climbed into the clouds. The hills were far from difficult and we were enjoying the day. A while later, we finally reach the top and come to a Continental Divide sign. While we are stopped for pictures, Carol catches up with us. A low fog hangs over the cliff faces of the mountains and a heavy set of clouds blanket the sky. The morning is even colder than we first thought, so we all stop in the middle of a downhill to put on a few more layers. I only have fingerless gloves and deeply regret not having full gloves for cold days. Damp, cold mornings and flying down a hill at 30+mph do not mix at all! My hands felt like they were frozen into claws on my handles bars.

Near the bottom of the massive downhill, I can see some cool shots for photos and stop to capture them. Bill and Carol keep on going without me. After I put away my camera, I stomp on the pedals as hard as I can to catch them and it warmed me up a bit! By the time I catch Bill and Carol, the headwinds have caught us as well. We fight against the winds for the rest of the long, cold morning. The shoulders turn to broken up asphalt and stuttered rumble strips. We criss cross between the road and non existent shoulder as morning traffic flies by. The roads are generally flat but the wind is holding us back.

Carol is way ahead of me and Bill dropped out of sight behind us. I have to pee like a race horse but there are no hide aways from traffic. Finally after a few miles of holding it like a camel, I find an old cattle guard to hide behind. Sweet, sweet relief! After the tank was emptied, I felt like a new man and had a boost of energy to use. I catch up to Carol and we wait for Bill in what used to be the town of Lamont long ago. There is absolutely nothing here, but we stop and eat some lemon pound cake that Carol had been nice enough to share.

The sun is out in the distance and we race on against the constant force of wind. We crest another hill where we cross the Continental Divide once again. Carol races on, but Bill and I take our time to enjoy the scenery around us and snap a few photos. The shoulder finally widens and we have a great lane to cruise in. It's stunning to see the high desert blanket the land around us and wash right up against towering walls of rock in the distance and it is as beautiful as it is desolate out here.

Finally we have a massive downhill and we are able to coast for awhile. The winds stay constant and we have to pedal to keep good pace as we near the bottom. Bill and I stop to admire an immense rock wall that almost resembles poured concrete. In a way, it almost looks like the cuts in the rock were  put there on purpose. The sun breaches the grey veil and shines down with invigorating warmth. We pedal on until we reach Muddy Gap where we spot Carol's bike at a massive convenient store. The sun goes back into hiding just as we pull into the parking lot. We meet another cyclist headed east bound and passed a few of his friends throughout the morning. I got a Gatorade and ate a power bar out of my bags. The cashier was a girl in her early twenties and wouldn't stop hitting on me. It was uncomfortably direct and even followed us out to the parking lot for a few minutes. She couldn't take a hint that I wasn't interested.

Finally we left to finish out the last 22 miles to Jeffery City. The sun finally comes out in full as we work our way up the hills, it is absolutely gorgeous country. There is something about these desert mountains that really makes you see how incredible life truly is. With the sun out, Bill and I stop to take off our long sleeves and enjoy the afternoon warmth. We see a young doe grazing in a field of wild flowers as we continue through the hills. We have a slight headwind, but nothing bad. All three of us stop at Split Rock State Park and take some cool pictures of the spectacular rock formations. I really wish I could have stayed and spent a day or two climbing all over the place there.

After we left Split Rock, Jeffery City was just around the corner. We arrive at the old church we had heard of around 3:00pm. The church is slowly being renovated to be used as a full time hostel for cyclists. A cowboy church is held once a month here. The church was abandoned in the 80's and a couple of locals took it upon themselves to slowly start working on it again. It was a good place to rest our heads for the evening. Rooms, bathrooms, showers, a kitchen, a place to store your bikes. What more could you really need on the road?

After we get settled in, we head on over to the local bar/grill. The bar tender was a funny guy and the food was good. If you stay in Jeffery City on your own tour, there is no cellphone service of any kind and the only wifi available is at the bar. We meet 4 east bound cyclists just as they are leaving the bar and headed for Rawlins. While we sat in the bar, Sarah shows up along with 3 cyclist I met back in Scott City, KS. The three start telling these bikers about how they put in around 60-70 miles a day in, when really they just hitchhike most of the time. They had even hitchhiked to Jeffery City and were going to hitchhike again tomorrow all the way to Lander! Bob finally showed up and confirmed all they did was hitchhike on "hard" days. It was kind of messed up to hear them talking about all the places we worked our asses off to get to and they just rode in a car. If you can't tell, I was a little annoyed and so were the rest of our little crew.

Back at the church, the three plus Sarah come busting in the doors like they own the place and start acting like they are five years old. Bill and I were getting real tired of how obnoxious they were being. None of us could find a quiet spot to work. Every five seconds "BUT MOM!!!!" when they were talking to Sarah. It was ridiculous! Finally Bill and I turned into our room and shut the door. They were blasting crappy music and talking in baby voices until 10:00pm! At long last, they all went silent and we were able to catch a few zzzzz's! Thankfully Bill and I planned on sleeping in tomorrow! I hope you are enjoying our tales from the west and continue to follow us as we make our way into the mountains once again!