Riverton to Worland, WY 94 miles.
A beautiful, but tough day. We are definitely out of cold country. It only went down to 55, and the tents were dry. Some people slept under the stars, and I'm going to try that tonight, mosquitos permitting. It will save 15 minutes in the morning, and after riding in the heat of the day today, an earlier start is proscribed.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. The cool morning was pefect for riding and the highway out of Riverton was flat & I finished the first 20 miles in little over an hour. The route went down Wind River Canyon, a journey in geologic time. The road signs call out the various eras & how many millions of years ago. The canyon walls were just beautiful; the colors of the rocks changing as the path moved along in time.
The picnic stop was at the end of the canyon, where I arrived at 10:30. I was anxious to get back on the road before it got hotter, but the mechanics wanted to put my new wheel on Jake to get a good break-in period before I go out on my own. So, Jake got a shiny & strong new 'shoe' at lunch, and I was delayed about 45 mins. That didn't matter much because the sun was just so unrelenting, & the terrain so shadeless, that the rest of the ride to Worland was a series of stops to fill up the water bottles and reapply the sunscreen. I had a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup milkshake at Arby's as soon as I made it into town.Mmmmmm, that hit the spot.
Tomorrow, we're told, is the toughest day of the tour, with 8000 feet of climbing (double any previous efforts), and temps again in the high 90s.I plan to be on the road at first light to get a jump on that heat.