Each day seems to feature some unique cruelty. Today's was "squishy-melty" roads. "Squishy-melty" roads happen when the temperatures are high enough to turn the tar and rock surface to goo in places - usually where some previous repair work has been done. "Squishy-melty" roads give a unique feeling of fishtailing, which is interesting when going downhill at any speed.
| Of course to experience "squishy-melty" roads it has to be extraordinarily hot - which it was today. The little thermometer on my handlebars reached a new record of 105 today. |
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Lots & lots of cool Oregon and Mormon trail & Pony Express historical markers to see today. We crossed "South Pass" which was the major conduit over the Continental Divide for all of these trails. I'm learning to enjoy actually stopping to read these markers along the way. This ain't no race . . . who knows when I'll be back thru here again.
| Way off in the distance is South Pass (you see why they chose to cross the Rockies here). One of the constants in Wyoming has been rumble strips in the shoulders - you get your choice of either riding in traffic (smooth but possibly hazardous) or riding in that little strip between the dirt and the rumble strips (more debris and tough to avoid "road yummies"). |
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| Amy visited an old defunct mining town that was a big gold boom town in the late 1800's |
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And speaking of speed - after 12 days of pedaling now, I've found an all-day pace that I can lock into and just motor along. It ain't fast but it covers ground, seems to preserve me for the next 100-mile push the next day, and doesn't tax me too hard. I wonder if I'm now doomed to 'touring cyclist pace' for the rest of my cycling career?
Indeed today the plan had been to stop at a campground at the 68-mile mark (since yesterday was so long) but when we got there it sure seemed like punching in for another 30 miles would position us even better for an overnighter tomorrow IN A HOTEL in Rawlins. So my easy 68-miler turned into an impromptu 99-miler after all.
Have re-joined the classic TransAmerica Route after leaving it in Oregon (and have already seen a couple of TransAm'ers riding - one dude on a recumbent trike!). Really am disappointed to not have been able to go through the Togwatee Pass area in Central Wyoming - would have been way cooler than two days of full-on desert travel . . . but again, the indignity of a 5-10 mile car shuttle through that construction would have been mentally devastating.
| A really cool stretch of road somewhere along the way. |
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