Avg Speed: 16.3 mph
Avg Heart Rate: 114 bpm
Climbing: 1,140 ft
Calories Burned: 2,899
Wind River Canyon ... Red Cliffs ... Bee Sting ... Bonk
A day late getting this up thanks to Mark's 3 mistakes...
After a tough day in the wind on Tuesday, the Geldings opted to skip the scheduled breakfast in favor of a few granola bars. The thought was we could beat the expected head wind. This was Mark's mistake number one. The hearty breakfast I should have eaten was two miles the other way from the hotel. A lesson learned ... eat a hearty breakfast. We left around 7 AM with the temperatures cool ... I donned my leg warmers, base layer, jacket, and cold weather gloves. The terrain was pretty flat but amazingly varied.
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| Just Outside Dubois |
Shortly after leaving town we were greeted with some great buttes and then red rock cliffs that reminded me of Arizona.
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| Now This House Has a View |
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| Me and Jeff By The Butte |
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| The Geldings Ride By The Red Cliffs |
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| Similar Shot With the Wind River |
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| Wyoming ... or Arizona |
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| Me Riding By the Rocks |
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| Me Approaching the Rocks |
We quickly entered the Wind River Canyon which provided great contrast to the somewhat barren view on the other side of the road. The canyon colors and lines were very varied and were extremely scenic. The first SAG was at mile 30 and we hit it in just over one hour and 45 minutes.
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| The Layers in Rocks Were Amazing |
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| Unexpected Canyon ... Great Views |
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| Wind River Canyon |
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| More Variations in The Canyon Layers |
The terrain gently went down hill the whole day. We made good time in spite of a light headwind. Temperatures slowly climbed and I shed my jacket and gloves at the second SAG. Scenery had pretty much evaporated, although the Rockies could still be seen in the distance. At the SAG I used a barren field as a potty ... that was Mark's mistake number two. I must have gotten bitten or stung by something in the process.
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| SAG 2 ... Home of the Dreaded Bee |
About five miles after the second SAG I began feeling the sting and my left calf began to itch and swell. I did not think too much of it, but I have had some bad reactions to bee stings and carry an epi pen just in case. Well, this sting was not as bad as others I have had, but it did take it's toll. I began to really loose energy and power and dropped back from the group. Dave pulled back and rode with me while the others went on. I really started to drag and was just plain drained ... a combination of the histamine and lack of fuel from the morning really did me in. about 10 miles from the finish I had to stop. Dave really wanted me to call the van and take a ride in. We were only three miles from the crest of the hill that provided a nice seven mile descent into Riverton, so I told him I could make it. My favorite nurse, Beth, came by and checked me out. I had Benadryl packed, but of course when I switched to my lighter bike bag for the climbs, I did not move it over ... that was Mark's third mistake. Beth had me take a few tums as they have some histamine blocking abilities.
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| Don't Leave Home Without It (and Carry It On Your Bike!) |
The rest of the gang was waiting at DQ. I grabbed a burger and another blizzard, but was still very weak and totally drained. After checking in, I dropped right to bed without even taking my shoes off. Dave picked up the luggage while I zonked. I woke up only to shower and head to dinner. I crashed again as soon as we got back ... I was one sorry sight. With a 120 mile day on tap for Thursday, I was in serious jeopardy of missing a day if I felt like that in the morning. A few Benedryl and Advil helped me rest and counter the effects of the day's mistakes.
The BLOG is being written a day late and as you will read in my next post, things worked out OK ... I had a solid day on Thursday and had no issues pushing the entire 120 miles.
Good night moon ... good night hearty breakfast (won't do that again) ... good night bee in the field ... good night Benedryl ... good night to my trusted companion and saviour Dave (without you I may have gone into a ditch!) ... good night Nurse Beth (that's two times I owe you!) ... good night 12 hours of sleep
