Kevin – Tuesday. As of last night, the projection was for much warmer temps, higher winds, much more sun and higher humidity for today. After discussing it, we decided to get as early a start as we could – right after sunup at 5:26 AM if possible.
Mark is an avid biker. Denny and I are biking dilettantes. We spent last evening making sure our tires were properly pumped, gear selectors working, safety items ready to wear, fluids and snacks packed and ready to go.
Things being what they are, we didn’t get off until near 6 and with some unscheduled (but necessary stops) Denny and Mark didn’t start biking until about 6:30. Your Humble Correspondent scouted the route ahead (busy roads vs. safer roads) and gave directions to the bikers for the first few miles. We still have to have a sag wagon to get us back and forth to the RV.
For Denny and I, it’s been three full weeks since we were in the saddle. That’s begging (at our age) for pain and lassitude. Denny opted for about 7 miles before handing the horse reins over to me. Mark is in the saddle for the whole enchilada.
Now, we’ve been on some roads whose names are descriptive, some that are humorous and many that are connected to people, places and things. But today, we’re on perhaps the most disturbingly named road of all; Poison Spider Road. It curves around the north and west sides of Casper. Looking online, there’s an undocumented story that an 1800’s surveyor got bitten by a spider and died from his injury. I couldn’t find a source for that story but perhaps the local historians can provide proof.
Our biking goal was to get to Avenue of Rocks (aka ‘Devils’ backbone) at 18 miles out from Casper and we almost made it, coming within about 2/3rds of a mile. Those last few hills were killers and biking of rough gravel/dirt roads is much more tiring than on bike trail or highway. It’s still 40 miles from the Backbone to Martin’s Cover and we have another two days planned for that – and we’re technically a day ahead of schedule.
Becky isn’t a biker. She is an artsy person and makes home-made Thank You cards and cards for other occasions. Over-achiever that she is, she cut out and finished 11 Christmas Cards today – and these are INTRICATE designs. Just so you know, you’ll never receive a Christmas card that impressive from Denny or I.