We knew it was going to be hot again and we had some long steep climbing to do today so after a tasty breakfast burrito and filling our water bottles we were on the road by around 08:30.
The first 10 miles or so were on a paved road and we did increase our max speed record to 39.5 mph! Then we turned off onto a very unsatisfactory loose gravel road. Riding on loose gravel is easily twice as hard as riding on a hard dirt road. I am not complaining, mind you, I just want to ensure our esteemed followers are more fully aware of the adversity we overcome on a routine basis.
On the way up, we were passed rather routinely by ATV’s which made a LOT of dust. At one point, as I saw some approaching I made a somewhat disparaging remark about ATV riders. The first rider stopped to talk with us and told us they were taking some kids with cancer on an ATV trip… Gotta stop those snap judgements.
So anyway, we climbed and climbed up the steep, loose road and reached the Continental Divide crossing at Union Pass at 9,700′ around lunch time (if you eat lunch at 1:00). Then after dropping down to 9,000′ we had a very roly poly ride on an even worse road for the next 20 miles. We did see a cow moose with a calf and watched the calf run and cavort for 5 or 10 minutes. We also watched some antelope- love seeing wildlife! (Antelope are difficult to photograph, because by the time you see them, they have already seen you, and are on the run).
Then, after 42 hard miles, we arrived at our planned CG at Mosquito Lake. Alas, we found out it didn’t have any amenities, not even a picnic table, but, surprise, there were lots of mosquitos there. So we decided to push on another 14 miles and try for a better CG AND give ourselves an easier ride to Pinedale the next day.
So we did push on and rode on increasingly pathetic roads (to be fair to Wyoming DOT, we were in the middle of nowhere in WY) and eventually arrived at a very nice CG right on the Green River after almost 7 hours of riding. The last 10 miles of road was extremely rough, with embedded boulders as well as large, loose rocks everywhere. We were amazed that our bikes and trailers held together! And the frosting on the cake was all the open range cattle in the roadway. Despite best efforts, both Buck and JD hit wet cow flops and still need to clean the bikes and equipment.
Daily totals: 56 miles and 3,500′ climbing
Pretty scenery today. Lots of wide meadows with lush grass:
The start of the plateau ride:
This is what our ascent looked like on the Garmin:
These are the highest calorie to weight ratio snacks we have found- and they are tasty too:
Cow and calf moose:
The Green River:
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