Sunday, July 09, 2006
Day 20 - Lusk, Wyoming - July 8th 2006
Weather: Sunny changing to rain. Light winds
Location: Lusk, WY (from Casper, WY)
Miles per day: 106.7
Average miles per hour: 14.10
Elevation climb: neutral
Blizzards/Ice Cream to date: 14
Flat Tires to date: 1
Coming off a rest day, I was confident for an easy cruise. Not quite the case. Firstly, we were on to doing another Century. Secondly, we were playing cat and mouse with the weather all day. Although for the most part, we successfully alluded the rain (apart from the last 15 miles).
Today's terrain was very flat with a few rolling hills. During the day, in the distance, we bid farewell to the Rockies (Mount Evans) as we headed East.
The most excitemet we had was attempting to outrun a train. The faster riders did it easily. Myself, I was not so lucky. For a long time, I thought I might but slowly these 80 plus car trains overcame my will to win. It was great fun watching the trains come and go along the highway all day.
Our fickle invisible friend (the wind) was very mysterious today. We were all unsure what to expect but most were expecting headwinds. The biggest hint of the day was to notice the direction of the snow fences. It was not good. They were facing towards us - an indication that wind would be heading our way. Although, we were not sure if maybe the winter and summer winds are different. What we did know for sure was that Mother Nature was threatening all day with heavy clouds and possibility of rain. For cyclist, I am told that's good news as it mitigates the danger of the wind. Sure enough, very little wind and until late in the day, very little rain. After the last Sag Stop (official rest stop), it started to sprinkle which then turned into pelting (near hail) rain. It's the first time I've ridden in rain and the biggest challenge was the trucks coming by spraying up a storm and blocking my vision. Luckily, with just 9 miles to go, we made our way into Lusk.
Lusk is a small town with a population of 1444. Great fun as they were having their town cowboy and indians parade and rodeo. We arrived just in time for the parade. It was a reenactment of the 1840s. It was quite good fun.
