We started late because we celebrated another riders birthday, Kristin, the wonder woman, with donuts and candles. Mike and I vowed to skip the normal cereal and bagels and get a real breakfast down the road.
We stopped for second breakfast (1st was the birthday donuts) in Moorcroft. We ate ate the Wild Thing Cafe and feasted on eggs, side pork, hash browns and toast. I realized that we hadn't had a non-cereal, riding day breakfast since we first entered Montana. It was great to have a break off the bike. Better still was the fact that we had already knocked off one-third of the day's ride and had less than fifty to go.
I call the strong riders in this group the "big dogs". They often run in a paceline (which are forbidden on the Big Ride, by the way--some dude broken his hip a few years ago in a paceline accident) and can really fly. If you want to run with the big dogs, you better have the legs.
Tired as I was, I managed to run with the big dogs for a little over 15 miles today. They average speeds of upward of 20 mph over long distances, even up and down grades. I was even able to pull up front for awhile, but in the long run I couldn't hang with them for the whole ride.
The visual highlight of the day was seeing Devil's Tower in the distance, roughly 30 miles away. Many riders were disappointed they couldn't get a closer look. Before yesterday's long ride there was even some talk of a side trip to see the volcanic chimney. Today no one mentioned it.The final 8 miles of our ride was on milled pavement that was being prepared for pavement. It was another bone-jarring ride. Tonight we stay at the Senior Citizens Center in Newcastle, Wyoming. After the last 2 days, everyone thought that it was fitting.
This is our last night in Wyoming. Tomorrow we cross into South Dakota and have a day off the next day in Rapid City.
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