Kremmling, Colorado, to Silverthorne, Colorado -- 38 miles

We woke at 5:30 am, and began biking at 6:30 am. The traffic was still bad, despite our early start. It was another tense day on the road - we were pedaling furiously to reach our destination. Most drivers are not aware that a bicycle with a fluorescent triangle (indicating a slow-moving vehicle) is entitled to ride anywhere in the lane. The shoulder widened about 6 miles before Silverthorne. We reached town by 10:30 am, and stayed in a private room at the Alpen Hutte hostel.

We ate lunch, then went to the Pearl Izumi outlet store to look at bicycle clothes! Lenny got a new long-sleeve jersey. We also got lightweight fleece sleeping bags at the Coleman outlet store, and sent our heavier Polarguard bags back home. We went to get groceries, and when we came out, it was raining heavily. We went back to the hostel to shower, cook dinner and relax. Lorraine made stir-fry chicken, vegetables, and rice in the kitchen, while Lenny seam-sealed the tent rain fly. We went to bed at 8:30 pm.

Walden, Colorado, to Kremmling, Colorado -- 62 miles

Happy Anniversary! Lenny and Lorraine celebrated 5 years of wedded bliss today. The festivities included: Biking up hills! Camping in the rain! Cooking over a campstove! We got on the road at 7:15 am. The route was mostly rolling hills. We met Dusten Dennis & Melissa Rasmussen from Monterrey, California, who are biking west-to-east along their own route, ending in Washington, DC. They were traveling very light, and we asked them questions about how they were able to accomplish that. They were using one rectangular sleeping bag between the two of them with a bottom sheet that they attached to the sleeping bag with snaps. They were also buying food at their evening destination, to avoid carrying any excess weight. Dusten also created his own adaptations of bike tools that were lighter but just as effective. We talked to them about vertebral subluxation, and they said they’d be interested in checking out our website.

We ate lunch at the top of Muddy Pass (elevation 8,772 feet). As we turned onto US 40, the shoulder disappeared and the vehicles became more impatient and more aggressive. We experienced more intolerance in this 40-mile stretch than in the previous 1,800 miles combined. We reached Kremmling at 2:30 pm and met a biker named Jen, headed east-to-west. We camped behind the old fire station for free with fellow bikers Dan, Theresa and Jen. Lorraine cooked pasta and sauce. It started raining heavily around 6 pm and continued until 10 pm.

Riverside, Wyoming, to Walden, Colorado -- 51 miles

It took us awhile to get the show on the road this morning. The mosquitoes continued to attack as we broke down camp, then Lenny experimented with packing the bikes differently, and made a few phone calls before we left. We started biking at 9:20 am. No wind today - just rolling hills.

The sky was cloudy and we heard thunder in the distance, so we were biking to keep ahead of the storm. It began raining, just spits at first, then harder and heavier. Lenny was afraid that we would be a ripe target for lighting, being the highest object on the plains and riding metal bikes, so we pulled over at Ginger Quill Ranch and knocked on the manager’s door. There was no answer - just a big barking dog in the house - so we stood on a covered porch for about 15 minutes to let the storm subside. There were two hummingbird feeders hanging from the roof; we watched the hummingbirds chase each other and touch down a few feet away from us to sip from the feeder.

When it stopped raining, we continued cycling, then took a break to eat lunch by the Platte River. We arrived in Walden at 3:00 pm and stayed at the North Park Motel. We had a great dinner at the Moose Corner Restaurant.

Rawlins, Wyoming, to Riverside, Wyoming -- 64 miles

We woke at 6:15 am and started biking at 7:45 am. Lorraine had no pain from her injuries, but wore a band-aid on her lip to cover the stitches. There was a lot of road construction, which made the roads quite narrow. We asked the construction workers for permission to ride on the road that was closed off and they consented. Even though the roads were rough, we had no cars to deal with for about 10 miles. We ate our PB&J sandwiches for lunch in a turn-out by the side of the road. We met Walter Francke, a former professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who was biking east-to-west.

We stopped in Saratoga, but there was no camping, so we ate lunch/dinner at Stumpy’s Cafe and continued another 18 miles to Riverside. We stayed at the Lazy Acres Campground, and escaped to our tent early because the mosquitoes wanted to eat us alive.

Jeffrey City, Wyoming, to Rawlins, Wyoming -- Lenny, 67 miles; Lorraine, 7 miles

We got up at 6:00 am - Lenny had a few phone calls to make, and we started biking at 7:20 am. We had gone about 7 miles when Lenny stopped suddenly because he saw an antelope. Lorraine had been following close behind and did not hear him say “stopping” because of the wind. Her front tire hit his back tire and she went flying off the bike, kissing the ground with the left side of her face. Her top lip was bleeding a lot, and Lenny got out the first aid kit to bandage it up. 

We were still 55 miles away from Rawlins, but a kind woman named Sheila Underwood stopped to help - she was on her way to pick up her daughter from the airport in Denver, Colorado. She could only fit one bike in her car, so we decided that Lorraine should go to the hospital while Lenny continued on his bike. Lorraine had a gash in the area between her upper lip and nose that required stitches, and they also cleaned up her other cuts and scrapes. Her upper lip was swollen and scary-looking. Lorraine passed the time in the waiting room, reading and composing e-mails to friends, and worrying about Lenny, all by himself on the road. Lenny said he was biking as fast as he could, but the incredible headwind and road construction slowed his pace. He tried to hitchhike, but no one stopped to give him a ride!

When he arrived, we went to the grocery store, had dinner at Pizza Hut, and checked into the Jade Motel. There was a heavy thunder and hailstorm, so we were happy to be indoors, watching “Pretty Woman” on TV!

Lander, Wyoming, to Jeffrey City, Wyoming -- 60 miles

We had planned to get up earlier, but slept in until 6:15 am. We packed up camp and rode to McDonald’s for breakfast, then biked out of town at 8:00 am. On the road, we met brothers Ed and Ernie MacPhearson, who are biking to Washington State. Ernie is from Coburg, Oregon, a town on the Adventure Cycling route, and Ed is from Washington. They were biking to Ed’s home. We took their photos. 

The scenery was comprised of dry brown hills and sagebrush. We stopped at a rest area and ate lunch with Ed Thomas from England. As we continued biking, we hit a strong headwind. It looked like a storm was coming in - we were riding with blue sky and clouds on the right, and dark clouds, lightning and thunder on the left. We got to Jeffrey City at about 3 pm and it was like a modern-day ghost town - lots of abandoned buildings, and only a few places were open. We stopped at the post office, and the clerk mentioned that people left town after the uranium mine closed. We checked in at the J.C. Motel, and were lucky to get a room because there was only one or two left. The room had air conditioning and was a delight after the miserable night we spent in Lander. 

We had dinner at the Split Rock Cafe. When we walked in, we were not sure if it was open for business because there were no people there and all the lights were out, even in the bar. Lorraine believes it was to keep the place cool because there was no air conditioning. We went into the bar side of the building and asked the owner if he was still serving and he said yes. The owner was working as bartender, waiter, and cook - he was gruff and a bit strange to us, like many we have met in the state of Wyoming. The burger Lenny had and the roast beef sandwich Lorraine had were quite good. The french fries were freshly cut by hand. There were four cycle tourists that came in just as we were finishing our meal. Lenny decided to have a beer to hang out with the locals who were drinking and chatting in the bar. On the cash register was a bumper sticker that said, “Don’t trust a government that tries to take away your guns.” A number of café customers came in and the owner seemed annoyed, like he wanted to spend time on the bar side with the locals instead. 

Lenny was taking photos around town and met two of the cycle tourists who were on a tandem - Martin and his son Claus Versluys. Lenny took their photo. Martin had participated in the BikeCenntennial ride in 1976. They were riding for two weeks from Pueblo, Colorado, to Missoula, Montana. He owns the Acorn B&B in Virginia with his wife Kathy. He mentioned that the owner of the cafe said that the mine shut down after Three Mile Island. The banks pulled out, and that was the end of the mine. He said, however, the mine has been reclaimed and they are now mining it again. Bill Coats, the owner of the J.C. Motel, told him that he used to pump millions of gallons of gas and had about 8 pumps. He said there used to be about 2,000 people living in the town - now, there are just 100.

Dubois, Wyoming, to Lander, Wyoming -- 76 miles

We got up at 6 am, even though Lenny didn’t want to wake up, and started biking at 7 am. At a service station, we met 5 guys who are also biking the TransAm, but doing more miles than us each day. The route was mostly downhill, with a few rolling hills. As we left Dubois, the landscape was a postcard desert with beautiful rock cliffs and buttes - Lenny stopped many times to take pictures. We met Roger and Steve, who are also biking to NJ, but following a different route. Around noon, we stopped at a rest area with covered picnic tables to eat lunch. After being in the sun all morning, it was a treat to get in the shade. These rest areas are like a little oasis in the harsh, arid high desert. 

Even with breaks, we were averaging 10 mph. Then, the headwind picked up and slowed us down. Biking through Wind River Indian Reservation, the landscape became even more desolate. We arrived in Lander at 2:30 pm and camped in the City Park for free. We tried to call Dave, but there was no answer, so we ate dinner at McDonald’s instead. It started raining for a while, but stopped by 8 pm. This evening’s camping was just awful. We were hot, sticky, uncomfortable, and unable to fall asleep because of all the noise from people using the park. There were children screaming, adults screaming, dogs barking, fire sirens blaring, and woodpeckers pecking. We finally fell asleep around 10:30 pm.