Day 35 - Unintended Century - 123 Miles

June 29 - Lander to Rawlins, 123 miles, my second century and longest century by 11 miles. I left Lander at 8:00 and rode 55 miles until Kathy caught up with me. She had gone for a walk and grocery shopping for our intended camp at Jeffrey City campground at mile 63. Well, Jeffrey City was all boarded up except for a small bar and what may have been a small motel. The only thing missing from the scene was tumbleweed blowing down the street. We decided to move on from this uninviting place 22 miles to Muddy Gap. Nothing there but Kathy got permission to camp in a guy's front yard. Picture a trailer (his home) and gravel and sage brush front yard without a tree within 50 miles. On to the next option - Grandma's Cafe 11 miles down the road - closed. I met Kathy there and told Kathy "I can do Rawlins" another 40 miles. She suggested a KOA campsite. I said a "Comfort Inn" with cold air conditioning sounded better after 123 miles. Done!

I had an unexpected 1,000-foot climb late morning and crossed the Continental Divide twice in the afternoon. I took nutritional aid from Kathy twice late afternoon, otherwise, pedaled my 70-pound rig & ate & drank from my supplies. Water was available sparingly along the way; at Muddy Gap gas station, I had a chocolate ice cream bar and an iced green tea. Ate peanut butter bagel for lunch and during the day had 3 apples, 10 Fig Newtons, 3 or 4 bananas, 2 Gatorades, and lots of water. During the day I crossed the Great Divide Basin, a vast, seemingly barren and desolate area. Not a cloud in the sky, temp in mid 80s. Used lots of SPF 70 and chapstick for lips. Fairly certain I saw wild horses today far from any ranch on Bureau of Land Management (BLM land). Saw a couple dozen antelope. It was a fine day and I felt good at the end of it.