Day 31 100 Mile Day! (LeAnn+Ben)

another popped tire

Our longest ride from Shoshoni to just outside of Dubois. We stopped in Shoshoni to pick up some food to keep us going on the long ride ahead, sadly all they had was donuts which we used to motivate ourselfves every 0 on the mile marker signs.

Everything went well except for a 6 mile detour on a gravel road, due to some major flooding that closed off the main highway to Dubois. This was not a small feat considering we had to walk most of it uphill over the dam.

At a rest stop we ran into a couple of older guys touring and our mouths watered at the sight of their trail mix. It mostly consisted of m&ms and sweet goodness, while our trail mix was a much healthy, but less appetizing option of mostly nuts and seeds. We wished we hadn't skimped on chocolate just because it wasn't on sale. But fortunately, if you wish hard enough for something you are bound to find it. As we left the rest stop, we found two perfectly good, melted mini herseys chocolate bars lying on the side of the highway. When you are on the road long enough and hungry, just about anything tastes good, but nothing can quite compare to a bite sized morsel that's been cooking in the hot sun for an unknown span of time.

6/30/11 No water, but fruit will do (LeAnn+Ben)

We biked all day to make it to a town with water. Luckily a nice hippy lady with a long flowing white skirt pulled over on the side of the road and offered us a bag of organic fruits: pears, oranges and nectarines. After we made to Powder River and couldn't find any sign of water (just another ghost town), the fruit tasted so good and kept us going another 20 miles until the next rest stop.

Triple rainbow....that is all that must be said. 

That night we found a good spot to camp along the side of the road. Behind a big bush

6/28/11-6/29/11 Casper (LeAnn)

The lady from Glenrock let us take showers in the morning and then brought us out to eat for breakfast at the restaurant in town. All one really needs is some good food and a little soap and water every once in a while to keep the spirits soaring. We said our goodbys and headed toward Casper. We took care of a few loose odds and ends: bike shop, library, natural foods coop, etc. That night we slept comfortably in an rv in the backyard of the daughter of the lady from Glenrock.

Next day: very hot, crazy wind, storm. Spent more time at library, practiced some martial arts in the park. Left the town late. One last goodbye wave from the lady we stayed with the night before as she drove the school bus across the last intersection as we left Casper. Crazy random happenstance

6/27/11 Off to Douglas (LeAnn)

After a state patrol officer came to warn us about sleeping on the side of the road in ditches, we rode along the highway a few miles until we reached a tiny town with a population of 101 called Manville. Ben loved it of course! We stopped to use the restroom at the little truckside diner and were amused to find a little sign posted on the front class door of the Mower Man. There was a picture of a larger man riding a lawn mower at the bottom of the page and the ad stated that the man would mow lawns for reasonable prices ranging from $5-$15.

After Manville, we passed through Lost Springs, which had a population of only 4 people and finally made it to Douglas. We stopped at the library and a few young boys talked to us and told us where all of the good places in town were. Then we went to the used book shop in town, bought a couple of books to keep us entertained on the rainy days and finally went to the Maverick gas station for $1 yogurt ice cream cones which we piled higher than one could imagine was possible. Mine completely fell over and covered my hand with sticky goodness, but it was well worth it.

We continued on the rolling highway toward Glenrock and enjoyed some of the most amazing downhill stretches ever. We must have hit 40 mph as we sped down some of the hills.

Finally, as the sun was setting, we pulled off the side of the road for a quick dinner. Then, out of nowhere two older woman pulled over on the side of the road and asked us where we were planning on sleeping for the night. As usual, we always played it by ear and the lady from Glenrock graciously offered us a place to pitch our tent in her backyard in Glenrock alongside a little lamb that she was caring for. It was so nice to have a spot on the soft flat ground and a safe place to sleep for the night.

6/26/11 Hail storm...power outage (LeAnn)

It's always nice waking up to a beautiful clear day with blue skies as far as the eye can see. Our goal was to make it to Lusk, the first city in Wyoming so we could refuel on water and food. The city was at an elevation of a little over 5,000 and if we had had some forethought, we would have realized the challenge that lay in front of us. At 30 miles away form Lusk, we were running short on water and the hills and wind were killing us. We pushed through as always and made it to town with nothing to spare. Then came a surprise, the entire city was having a power outage. The grocery store was closed and we were lucky to find a gas station without lights or gas, but was still running it's cash register on a generator. We stopped for a lunch of tortillas and peanut butter and decided to splurge on Gatoraide(since it was 2 for $3).

Then the storm came in. Pea sized hail and pouring rain fell down on the city with its people driving in and out of the gas station, frustrated about not having gas. Ben and I patiently waited for the storm to pass underneath the roof of the gas station and enjoyed the break from the heat.

After the storm cleared, we biked a few miles down the road to a roadside rest area and Ben cooked a bean and rice dinner while I washed dishes and refilled our water. A few more miles down the highway we made camp again just off the roadside. There was nothing but fences and prairie pasture as far as the eye could see. Another beautiful sunset ended the day.

6/25/11 Last leg of the Mickelson Trail (Ben and LeAnn)

Down hill.... down the hill goes, no need to peddle, no need to sweat all i hear is the rushing of wind and the melodious voice of my girlfriend joyously singing about how all she can see all day is her boyfriends butt, because he always is in front.

It will be the next hit.

We finished the last 30 miles of the Mickelson Trail with ease and pulled into Edgemont. Then off to the grocery store (which i might add had a For Sale sign in front of it,) got a few vittles for the road ahead(mainly tortillas). We stopped at a gas station on the way out of town to refill on water and take shelter from the heat. As we strolled the aisles dreaming of cool beverages(like Gatoraide which was on sale for $1.50, we had a man and his daughter come up to us and ask if we wanted some Gatoraide. They both just happened to be from Hermantown. Thankful and surprised, we accepted the Gatoraide and manderine oranges that he gave us. We decided to wait for the heat to cool off and sat underneath the shade of the gas station roof at a little table, play cards and drink Gaitoraide. I don't think I have ever tasted a beverage quite as satisfying before. A while later, we headed out trying to get past the border by sundown.

As we left Edgemont, ND storm clouds of loomed all around us. They looked quite nasty and dark. There was that one point when we looked into the distance and could see nothing but constant strikes of lightning shooting all the way to the earth. We decided no storm could stop us from getting to Wyoming, and away we went. Lucky again, the edge of the storm was all we got. There was a short period of strong winds and heavy rain, but soon it was over, the skies cleared and we made it to the border. We rode a few more miles into Wyoming, then camped along the side of the highway for the night.

6/24/11-HAIL STORM... or not

We woke up early and slowly got ready to leave, both of us loathed the thought of leaving the woods in exchange for the city. We had to take our gear piece by piece down the hill so the ranger wouldn't see that we were camping in the woods. After we finally got all the gear down we had to repair a popped tire, pump some water and jump in the lake.

After a detour to the library we headed out on the Micklson trail. The road was crushed gravel which i had no problem conquering  with my larger tires but LeAnn was less then pleased. We biked until Custer which was the last big city for a long while.Then the clouds started showing up. Huge billowing clouds at which we dutifully ignored. Until the locals stopped us worrying about us dying in the golf ball sized hail. At least we have helmets.


We took shelter at park, ate dinner and talked to a feisty  woman who i could see totally following us to Alaska if she were a bit younger.

The rain poured, we played cards.

Near dark we left Custer heading for a rest stop on the trail 9 miles away. We were greeted with the wonderful surprise of the trail being completely downhill what a blessing.

We slept out under the stars with only a slight worry of prairie rattle snakes cuddling with us for warmth