Thursday July 7th, Riverton WY to Casper WY, 120 miles, 2900 feet of climbing
Today was the longest distance (120 miles) of the tour but not close to being the longest day. I was able to average a surprising 18.4 miles per hour, thanks to tailwinds, and a straight, not too hilly route (almost exclusively on Route 26 East). Actually the day started with headwinds and for the first time we utilized pace lines ( for drafting purposes) for an extended period of time. However by the second SAG at 61 miles, the winds were behind us and we no longer needed pace lines and were almost flying into Casper. In addition to the winds we were very fortunate again with moderate temps peaking in the low 80s. All in all a day that could have been extremely hard ended up being quite manageable.
There isn't a whole lot between Riverton and Casper except for some low density ranching. The highlight was viewing "Hell's Half Acre" at the 75 mile mark, a very deep ravine with caves and rock formations. Native American tribes used the ravines to drive bison to their deaths during hunts.
We are staying in a Ramada Inn in Casper where we will have an off day tomorrow. Casper is the second largest city in Wyoming with a population of 55,000.
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Inside a small bar in the middle of nowhere Wyoming, where we stopped for our 2nd SAG stop
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| Hell's One-Half Acre |
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| With Jim from Mass. |
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| N. Platte River coming into Casper |
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