DAY TWELVE - HAPPY OUT OF WYOMING

INTO DARKNESS

Early Bird gets the worm; God I hope so. Mark and I got up around 0300 hrs to take advantage of the small lull in the wind. The trailer was amazingly solid and shielded us from the wind. I slept pretty good in my mouse nest. And in full darkness, on automatic, we headed off on the route. We didn't talk much and gradually rode as separate riders with our thoughts. This day, better be a little more gentle on our fragile mental state.

I rode alone for several hours with Mark receding behind me to the point that I couldn't see his head lamp at all in the wide open road. Considering that he was such a strong rider, I wondered what was going through his head after the last few days of hardship. There hadn't been a single place to warm up since we woke up. When the sun, three hours later, was finally about to shine over the ridge, I decided to stop and walk up the side of the road side and meet it half way. I was frozen solid, hands and feet barely functioned. At the sun-line, I sat there and let the rays warm me up before being able to open up some food bags. And after about 20 minutes Mark appeared.

SUN

The sun was out now and everything was going to be alright. The wind was not as strong and the course had taken a turn, putting that damn wind to our favour ever so slightly. Mark charged up ahead and I would only see him again briefly much later that day. Everybody needs to ride his/her own pace. We all have our energy pushes at different times and you can't waste those pushes. And I'm sure we were both considering the possibility that a few more kicks-in-the-twiggs and berries by the weather could 'marc' our end in the TABR.

My public message for the day: Brush your teeth. I read from Janie's blog of TABR 2016 on how she got a rather painful canker sore. I was determined not to add canker sore to my pain bucket, so I brushed my teeth about four times a day -- The middle two times was while I rode. It worked! And I'm sure five out of five dentist approve. My bike smelled good too.

The continental divide sign appears again at 7214' about 1000' higher than Muddy Gap. The next few days would all be at 6.8k' or higher... much higher. The next 70 miles in Wyoming would be pleasant enough except for the highway 80 section after Sinclair. This very busy road with every truck of America on it and the construction detours was a rude awaking that the world was going on around us as we did this race. But, soon enough the course would hang a right turn back to solitary quiet roads. I passed one rider while another zoomed by me -- Everybody on a different push.

The three hard days in Wyoming could not end soon enough. The joy of reaching Colorado was palpable. The traffic on these roads where almost none existent and the scenery was changing for the better. I was on my third set of replacement earphones listening to some bagpipe music with a smile.

WHERE ARE THE MOUNTAINS?

I always thought Colorado was just one big ski town with beautiful mountains all around you. What I found was the 80% of my time in Colorado would be relatively flat. The weather was cooperating nicely. The haze of constant biking set in, and I wouldn't remember much from that afternoon's ride

LONGEST RIDE EVER

It would take me forever to cover the last miles into Walden. The departing sun was setting behind me and I could see far ahead my evening stop -- the town of Walden. To pass the time, I counted utility polls along the road and wouldn't look up until I hit 20 polls. About 300 polls later just as the kitchen was closing at the Antlers Inn, I arrived.

I had no idea it was the moose viewing capital of Colorado.

As I was contemplating where to stay and rolling around town, I saw Mark walking to the gas station to get some food. And I thought I heard him say something of a motel down the street. I decided to go into the Antlers Inn for some painkilling beverages. They were completely booked, so I knew I would have to move on. The kitchen was closed, but I managed to convince the bartender to get me the scraps.

She came back a few minutes later with some meaty soup and a basket of bread rolls. This time, the food wasn't free. The Inn manager came by and told me that she had a cancelation and could give me a "nice" room for the same price as the "not so good place" down the street. I said "sounds great and lets repeat my drink order".

The room was huge with a shower that you could play squash in. What a difference from the night before. Washed myself and all my clothe and fell asleep pretty fast in my cowboy room

This was a pretty good day all be it a little lonely. Covered 157 miles and would get a decent night sleep. My bike was working great and had some fresh cleats that sticked to my pedals, what more could a boy want.