I started the day off with a trip to Walmart in Rock Springs. I needed new tubes for my tyres as I've been puncturing like crazy on the interstate. I also got some breakfast and food for the trip.
14 miles I reached a tunnel through one of the mountains with no shoulder in it. After a quick blast through the tunnel, I neared the opening when a lorry came up behind beeping loudly. As I moved back over to the shoulder I turned around to check where the lorry was. At this point I drifted towards the barrier so that by the time I'd faced forward again I was in the gravel. I skidded out and down the road for a way. I grazed my fingers, elbow, knee and backside down my right, and put a nice bruise on my left palm. I also tore the back of my jersey and scratched the casing of my Gopro.
I got up and my immediate thought was that I'd binned it and that my bike would be unrideable. After sitting on the crash barrier shaking and feeling sick from the shock, I started maintenance. The left brake lever was bent, and the rear wheel was misaligned. I'd also bent the right crank arm so now my shoe ran closer to the frame, though luckily still rideable. My panniers were scratched up and one had a hole in that will need patching before it rains again. The worst pain though came from my right big toe which was definitely broken. Ouch!
I stopped for lunch at a services called 'Little America' where I had a bowl of chilli and a yogurt. There, a slightly crazy old lady came up and started asking about my tyres. I was in no mood to chat, and when she started prodding at my wheels I moved away from her.
After leaving the services, the winds picked up again and the hills started again. In the last 25 miles, 3 more large hills took what little energy I had left and took me over 7000ft again.
Finally, the hills gave way to a long 8 mile downhill to Evanston. I raced the sunset as I didn't want to arrive after dark, but the road had other ideas. With 6 miles left I got another rear puncture. I tried pushing some air into it in the hope that it would hold, but only a mile later it was flat again. I stopped and swore loudly, today was really not my day. I changed the tube as quickly as I could and eventually made it to Evanston, where my phone battery ran out and I had to find the motel from memory in the dark.
These last 3 days have been the most challenging of the trip, and possibly of my life. Here's hoping tomorrow's ride into Salt Lake City and Utah is easier and my toe heals quickly.
Miles today: 100.9
Total miles: 2372.9
14 miles I reached a tunnel through one of the mountains with no shoulder in it. After a quick blast through the tunnel, I neared the opening when a lorry came up behind beeping loudly. As I moved back over to the shoulder I turned around to check where the lorry was. At this point I drifted towards the barrier so that by the time I'd faced forward again I was in the gravel. I skidded out and down the road for a way. I grazed my fingers, elbow, knee and backside down my right, and put a nice bruise on my left palm. I also tore the back of my jersey and scratched the casing of my Gopro.
I got up and my immediate thought was that I'd binned it and that my bike would be unrideable. After sitting on the crash barrier shaking and feeling sick from the shock, I started maintenance. The left brake lever was bent, and the rear wheel was misaligned. I'd also bent the right crank arm so now my shoe ran closer to the frame, though luckily still rideable. My panniers were scratched up and one had a hole in that will need patching before it rains again. The worst pain though came from my right big toe which was definitely broken. Ouch!
I stopped for lunch at a services called 'Little America' where I had a bowl of chilli and a yogurt. There, a slightly crazy old lady came up and started asking about my tyres. I was in no mood to chat, and when she started prodding at my wheels I moved away from her.
After leaving the services, the winds picked up again and the hills started again. In the last 25 miles, 3 more large hills took what little energy I had left and took me over 7000ft again.
Finally, the hills gave way to a long 8 mile downhill to Evanston. I raced the sunset as I didn't want to arrive after dark, but the road had other ideas. With 6 miles left I got another rear puncture. I tried pushing some air into it in the hope that it would hold, but only a mile later it was flat again. I stopped and swore loudly, today was really not my day. I changed the tube as quickly as I could and eventually made it to Evanston, where my phone battery ran out and I had to find the motel from memory in the dark.
These last 3 days have been the most challenging of the trip, and possibly of my life. Here's hoping tomorrow's ride into Salt Lake City and Utah is easier and my toe heals quickly.
Miles today: 100.9
Total miles: 2372.9
Sam, sorry to hear about your awful experience near the tunnel in Wyoming. I'm glad you and your bike survived, even if both were pretty banged up. As you ride, Maggie and I are cheering you on (from Pittsburgh) and greatly enjoying your blog posts.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob and Maggie! Pittsburgh seems so long ago now! My wounds are healing up slowly. I'm glad you're enjoying the blog, not many days left! I've managed the salt flats and I think it's generally downhill for the next few days to Reno and then on to San Fran!
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