Tough to pull away from the beautiful ranch this morning, but we had a long day ahead and needed to get underway.  Our pedal through “town” was dreadful, considering the rush hour of this populous.

We enjoyed the clear, crisp morning as we pedaled past beautiful ranches.  It took only an hour for the temperatures to rise 20 degrees from our 54° start, but the air remained cool.  We followed Clear Creek for a few miles,past large farms; crossed the Powder River and the lush green from our first day in Wyoming was gone; stark barren hills was all we could see.  The deer and antelope (photo hams) still remained and almost outnumbered the cattle.  We did startle one family that took off running; it was amazing to watch their graceful speed as they put distance between us.  The first 20 miles was a delightful ride, flat to almost downhill and still cool.  Then the rolling hills began, almost in stair-step fashion, never really a downhill, just more climbing.  Ran across (not over) our first Live Rattlesnake; we hoped it was not an omen for the day.  We crept along, trying to find the beauty in our surroundings as the thermometer climbed quickly.  At the halfway mark, we stopped for lunch at the Only place available between here and there.  These two were friendlier and more accommodating than the proprietors; guess that’s what happens when you know you are the only game in town.  As much as we were enjoying the air conditioning, we could not linger.

By 1:00, the temperature gauge was in triple digits, an hour later it was 116°.  The temperature was climbing faster than we were.  We longed for cloud cover or shade.  In the distance, we saw a grouping of trees and pedaled for the shade we could rest in, this is what it was once we got there……pretty much the way we felt, too.  Stopping to rest was useless in the searing heat of the sun, any breeze was created by our movement.  We were struggling; the heat was intense and it was sucking out every bit of energy we had.  Our feet screamed to be released from the shoes that keep them locked to the bike.  Our last six miles was dreadful.  Industry filled the landscape and trucks roared by tweaking our frayed nerves.  Ten and a half hours after leaving, we turned into our hotel, happy to have survived, albeit barely.  We were beyond exhausted and not the least bit hungry, but knew we needed the energy that food would (hopefully) provide.  Stumbled across the street to the nearest restaurant, food and drink (a margarita is hydrating, right?) slowly bringing us back to life.  It was the Best Mexican food we’d ever had.  Just under 82 miles, we were done!