Cross Country Recumbent
Sunday August 3, 2003. Lander WY to Jeffrey City WY
Start time
|
8:00 am
|
End time
|
1:20 pm
|
Miles
|
60.9
|
Time pedaling
|
4:30
|
Average speed
|
13.6
|
| Odometer |
1594
|
I did find the brew pub in Lander, it is called the Cowfish. I
had to do a little shopping and I ate breakfast in Lander, so I didn't
get quite as early a start as I'd hoped, but it didn't really
matter. The day was mostly overcast and the temperatures were
only in the uper 80s. This is still hot by local standards, but
much better than the 100+ temperatures that my friends are reporting
back home in Hood River.
The theme for the day is desolate. Todays ride took me through
more of the wide open Wyoming desert. Traffic was almost
nonexistent and it is almost 40 miles from Lander to the first
civilized outpost, Sweetwater station. Sweetwater is up around
6500' so there was a bit of a climb to get up to it (Lander is at
5500'). The station isn't much more than a gas station and bar,
but I did manage to get some lunch and relax for about an hour before
continuing on. By then the wind had kicked up, mostly a quatering
tailwind. This made the last 20 miles to Jeffrey City go
quickly. Remember the desolate part? Jeffrey City is a
virtual ghost town. Apparently the town used to be pretty good
size (a few thousand) but now its down to 100. There are
abandoned buildings all around. Camping options were so limited
that I chose to stay at the one motel in town ($26.50, cheapest motel
yet).
I was tempted to push onto Rawlins, another 60 miles. I could've
made it with the tailwind, but there isn't any need to go faster.
I'll leave you with a photo of the wide open desert, near Sweetwater.
