Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Day 31
Buffalo, WY to Gillette, WY

Miles: 69.98
Elevation: 2,533
Time: 6 hours 23 minutes

Total miles: 1,170.98(1,601.98 w/ Uhaul)
Total Elevation: 55,141
Total Time: 119 hours 1 minute

Treasures: Men’s Klim jacket. Nemesis clear lenses glasses

SMACKED!!!

Today’s ride was not unusual in distance or climbing but the app we use for weather predictions -Epic Ride Weather- indicated we would be dealing with some strong head winds. Knowing this, we left at 7 am fully loaded with lots of water. The sign as we left town in the next services was 66 miles away. Ugh.
Traveling along Interstate 90, the road conditions were good with a wide, clean shoulder (except for the deer).The landscape did not change mile after mile…wide open spaces and not a stitch of shade. Thank goodness for music! Our entertainment was seeing all the rigs from the KOA camp pass us throughout the day. While some climbs were lengthy, the grades were less than 5 % so it was a climb, recover, climb, recover kind of day. And then the wind. The minutes flowed into hours with headwinds, sidewinds and in some cases, a tailwind. I am grateful for Drew and his strength. Head down, he pushed through the wind and I hung on for dear life. There were times I just couldn’t stay on his wheel. He’d notice, slow and adjust accordingly. He has a ‘Zombie Zone’ where he seems to have superhuman strength and just pedals away. Drafting, my workload is reduced by 30% and still, at times, I couldn’t hang. Continuing to stop periodically, we are noticing how much fluid loss we are experiencing with the full sun, heat and evaporation from the wind. Drinking, using electrolytes and snacking, we work to keep our strength up but we’re starting to fade, checking how much further and how much elevation we have yet to go. As we get near Gillette, we start to see homes and ranches. We must be getting close. Where is the first/nearest gas station? We want ice cold fluids. 5 miles later, we get to the first gas station. I quickly get two XXL fountain drinks with ice. In 5 minutes, those are gone and I return for refills. We’d made it but it was tough. A few more miles and we were at our destination for the night. Securing the bikes, we went to get an early dinner knowing once we settled in, it was all over. After dinner, a load of laundry and a shower to rid ourselves of Deet, sunscreen, chamois butter and sweat, we prepared for the next day. The next thing I remember is the alarm going off at 5:30 am. I wonder if I even moved in the night! lol!!

#RoadrunnerTour2025

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