RIDE C2C L2 Day 5: Cody to Greybull, WY 8/2/19

RIDE C2C L2 DAY 5 Cody to Greybull 8/2/19

Miles: 50+

Temperature:  65 at 7:15am; 99.5 at 12:30pm

50 miles on a straight highway across the Big Horn Basin can go a lot of ways.  It all depends on terrain, road surface, traffic, weather, wind, and of course, your energy.  All of it was in our favor today.  

Terrain - we could see where we were going for miles and miles of straight road.  In 35 miles there were exactly 6 curves to the road.  There were mirages of seeing the horizon (thinking that we were about to hit a downhill) then more straight road would appear.

Road Surface - some of the nicest, smoothest, widest, debris free shoulder we’ve ridden.  A weird thing to enjoy, but when you are on a bike, it’s nice to be way clear of 70mph traffic.

Weather - We departed early to avoid the heat.  We were graced by occasional cloud cover. Only the last 10 miles or so were above 90 degrees...

Wind - the wind gods were with us.  We practically flew the 50 miles as a glorious tailwind pushed us along the flat to slightly downhill route at about 20-25 mph.  3 hours 15 minutes ride time. 

Energy - Well, with a beautiful road, good temperatures, and a wind in our sails, our energy was good.  Giving us time to ponder the vastness of the Big Horn Basin.

We had a couple of stops to snack and rest along the way.  One at the Bridger Trail of 1864 where Jim Bridger found the route to lead 62 wagons toward Montana and their hopes of cashing in on the gold rush.  We could see the deep ruts of the trail across the plain.  “This region is totally unfit for either rail or wagon roads and can only be traversed with the greatest of difficulty” - US Army Lieutenant Henry Mayandier.

We stopped at the post office in “Emblem” Wy (population 10) to ship home some unneeded items (extra weight we don’t want to carry).  In a $20 USPS flat rate box, we sent home: Extra bike lock, tights, long finger gloves, pants, wool socks, down coats, and other things that we don’t need or want to haul up our big climb in a few days.

Just before dropping into Greybull, we spotted a dozen or so airplanes parked along a bluff and then saw the Greybull Museum of Flight.  Of course we had to stop - there were 6 airplanes that we could walk around and 1 that we could go inside, some decommissioned military that had been converted into firefighting planes.  Doug was more intrigued than me, but it was a fun diversion.  HOT OUT - 95+ degrees by now.

Into Greybull and have lunch at a diner where they still had “smoking” and “non-smoking” rooms.  Typical Americana diner food - I had an omelette and Doug had a chicken burger with mashed potatoes and gravy. 

We pedal back to our Greybull KOA campground - thankful for shade, showers, and a pool.  Relaxing afternoon, chatting with other visitors to KOA.  Dinner of salad, chicken in a mushroom sauce and <gluten free> pasta.  I will convert Doug yet!