Day 29-Wheatland to Cheyenne WY

Today started with a 7am wake up, later than usual and a nice break after a string of century rides. We only had 75 miles to do by 3:30 but it was not an easy 75 miles. Started off ok, everyone was still feeling the soreness from the day before and it got more and more difficult from then on. We rode with a strong headwind for the majority of the ride and we were slowly climbing up from Casper to Cheyene WY, uphill and into the wind, a perfect combination. The scenery again was pretty cool, just grass plains for as far as you could see, for a while we were on this little two lane road with nothing in sight but grass and road and cows, it was fun. We also past these giant plateaus that looked so cool, they had massive cliff faces all around them, it was fun to ride through those. I rode with Max and Preston and despite the difficult ride, being with brothers who are so encouraging and motivating got us all through it. Sometimes I keep to myself about getting over the frustration of a ride but having Max and Preston's encouragement today really made a difference. It was definitely one of the toughest days, just working so hard to move so slowly kills me mentally but after a long pull struggling to power through the wind just a comment like “great pull man” kept me upbeat and got me ready to keep pushing on. The last 10 miles got easier, wind died down and we turned onto residential streets where the road became flat and we finished the ride right before an immense down pore of rain that lasted for 30 min. Luckily my pace line and the one behind us made it to lodging before it got real bad but the rest were not so lucky. The third pace line got the worst of it, their last mile and a half in they took the pouring rain, wind and hail and arrived with little welts from just that short time. Everyone else was super close to lodging but it was so bad that it was unsafe to be on the road so the rest of the pace lines got racked 2-4 miles out from lodging. Lunch could not have been more perfect after that ride, a lady from the Cattle Woman’s Association who sponsored us yesterday also sponsored our meal at the Community College we are staying at, pulled pork sandwiches with all the sides, cake, chips, and we got to use their entire dinning hall with coffee, fancy soda machines, and chocolate milk, we stuffed ourselves. 

After that we quickly showered and headed to our friendship visit which was with The Arc of Laramie County. They had a ton of people out there to hang out with and a ton of food and desserts for us, oddly enough, the same pulled pork sandwiches and we still ate a ton of it, I filled up on mostly fruit and veggies but had to dig into some brownie too. Despite the rain earlier the sun came out and the water toys went flying, water balloons, squirt guns and buckets of ice water to dump on people. I think at least half of us left soaking wet. Other than the water fight we were also playing soccer, horse shoes and disc golf putting on the side. They were so excited to be out there with us and everyone looked like they were having a blast which always cheers the team up after a day like today. I talked with Jasmine and Linda a bunch during the visit who were both so nice. Linda has moved back and forth from Denver to Cheyenne with her mom but after her mom moved back to Denver she decided to stay here and she loves it, she goes bowling and out to movies as much as she can. I also taught her how to shoot a bottle cap off a plastic bottle, they were trying for a while before I noticed and showed them how to do it, I hope they don't go too crazy with it. It is next to impossible to end a day without a smile after amazing friendship visits like this one. The Director, whose name is Arkansas said she looks forward to the Journey of Hope visit every year, I’m sure the team next year will enjoy it just as much as we did.

When we got back to lodging it was all about recovery for everyone, stretching and icing. Best part is that the college is giving us access to their athletic training room and equipment including ice baths, which I am not going to try, and the stim machine, one of those things where you put the pads on your muscle and it sends a light current through your muscle. I tried the stim on my back which has been tight and a little painful for a while and it felt great, hopefully I will feel the difference on the bike tomorrow. Thankfully the days are getting shorter for a bit, tomorrow is only 60 miles and word on the street is we are heading downhill. Tomorrow we also make the crossing into Colorado!!!! Our first stop is Fort Collins where David goes to school so it should be a lot of fun. I am so happy to finally be getting out of Wyoming and into Colorado which I have been looking forward to since day 1.

PS: Check day 21 for the video of the Bison on the road as we are leaving Yellowstone