Day 32 – Lander, Wyoming to Jeffrey City, Wyoming

Storm after Storm

I knew that Sunday the 4th (which began the second month of the trip) would offer a chance of rain, but I didn’t know at the time to what extent it would affect the day’s ride and also cause some excitement.

The plan was to bike the 60 miles to Jeffrey City and, if things broke right, do 80-plus miles into Muddy Gap. Between Lander, where I started, and Jeffrey City there is only one place to stop, and that’s a rest area about 40 miles in called Sweetwater Station.

The first part of the trip was great, with a temperature that felt just right. There was a bit of climbing mixed with a few good downhills that would eventually lead into a long, sustained climb. No trees around, just small scrub brush everywhere.

At one point, just like that, I looked off in the distance to see that what were once thin, tame looking clouds had now become dark and with visible rain. And as time went by I noticed that it was building more and more and moving my way.

As I’ve been lucky before with avoiding rain, I pretty much knew there was no avoiding it this time so I pulled over and put on all the rain gear. Not long after that the long climb began.  And not long after that the first drops of rain appeared along with some heavy winds. Everything then came together as the climb got steeper, small hail began falling, and huge gusts of wind were now blowing.  A few gusts were so big that they would slam into you out of nowhere and  make you think that you might be blown off the bike. But safety aside, it made no sense in continuing anyway as the progress was ridiculously slow. And then there was the lightning.

I pulled off the road and went down an embankment to wait it out. I can’t say it was fun as things were a little dicey. Lightning with big booms of thunder as you sit while covering your ears and hoping for the best.  Aside from that, and as I’ve mentioned before, having the right clothing helps while sitting out in cold rain and hail. I visited Norway once and remembered a saying that “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” But even the best clothing doesn’t help so much with lightning.

After about a half hour it let up completely and I was back on the road, happy that I was riding again that quickly. The skies behind the storm looked relatively good.  But that didn’t last for long.

About ten miles from the rest stop at Sweetwater Station I noticed things building up again. And at around five miles away I realized that there was no avoiding the next round. So I picked up the pace. A lot. When I finally pulled up a woman remarked “Wow, you just made it.” She was right.  I made it without a moment to spare, as it then really began to come down. Luckily, this was one of the cleaner and nicer rest areas I’ve stopped at, with an indoor area where I had lunch until it passed over.

This delay was even longer at over an hour. As it passed, the dark clouds moved across to where one half of the sky was a mass of dark clouds and the other was a perfect blue sky day.

So off I went again, into the direction of the storm that had just passed, now only wanting an uneventful  final 19 miles to Jeffrey City.

That lasted until about ten miles to go where, off in the distance, dark clouds had appeared again. As you’re moving along you’re trying to get a read on where they are going, until finally you come to the realization that it’s coming directly your way across the flat land.

Two things weren’t helping matters.  I was now fighting a headwind and seeing more lightning again, closer than I cared to, along with the big booms of thunder. This was of course extra incentive to move faster. Out of the three storms this was the most menacing looking.  As I was going along I was very slowly counting down the miles to Jeffrey City. Progress was not coming fast enough. It’s one thing to be driving in a car at 70 mph looking at a threatening storm, but to be out there on a little bicycle where you are really looking at it is another thing. You feel quite small.

Then something incredible happened. After struggling to do 9 mph, the wind totally changed to a tailwind. Unbelievable. I don’t know if that was because the storm was now coming over me or what, but all the sudden I was doing 18 mph and thinking I had a chance to make it to Jeffrey City unscathed.

In Jeffrey City there is no store. With a population of a little over 50 there is only a bar/restaurant called the Split Rock Cafe. As I saw a sign for it in the distance I also started seeing small hail coming down in front of me.  And the timing was absolutely perfect as right when I pulled into the gravel parking lot and parked my bike under some shelter, rain then started coming down in buckets. I had just made it, again.

So that’s life on a bike. You’re dealing with the elements over and over and then all the sudden you’re on a comfortable bar stool miles from anywhere else ordering a cheeseburger and fries, appreciating food and shelter all the more.

The only camping in town was listed as being at the Lions Club and I asked Isabel, the owner of the bar, where it was.  She pointed back up the road where I had come from and across the street.  Then she asked the four patrons there “Hey, does anyone know who has the key to the Lions Club?”  They didn’t know, but someone said “I think it’s probably unlocked,” which seems typical for these towns.

It didn’t matter as I had planned on camping and the building didn’t look very inviting anyway. They did have a pavilion with picnic tables and a concrete floor. The wooden tables were softer so I put the tent on one of them and got an excellent night’s sleep after an unpredictable day.