Day 15: Lovell to Sheridan

It was a great 99 mile ride in near perfect weather. The climb on Highway 14A over the Bighorn Mountains was definitely challenging, but I did well.  We left Lovell just as the sun was rising above the Bighorns and it was cold - about 45 degrees.  The first 19 miles were relatively flat and the view of the mountains looming in front of us as the sun rose above them was spectacular, but also quite intimidating - it looks like you are approaching a wall.  I took about a half-dozen brief rests on the steep part of the climb from mile 19 to the summit at mile 38.4, but was able to maintain about a 6mph pace when pedaling.  Here's the view from one of my stops.

The climb really was steep.  If you don't believe me, here's a road sign for truckers near the top of the steepest portion of the climb depicting what I had just climbed.

A nice tailwind kicked in about halfway up the climb and stayed with me until the summit. I was watching my heart rate pretty close during the steepest part of the climb. It stayed in the low 140's most of the time and only briefly touched 150 -  a rate above which my cardiologist gets nervous.

I climbed well and was the 10th one in our group of 20 to make it to the summit. Here's the proof I made it. If the image of me is blurry its because I was so cold I was shaking - a combination of sweat and wind chills in the 30's. I was cold all the way to lunch.

Once reaching the summit there was another 14 miles of descent to get to our lunch spot at the Moose Crossing Restaurant at the Bear Lodge Resort.  Being Labor Day weekend and being in Wyoming, the restaurant was very crowded with hunters - some of whom seemed somewhat disturbed by our spandex cycling attire.

There was one more moderate climb after lunch and then began the long descent towards Sheridan.  I held to my conservative 30mph descending speed limit ( Note: I have a cardiovascular system that lets me hold my own with many of the younger riders when climbing; but I have the reflexes of a 70 year-old and the eyesight of a 90 year-old so a 30mph descending speed limit seems appropriate - some in the group descend at speeds in excess of 50mph). I also took numerous stops on the way down to enjoy the wonderful views of the valley below.  At one of the stops I watched hang gliders prepare to jump off a cliff.

 

Many miles later and several thousand feet lower one of the hang gliders swished over me and landed nearby.  I thoroughly enjoyed my slow descent, but ended up arriving at the hotel with only 45 minutes to get ready for dinner. So once again a late posting to my blog.

Jan and I had a favorable impression of Sheridan when we stayed overnight here during our drive through Wyoming in May.  I think I like it even better this time around - very neat, clean, and friendly with great food.  We had an excellent dinner tonight at the Wyoming Rib & Chop House.  I suppose you're supposed to order steak in Wyoming, but I had salmon and it was great.   Fortunately there is a DQ right by the hotel so I was able to finish off the evening with a large chocolate milkshake.

I'm stiff and sore tonight, but nothing too severe.  I need to recover overnight because tomorrow we pedal 108 miles to Gillette.  No rest for the weary!

Steve