Double Bonk to Flat, Good Ole Boy Recover, Revert to Bonk

If our day was a snowboard trick, it would probably have a stupid name like the title of this entry.

The day started with around an inch of snow on the tents. We gathered our things went to the local gas station to get warm and snack on some breakfast. We were warned that there is nothing between Shishoni and Casper, but Dave and I have discovered the word "nothing" takes on several meanings. It usually ranges from no motel and no grocery store to no gas stations.

However, this "nothing" was dead on. The first town on the map was 20 miles into the ride and included a house with a few storage units. Our crappy gas station breakfast from the overnight town quickly turned into two massive bonks. With a slight uphill and a headwind, our bonked bodies only achieved 25 miles in three hours. Things then went from bad to worse. Dave's trailer got a flat tire that did not want to be changed. Dave finally won the battle, and we were on our way to find anything warm and edible.

The second town of Hillside, Wy had a population of 10 and did not look promising. We went into a makeshift store to see what we could find. The store turned out to be a bar with some good ole boys gettin' ready for the elk hunting season. Good ole boys and bikers (not that kind with motorcycles) are two breads of humans that rarely interact. After suffering through the initial onslaught of dirty looks and insults, I tried to find some common ground as the conversation turned into a heated debate over where current heavy weight, mixed-marital arts fighter, Brock Lesner, was from. My roommate in Denver is a big MMA fan, so I was equipped with barely enough knowledge to discuss this important matter with the proprieter of this fine establishment. Dave and I also found some real comon ground in that both parties enjoyed the outdoors, and then another debate over what kind of gun could pierce the skull of a grizzly bear. I voted for our bear mace that was constantly burried under heaps of clothes and bike gear in no position once so ever to deter any type of attack. Needless to say, Barack Obama did not come up in the conversation.

We eventually won over the hunters and had them buying us beers before our burgers were even ready to be devoured. Dave's orange hunting vest was highly praised, but his spandex biking pants and my bright yellow rain jacket were found to be unacceptable. Everybody agreed on these facts, but a half-ass search for more hunter's orange proved to be unsuccessful.

Armed with a warm meal, we mounted our saddles and headed for Casper a distant 70 miles away. The power of the burgers failed before we reached our destination and we succmbed to another bonk. We reached Casper late into the night, took a brief unplanned tour of the budding metropolis when the Super 8 sign lead us astray, and finally found a motel with a continental breakfast that would be annihilated the following morning. We were on the bikes for over 9 hours - our longest day of riding.

Green Jersey
The Green Jersey saw a lot of action despite no points being awarded. Dave's fourth flat tire of the trip earned him minus one point. I received a massive negative five points for the first fall of the trip. My excuse? I had dirt in my cleat and clould not get out of the clip-in pedals fast enough when Dave came to a slow stop to spot the route over a bridge. Exhaustion probably came into play. I had something in my eye. The ground wasn't level. There was road construction. You can accept any of those reasons, and I will be happy. Regardless, I escaped uninjured with the exception of the injury to my Green Jersey score.

Current standings: DP = 36; JJ = 23.

Much like the weather heating up from 5 degrees to 15 degrees, the Green Jersey should see more action as we quickly approach another border crossing and welcome Dave's dad to the trip for the weekend. Dom is a formidible opponent and a strong rider. I can only hope the weather hovers below the freezing mark in hopes that only one Palazzo wants to ride in such terrible weather conditions. Take care, stay warm, and Go Hawks!

Justin