Epic Bike Ride Day 30 June 26th
Thoughts from Mark: BUGS! We were enjoying a nice breakfast this morning, when Kelly noticed there were some tiny bugs all over our cooking supply bin. They swarmed the back of our truck, and seemed to be attracted to anything white. We immediately broke down our camping area, and hit the road. This was the motivation we needed to start riding again. It was a continuation of The Great Basin, and it was incredible to see just how barren this stretch of land was. We could see for MILES in every direction, and there were times not a single structure was visible. It was a strange feeling to be so completely isolated. I think in the entire time we were riding today (before hitting Atlantic City, WY), we probably saw 2-3 vehicles. The dirt roads were in decent shape, and today the winds didn’t really start until an afternoon rainstorm blew in. I decided to ride in the rain, as the temperature dropped at least 20 degrees, and it felt good.
Today was also a day for meeting a TON of southbound racers and tour-ers. I think we met at least 11, and since they were racing, most of them didn’t stop to talk. Those who did, Justin from Colorado, Mark from Australia, and Ryan, were very nice and we briefly compared notes of things we had run into. We made it to Atlantic City for dinner, and the locals in the restaurant were interested in our ride. Finnegan and Nathan were in the restaurant, too, along with three southbound riders. It’s great to feel the sense of community among all of the riders. We all know what it takes to be out here, and we can suffer together. We saw some more pronghorn antelope today, and for the past few days.
After dinner we rode on through South Pass City, an old gold mining town, which was interesting to see. The old mine was visible from the road, and is now a historic landmark. The ride from Atlantic City to South Pass City was only about 5 miles, but it had some hard 12% grade climbs to get there, which were the toughest of the day, especially with tired legs. We eventually set up camp just off of the main road, and were immediately attacked by 7.4 million mosquitoes. The day started with bugs and ended with bugs.
Thoughts from Kelly: Today was more vast emptiness, but I saw a huge flock of sheep (Mark missed them) for the first time of the trip. We also drove through a small oil rig operation, which explained the big rig semi’s we saw passing us every once in a while. I was excited to see flowers again, so I kept getting out of the truck to take pictures of them. The rain was a nice welcomed change, and the cooler temps were much appreciated. As we approached Atlantic City, we saw our first tree in two days, what a beautiful site! We enjoyed dinner and swapping stories with other riders in Atlantic City, and signed a Divide Riders log they had. It’s amazing how many people are on this adventure. Over 200 racers and probably double that are touring, so no, Mark is not the only crazy person out here. Shortly after leaving, we drove through South Pass City which claims to be the ‘smallest continuously inhabited town in Wyoming’ with population of ‘about 4 people, roughly 3 cats, approximately 3 dogs with an elevation of 7,950 ft.’. We found a great camping spot soon after that, and were really close to more cows.
Miles for the day: 58.89 Feet climbed today: 3,754
Total miles ridden: 1,405.59 Total feet climbed: 93,616
