Mood:  a-ok

Today is a trip to Riverside, a community 60 miles away.  From it I will jump into Colorado the next day.  Since I leave Rawlins heading east, my strategy for today is to start with a nice breakfast (assuming they have any restaurants on that side of town.  They seem to have a dearth of restaurants here).  Again I want to leave early to minimize the effects of the wind, although that didn't work the other day.  I would be going east for 22 miles, then take a right turn and head south toward Colorado.

I had to stop at a motel on the east side of town, and they directed me to the one restaurant serving breakfast (!).  I ate and was riding east by 8 AM.

The morning sky was clear.  It was going to be another hot, sunny day.  For the third time of this journey, I got onto an interstate highway, in this case, I-80.  It had a nice wide shoulder, and it was an easy ride for the 10 miles that I was on it (remember I rode I-90 for over 100 miles).  I exited and headed south.

This country is very pretty.  Vast prairie, with mountains on the horizon on all sides.  What is that?  Why its an antelope!  Oh look, there are some more!  You know, they do look like they're playing.  What nice country.  Ooh, that dead snake on the shoulder was pretty big.  The wind was light, the miles passed quickly and I'm getting hungry for some lunch.  The next town is Saratoga.  It should have some cafes.

Sure enough, it was loaded with them, but I picked the first one.  Inside was another bicycler, a young man named Slade,who I had chatted with a bit as he passed me.  He said "Did you see that big rattlesnake back there?"  I said I had.  He said "I thought it was dead so I stopped to take a photo of it."  Apparently it was very much alive, just warming up on the pavement.  He showed me a photo he took.  It was coiled up, looking for all the world like it was ready to strike at the camera.  I assumed he was standing back and zoomed in from afar.

The winds finally came, but with only 15 miles to go.  Psychologically, if you have headwinds at the end of the day, it is no big deal--you know that the end of the day's ride is near.  It is early in the morning that headwinds bade trouble--you don't know how long they are going to last.

I stayed at a cute, well maintained campground in the well maintained town of Riverside, population of 59.  While I could have camped, I chose instead to sleep in a small cabin over by the river.  It had no water or linens, but it was cheap and would suffice.  As I walked through the campground towards a cafe across the street, I spoke to some folks who were relaxing in the shade in their lawn chairs.  I told them it seemed downright sinful for them to look so comfortable.  They agreed that it probably was and invited me to sit down for a spell.  I did.  They were the vanguard of a pending family reunion of 15 or so people, and invited me to come back later.

When I did come back, one of the men had gotten out his banjo, another man his guitar.  They started picking, then singing.  The older of the two, in his mid-70s, had a beautiful soft voice, and sang a number of country and western songs.  I know none of them (although I liked what he was singing) but many of the family members did, and they often would chime in and accompany him.  It was fun and relaxing. 

I would be entering Colorado tomorrow.  Progress.

Will McMahan