Day 20 – Rawlins to Riverside
Wed 23rd June 2010
With no alarm we woke up at 6:30 and left the campsite 2 hours later than usual at about 8:30am. Our planned stop today was Saratoga but we decided to gonother 20 miles to Riverside to save losing our 70 mile advantage all in one day. Stopping at Riverside will reduce tomorrows ride down to a respectable 73 miles.
Leaving Rawlins
Soon after leaving Rawlins we had to ride for about 13miles on Interstate 80. As I understand it Interstates are the equivalent of UK motorways. As it is the only road available bikes are allowed to use it but whether that’s an exception for that location I’m not sure. But it was okay to ride on as the traffic was not too heavy and there was a very wide shoulder. We were glad to get back on the normal roads though. In the whole ride across the USA this will be the only section of interstate we ride on.
Interstae I80
The roads today were undulating and we gained about 500 ft in the whole day. The scenery was much the same as the last couple of days with the mountains gradually getting that bit closer. It’s on our mind that in 3 days time we will be climbing up to the highest pass on the ride but we’re looking forward to it, especially the ride back down.
Perfectly placed antelope
We were both tired today because we had not had enough time to recover fully from yesterdays long ride but we made good time and arrived here in Riverside by 2:30pm. We’ve found a nice little campsite, Lazy Acres RV Park, and we feel quite relaxed and good to be off the bikes for a while. It’s just 6:30pm, we’ve already eaten and plan to pop over the road for a coffee (and maybe some pie) when I’ve finished the blog.
Our campsite tonight
The owner here, Bruce, was telling us that on Saturday a plane will be flying over spraying the mosquitoes with a mixture made from flower petals, which apparently it kills them and keeps their numbers under control. We both have several bites from the last couple of days.
Daily Mileage – 62.1 miles
Time in Saddle – 5 hrs 7 mins
Total Climbing – 1,973 ft
Posted on: Jun 24th, 2010 at 8:23 am
Nice to see the blogs up to date ..you’re doing a great job of them Alan!
From the pictures it looks like you’ve had some nicer weather today too!
keep up the good work.
love you
Tracey
xxx
Posted on: Jun 24th, 2010 at 9:33 am
Absolutely fantastic how you keep going day after day and meeting all those other mad people doing the same, so proud of you. Keep pedalling and be safe, love you babs xxxx
Posted on: Jun 24th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
That “deer” was actually a Pronghorn Antelope. Probably mesmerized by the flower petal mosquito repellent. Great photo, nevertheless.
Bud, IPA
AZ
Posted on: Jun 24th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
More likely to be mesmerized from the whiff of Alan and Chris cycling passed!!!
Sorry guys! Looks like the campsite was nice, let’s hope the next one is as good. Only 40 sleeps to go I think!
Emily says “I am missing you very much I want you to come back and I love you very much”
Me too
xxx
Posted on: Jun 24th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
P.S.
Just looking at the cartoon of you both cycling on your header – looks like Chris is catching you up Alan!!!
Posted on: Jun 24th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Hi Alan, Chris,
I put one of my work mates onto your site, he had just done a 120 mile ride this Monday, having read Mark Beaumont’s book and was trying to see if he could do 140 miles in a day. I think he went white when he saw what you guys were doing.
Keep up the good work.
Ian & Rachel