2015-07-10 Day 12: The Wind River, Lander to Debois, WY

It's almost noon and I have been watching a storm building over the Wind River Range for the past 45 minutes. I can see a long way from here and what I see I really don't like. Like water flowing over a falls, the storm is pouring over the top of the mountains into the valley that we are riding. There are two rain squalls dumping out of the storm one about 2 miles from me and another about 5 miles up the valley. I can see the clearly defined walls of rain moving from left to right intersecting my route. I think I can beat the first squall but the second will likely get me wet. Jon is feeling strong today and trying to minimize his seat time so I told him an hour ago to go on ahead and I would catch up with him at lunch. I hope he has stopped somewhere safe and dry close to our agreed on lunch spot approximately 50 miles into today's ride.

Before the squall hits, I hear the thunder rumbling and see some lightning ahead. The wind starts to blow from left to right. It's time to get out the rain gear. As the rain and wind intensify, a car pulls up. It's the support vehicle for another group of riders I passed a mile ago. He offers me a ride. Looking at my odometer, I see I have only about 3 miles to the spot where Jon should be. So I ride on into the downpour.

Jon had indeed found a safe dry spot at a covered gas station in Crowheart, WY. In fact, the gas station is all that exists at Crowheart. When I pull in, I see that Jon is helping some young kids perhaps 11 or 12 years old fix a flat tire. They are on a ride down the continental divide from Banff, Canada. Unbelievably, they do not know how to change a flat! It must be Jon's day to be a bike mechanic because he already has replaced his own bike chain after his original chain broke a few hours earlier. We both carry tools and extra parts for these situations. Within a few minutes, the support vehicle comes back. Turns out these kids are on a supported ride with the guy that offered me a ride earlier. I think this guy has his hands full.

We wait out the storm eating lunch under cover then continue north. But the passing storm has left us an unwanted present. The winds have shifted directly into our face and they are strong enough to push the bikes around. It is still 30 miles to Debois and I am peddling as hard as I can against the wind, up hill, with a loaded bike. Looking at my speedometer, I see 5 mph. It's going to be a very long afternoon.

We did finish that 30 miles despite some of the strongest sustained winds I have ever ridden against. Four and a half hours of riding got it done at an average of 7.5 mph. At one point, I screamed at the wind, "You will not beat me". All told it took nearly 8 hours of pedaling to complete 75 miles of uphill riding (4100 vertical feet); This was our second toughest day of this trip.

Winds aside, the route was stunning. We followed the Wind River along The Wind River Range all day. The higher we climbed towards the river's source, the closer the mountains came in on the left. On the right the river has chiseled a glorious set of cliffs that look a bit like Zion Canyon, Utah. Tonight we are safe and out of the wind at the KOA in Debois, a very attractive little town with a western feel about 7,100 feet high. They clearly are going for the tourist dollars here as we are getting closer to the Tetons and Yellowstone.