Day 13. May 7. Cody to Valentine

The most awesome thing happened last evening. I walked over to the grocery store to see their hours and there was a sign on the door that said if you need something after hours, please call Carrie. I tho’t, what the heck, worth a try. I left a message and within 10 minutes, she showed up at the campsite and took me to the store to shop. Saved the day. I got cheese and crackers and tuna and was a happy camper. Now how many places do you know where people would do that? I’m telling you, people are really nice, especially in these out of the way small towns.

Another lady stopped by while walking her dog and chatted a while.
She is the only person so far that has correctly described local roads. Most people don’t understand flat when you are on a bike. But she did.

So today. What can I say except, I survived. I left Cody at 6:30 to beat the wind. Ha! 5 miles out of town it got really strong and was a side wind. Better than a head wind but half way to Valentine, it really picked up and I was struggling to keep my bike, and me, upright. By the last 8 miles, my arms were crying and I wanted to, too. Every flag I saw was straight out horizontal to the ground. This was NOT a fun day. I hurt all over and if I don’t recover by morning, we will be taking a rest day.

I had originally planned to take rte 12 north and east tomorrow but with local info about big hills, narrow road and possible thunderstorms with no where to take cover, I’m thinking of staying on rte 20 and just adding an extra day to SD.

I’m not out here to torture myself and today was definitely torture. Even the locals are complaining about this wind.

37.3 miles today. 492.7 total

Author: bikeral2000

Retired musician, now gardener and cyclist. View all posts by bikeral2000