Again an early start today to get as much miles done before the wind starts picking up. The first 40 miles into Rawlins today went very quick, due to the absence of the wind and the very slight descend. The landscape was slightly boring though...much of the same arid, desert like rolling plains. A short 10 mile section was along an interstate, but due to the wide shouldera, this was pretty ok.
In Rawlins I did some groceries as services along the route would be very limit the coming two days. By passing Rawlins I also finished section 7 out of 12 of the complete route! After Rawlins there was a short climb over the Continental Divide. After the divide the landscape changed totally into some kind of alien, almost lunar like landscape, with awesome yellow and red hills to the sides and a big flat desert plain, called the Great Divide Basin.
Just as I was about to descend into the basin, I stopped to take a picture. Right after a truck pulled over and the driver walked towards me. I was prepared for an angry driver telling me to get of 'his' road, but instead David was super enthusiastic and interested in what I was doing! He was quite an adventurist himself, having hiked part of the Appalachian Trail and having canoed down the entire Mississippi river. He was also planning to do a round the world hiking trip in a few years from now... sick! He allowed me to fill up my water supplies and treated me to a power bar! Awesome guy!
The road through the basin started out ok but soon the shoulder got really awful. Effectively there was a strip of most of the times a foot wide on which rising was sort of ok, but this strip was close to the car lanes. Add the relatively high traffic and it was simply scary and fatiguing to ride there.
The weather today started out really cool again, but warmed up significantly during the afternoon. Some 10 miles before my final destination I planned to get some water, only to learn that the cafe had closed down. Stretching the little bit of water I had left over the 10 next miles I reached the town Muddy Gap. The 'town' has a population of maybe 20 or so, but more importantly, they have a gas station that has cool water and lets you camp next to the building :)
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