Today was a difficult day. I slept poorly due to back pain (happens probably 50% of nights, I suspect due to my sleeping pad not fitting my back well), so I was up by 5:30 and out the door by 7:30. Things started off very promisingly - there was no wind, and I was making fast progress on the flats and downhills. Sadly, the wind hit me about an hour in, and it hit hard. Going down a -1% grade felt like going up 2%. At points I was only making 9mph on flat ground. Even worse, my saddle woes returned with a vengeance. It wasn’t unbearable, but together with the headwind and long distance (~77 miles), my morale was in the gutter.
On the bright side, I’d booked a (cheap) motel in Riverton to stay at for the night, so I had that to look forward to. Or so I thought, anyway. About 7 painful hours of riding later, I pull up to the Tomahawk Motor Lodge and get my keys. To keep things brief, you get what you pay for: food all over the floor (uncleaned), dirty bathroom (uncleaned toilet and tub) with an 80% depleted roll of toilet paper next to a used toilet paper roll, and bedbugs.
Actually, that might be less than what I paid for. At least the towels seemed clean. They also have a cool vending machine that will take your money and give you nothing, and when you ask what’s up with that, you get the fascinating answer that the machine isn’t theirs. I’d avoid this place unless you have absolutely no other option.
There was one highlight and it was dinner at Thongpoon Thai Chef restaurant. I had kanomjeen for the first time and it was delicious. The crew running the place has a cool story too.
