I decided to try something different today. My first task was getting the bike serviced since the grinding sound was no good. I headed to Zeelo’s Cranks N Planks in Casper roughly when they opened, and they immediately took my bike in to get checked out. It turns out that the pawls/hub-cassette interface were rusted. I’d only ridden the bike once in serious rain (on the way into Missoula), so this was surprising. Not to mention there was no rain or moisture for plenty of days leading up to the grinding noise. In any case, the technician cleaned up the rust, greased everything, and adjusted my derailleurs. It was also recommended that I clean & lube my chain daily or at least every other day. Hmm, that’s a bit more frequent than the once-every-2-weeks schedule I had before. It took about an hour and ~$30, which to me seems like an exceptional price. I would recommend this shop to any bike tourist passing through Casper.

It’s about 60 mile between Casper and Douglas following the Bike Nonstop route. Not too bad, but the route is comparatively hilly, and the weather was boiling. Biking in the heat would have been unenjoyable and probably borderline dangerous. Thus, I decided to ride in the evening. I charged up my lights and devices at a cafe, and waited for the hours to pass.

I ended up leaving around 6pm, when some clouds started rolling in and the temperatures dropped. Unfortunately, I was also greeted by stronger headwinds than I had faced any day prior. I made it to the town of Glenrock some time around 9, and stopped at a gas station convenience store to refuel for about an hour. When I set off again, the sun had fully set, and so began my first proper “night ride.”

On the way to Glenrock, with the sun setting behind me.

The road leading out of Glenrock into the “Rolling Hills” was kind of sketchy. It was in the process of being repaved, with rough grooved pavement (no problem) and shoulders filled with a deep layer of loose gravel (more problematic). There was also 2 brief sections of one-lane road, which I tried my best to blast through since I wasn’t sure if the automated traffic lights would handle bikes correctly. In the meantime, a lightning storm had been brewing directly ahead and to the north of me, but it was in the distance and not projected to intersect with my path. All these things combined made me question my decision heavily. At the same time, it was very exciting and a truly unique experience.

This looks remarkably like a daytime photo with a thick vignette. But the shining thing in the sky is actually the moon, and this was taken at 1am in the morning.

Somewhere around mile 45-50, I started losing steam. I was cold and wind-battered, and my butt was starting to feel pretty uncomfortable. I had no option but to power through, and so I did. There was virtually no traffic the entire way, except for a handful of semitrucks which I think were part of the local oil industry. I wonder what they thought of me as they passed.

I finally pulled into Douglas some time after 2 in the morning. My camp spot was a city park on the river that offered free camping and showers. There was a homeless lady sleeping in the bathroom when I arrived, so I opted to skip the shower. It was not a particularly restful night, and I was woken up by lawnmowers early the next morning. I’m glad I did this but I most likely won’t be night riding again.