(Images to be added)

I planned for an early start, and was about to hit the road, when I noticed my back tire was very soft, though not flat. I pumped it up and it held air. On inspection, there was no obvious location for a leak, though there were two blisters on the tire tread. Seemed like I needed a new tire. I planned to wait for the first bike shop in town to open, two hours later. But I became impatient, and I saw that the tire was holding air, I checked the next town, and found they had a bike shop. I could replace the tire there, so I decided to begin my ride and hope for the best.

This day, I had to ride on I-90 for 60 miles. Fifteen miles along, the tire started to go soft. I pumped it up, but it began to go soft after a few miles. I replaced the tube, and it held air perfectly…  for about 15 miles. At this point, I didn’t have a lot of options. There is the Better World Club, but I figured they would take a very long time, plus I wanted to be within 30 miles (their limit) from my destination.  (The idea of getting a ride back to my starting point was too depressing.)  I found I could pump up the tire and ride on it for about 3 – 5 miles. Exits were about that far apart.  (They just access dirt roads with no services.)  I figured I could go one exit at a time, and then at least I would have a location I could provide BWC to pick me up.

So 4 miles at a time, I covered the entire remaining distance. Boy was I glad to arrive a second time in a place named Buffalo.

The sports store in Buffalo was mainly for hunting and fishing, but they did have bike parts.  (Have you seen hunting bows lately?  Freaky.)  After a LONG search, we did locate a tire of the right size. I changed it and the tube, and it looks like it is OK.  Buffalo has a nice historic downtown area.  I changed the tire sitting in the shade on the grass as folks set up a farmer’s market.

The ride was stressful (because of the tire and riding on the interstate) and physically difficult (because of unfavorable wind). The one bright point was that a short distance into the ride, I could see the Big Horn Mountains in the distance. They got closer and closer over the course of the day. Tomorrow I ride north, parallel to the range, trough Sheridan to Ranchester. Then Friday I have a short but steep climb to a lodge near a pass. From there it’s two days to Cody, where I meet Lisa and Ellie for a few days exploring Yellowstone. Hurray!

The other great news is that my dear friend Noel will be joining me for the last week of the trip.