Day 21, August 22nd 2007 (Rio Blanco,CO to Dinosaur,CO)

It was a little cooler when I woke up this morning. I was on my bike at around 7:30 AM, and it was about 50 degrees outside. I think the fact that I am at about 6,000 ft. of elevation right now might have something to do with it. I rode my bike for about 20 miles and it was a nice cool ride. Then I came upon some road work. The entire road was under construction and was complete gravel for about 3 miles. There was a road worker standing and holding a stop sign to only allow traffic to go one way at a time. He told me I couldn't bike it and then a truck came over the hill and gave me a ride across the construction. It was kind of nice how easy those 3 miles worked out. By the time I was done with the construction I was able to take 64 west and follow the White River all the way west for about 50 miles. It made things easier for me so I didn't have to make very many climbs. It was quite a bit flatter and there was hardly any wind because I was basically in a nice valley at 6,000 ft. After biking through the dead heat of the afternoon, I was about 70 miles into the ride and it was around 2 PM. There was a nice reservoir that I noticed to my right so I pulled over. I figured I might as well cool down and shower before I put in my last 30 miles for the day. After spending some time swimming and snacking I was back on the road. It was closer to 4 now and the weather had changed significantly. The wind was against me and the heat had turned on even hotter than before. For the previous 70 miles I had kept a pace of about 20 mph and was flying. Now, I was going about 12 mph and on top of everything, I wasn't in the nice valley anymore. I was climbing some pretty good hills and struggled to make the remaining miles to Dinosaur,CO. I pulled into a nice family restaurant and put away all the food that was placed in front of me. I had forgotten how much of an appetite you could build through a day of cycling. Across the street I entered Dinosaur Park and I couldn't believe how nice it was. There were restrooms with nice showers, and I took full advantage of the whole deal. Now I'm about to head to sleep at 6,000 ft. and in my last night of Colorado.
Daily mileage: 95.1 miles
Average speed: 16.2 mph
Total mileage: 961.2 miles