Today we rode from Atlantic City, Wyoming, US to the A&M Reservoir in the Great Basin, Wyoming, US. Very sunny weather with some clouds (and we appreciated that). Road conditions included different kinds of gravel only. Highlights of the day include the remoteness and large open landscapes.
Riding statistics: on Monday August 22, 2022, the 22nd day on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route route, it took 09:46h (08:00h moving time), between 07:44 and 17:30, to cover 127 km (79 miles), including 1040 m (3412 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 16 km/h (10 mph). During today's ride the average temperature was 29 °C (88 °F) with a minimum of 12 °C (54 °F) and a maximum of 38 °C (106 °F).
Totals: So far, it took 6 days, 13 hours, 11 minutes and 5 seconds of cycling time to cover 2302 km (1430 miles), including 26452 m (86789 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 14.9 km/h (9.2 mph).
Leaving Atlantic City
We got up around 6:30am. We would have loved to stay longer because both of our beds were wonderful. And the facilities in the cabin as well. We took our time to make the bikes ready. We filled up everything we had with water from the cabin (which tasted great) because water is one of the most essential things to have in the Great Basin. At 7:30pm we left Atlantic City. And just as with South Pass City, we had to climb out of the settlement via a very steep dirt road. That got us immediately warmed up. From now on it was only gravel, sagebrush, cows, antelope, squirrels, birds, coyotes, and again lots of rolling hills.
The Great Basin
Depending on thew wind and how we feel we would pick our destination for today. After about 25 miles there was a first water point, Diagnus Well. We skipped it because we still had plenty of water since we filled up this morning and we have not been drinking a lot for now. Just before the well, we saw two other cyclists. But they visited the well, and we did not, so we did not meet. However, about an hour later we met when they caught up when we were having a short break. It were Jack & Max fro Denver. Although we have not met them before, we knew about them. During an earlier evening beer session on Upper Red Rock Lake Campground with fire fighters Meric, Jake, and Stephanie, we already hear about Jack & Max. How nice that people meet people on this tour. Today we would see Jack & Max multiple times. During our lunch break, in the middle of nowhere, Anna turned on her phone. We had service! So we both had some chats with our beloved ones. A but unreal in this desolate and remote area. But also kind of funny.
The A&M Reservoir
Unfortunately the wind gods where not in our favor. Normally south-bounders have a benefit of the window direction, but today not so much. This also made us decide that the A&M Reservoir would be our destination for today, and that we would not be trying to get to Rawlins (and make it through the Great Basin in one day). Today we have seen a couple of pickup trucks, a few motorcyclists, and three other bikers. We arrived almost at the same time as Jack & Max at the A&M Reservoir. It is a small water reservoir from where water flows to the surrounding area. Animals also use it to drink. So water needs to be filtered and purified. However, some trail angel has dumped several dozens of small water bottles at the entrance sign. Purified water, and water with some flavor in it. Thank you!! We set up our tent, and cleaned a bit in the reservoir. After that I made a very nice Chicken Terriyaki noodle meal. Just after dinner 2 motor cyclist visited us. It were friends of Anna who where on their dirt bikes and happened to be in the area these days. Now they were very close by (thank you Spot tracker) and payed us a short visit before they went back to the group they were with. At that moment also Melvin arrived, the biker we met yesterday. Tomorrow we’ll be going to Rawlins. There we ‘ll have some proper food and some laundry.
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