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, day 22 on the 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), while reaching a maximum speed of 52 km/h (32 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 29 °C (84 °F) with a minimum of 12 °C (54 °F) and a maximum of 38 °C (100 °F).

Totals: So far, it took 6 days, 14 hours, 25 minutes, and 7 seconds of cycling time to cover 2319 km (1441 miles), including 26658 m (87465 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 14.9 km/h (9.2 mph).

Streets Terrain Satellite Topo

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Leaflet | Map data: © OpenStreetMap

Today we will be riding (a part of) the Great Basin. A very large valley entirely surrounded by the mountain ranges of the Rocky Mountains. No services, no food, 2 water points before the next town of Rawlins.

We decided not to set an alarm clock. At one hand we wanted to get up early, because of distance to cover and riding in the morning temperature. At the other hand, the cabin was so nice that we wanted to sleep in. Well, we got up around 6:30am. Mainly because of miscommunication. I thought Anna was already up and got out of bed. Anna only made warm coffee and went back to bed. We really would have loved to stay longer, but adventure called. 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. We each took a self-made burrito, which we got from the owners when we checked-in.

At 7:30am, we left Atlantic City. Like South Pass City, we had to get up a very steep hill to get out of town. That got us warmed up immediately. From now on, would only be gravel, sagebrush, cows, antelope, squirrels, birds, coyotes, and again lots of rolling hills. The force and direction of the wind would mainly decide our destination for today. We would either try it to make it to the A&M Reservoir or make it to Rawlins. For us, Rawlins would only be possible with a strong tailwind for most of the day.

After about 40km (25 miles) there was Diagnus Well, the first water source in the Great Basin. At was a little of the road. Based on the green vegetation you could see where it was. Someone has been spending the night because there was a small tent near the well. Also, two cyclist we have seen in front of us, stopped at the well. We decided not to stop since we filled up completely on water at the cabin before we left.

About an our later, during a break, we got caught up by the two cyclist we have seen at the well. It were Jack & Max from Denver. Although we had not met them before, we heard about them from Meric, Jake, and Stephanie during our evening together on the Upper Red Rock Lake campground. Today we would see Jack & Max frequently.

The wind gods were not in our favor. Usually south-bounders have the wind in their favor, but we had mostly (strong) headwinds. Because of this, the destination for today would be the A&M Reservoir. Rawlins would be impossible for us. Cycling in the Great Basin is a great experience. The environment is desolate and remote but somehow it is beautiful as well. Today we have seen a couple of pickup trucks, a few motorcyclists, and three other cyclists. During one of our breaks, Anna turned on het phone and noticed that we had service. We both had chats with friends & family and found it quite funny over here in the middle of nowhere.

The second half of the afternoon we got tired. The headwinds were still strong, and we had to get uphill & downhill over-and-over again. We arrived almost together with Jack & Max at the A&M Reservoir. The A&M Reservoir is a small water reservoir from where water flows to the surrounding area. Animals also drink from it and go in it. Drinking this water requires you to filter it and use purification tablets as well. Fortunately, there has been a trail-angel who had left several dozens of small water bottles at the entrance sign.

Jack & Max setup their tents at the shore of the lake and took a swim. Anna and I setup our tents on top of a hill (at the entrance of the reservoir area). Not much later, two motor cyclists visited us. One of them was a friend of Anna. They where on a holiday in the area and happened to be close by this afternoon. Thank to the Spot tracker they were able to track us down before they went back to their group. At that moment Melvin arrived as well, the biker we met yesterday. Not much later the sun set, and we went into our tents.

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