Today was supposed to be the second hardest day of the tour with 5515 ft of climbing in 54 miles. We would be going from Basin to Burgess Junction by way of  Shell Canyon which is really beautiful. Unfortunately there was a fire nearby which made the initial part of the canyon very smoky. We left early in order to beat the heat, but it was already fairly warm when we started. The first 30 miles were fairly flat and I took it easy knowing the climb that was at the end.

 

 

The volunteers on this trip were awesome. Besides having a cowboy coffee every morning , I would eat nectarine slices at every rest stop. They provided a glucose boost that I know my body immediately utilized. By doing this I avoided the problems I had when I did Ride the Rockies the previous month. This tour is much easier than Ride the Rockies so I did not need my mid ride meal which I did during RTR. I did miss my fajitas though.

As we got closer to the canyon you could see and smell the smoke. I do not have asthma, but when the air quality is really bad I get wheezy. I know that and bring an inhaler with me on these trips. Unfortunately , I did not think ahead and left it in my luggage in the SAG. Lucky for me, our awesome SAG found me and I was able to use my inhaler and the wheezing went away.

As I was riding up the canyon I got passed by two gentlemen. I pushed and managed to catch them. I was chatting with them and found out that one of them was 68 and the other was 70. The pitch of the climb got steeper and the 70 year just rode away from us. Completely amazing. I was the youngest at 52 getting my butt kicked. I hope I am as strong when I get to be their age.

Towards the top of the climb the air quality dramatically improved and it was a great ride into Burgess Junction. Since this was the last night of the tour the volunteers were recognized and some people wrote limericks. I am always fascinated how people can come up with these. It was really cool.

Tour de Wyoming keto diet day 5

So how did I fare on this climb ? Ride took around 5 hours. I ate a keto bar and fruit slices at every rest stop. I also used an electrolyte tab in two water bottles. Felt pretty strong except for my wheezing episode which resolved once I had my inhaler. As soon as I got back I checked my ketones( 2.6) and glucose(89). You can see from my ketones that my body did not think this was a very difficult day. Part of it is that it never was that hot and I do so much better in cooler weather.  Of course we climbed up into the cooler weather, but it was much nicer than the 100 degrees in Greybull.  I set up my tent and lit my stove and had 2 bouillon cubes. Went inside and had a couple beers and a hamburger with the bun. Not hungry or needing to eat with any urgency.

As soon as my teammates were all cleaned up we did a side trip to an Indian Medicine Wheel. Initially used by 10 tribes, now 80 tribes come from all over to use this.  When we got back more beer and chili.  The Tour de Wyoming  dinner that night was burgers and brats, so I ate more. Yes, I am a pig.  My teammates all played poker and I had a fascinating conversation with some Brits comparing our medical systems. Also got to watch the Tour de France on TV which was awesome. Tomorrow will be an easy day with mostly downhill.  Stay tuned for day 6.

 

22 Day Weight Loss Program Loveland CO

(970) 541-0903

The 22dayweightlossprogram.com is extremely successful in helping people lose from 7 to 30 pounds in a 22 day period. This is also successful in taking inches off your waist in a short period of time.Your clothes will fit better and you will feel better about yourself. As a medical professional who has been working with people for over 30 years I have figured what works. I use this plan myself to keep myself at my ideal body weight.

The Loveland Medical Clinic runs the 22dayweightlossprogram.com that is partially based on the ketogenic diet. We have come to the conclusion that this is the most successful model that works for just about everyone. Once people have gone through our program they are able to manage their weight on there own. If you are interested in losing weight go to 22dayweightlossprogram.com.

#22dayweightlossprogram #losebellyfat #LovelandWeightloss #Fortcollinsweightloss #Greeleyweightloss #LovelandMedicalClinic

 

 

Day 4 was an easy day. The route went from Meeteetse to Basin. The route was 52 miles long and despite dropping 3500 feet we still managed to get 589 feet of climbing in on rollers. We got to Basin around 10am and had plenty of time to find a campsite in the shade of some big trees. Good thing because it was another 100 degree day.

Despite Basin being larger than the previous town it had less to offer. So once we were all cleaned up we piled into the car and went to Greybull. We first went to the historic Greybull Hotel, but they don’t serve lunch. Went across the street to a mexican restaurant and they only serve fajitas on Saturdays so we moved on. We finally lucked upon a true Wyoming Saloon.

The Smokehouse Saloon in my book is the best place in town. A true Wyoming Saloon that doesn’t even have a webpage.  We had burgers which were mouthwatering. I even ate the buns for a change. True cowboy whiskey pours. You can’t have many of those. Still haven’t figured out the stuffed  alligator on the wall. I was educated on that rarest of creatures… the jackalope. After that we cruised main street and had ice cream and much more drinking ending at the Branding Iron Bar where I got my butt kicked in pool.

We went back to Basin for dinner where we had…. Chicken sandwiches and baked beans. Oh well. Entertainment that night was Dave Munsick, a true Wyoming cowboy singer. He was really good. Tomorrow was supposed to be tough again due to the amount of climbing and the heat. So early bedtime again.

Tour de Wyoming keto diet day 4

So how did I fare on this short leg ? Ride took around 3 hours. I ate  fruit slices at each rest stop. Still using electrolyte tabs in my water bottles. Felt pretty strong all day long. As soon as I got back I checked my ketones( 2.1) and glucose(98).   I set up my tent and lit my stove and had 2 bouillon cubes. Today really was easy.  Not hungry or needing to eat with any urgency.

As soon as my teammates were all cleaned up we headed to Greybull to eat and drink. We would be biking through here tomorrow on our way to Burgess Junction. The day was scorching and we basically went from bar to bar just to stay out of the heat. The Tour de Wyoming had chicken sandwiches for dinner.  Stay tuned for day 5.

 

22 Day Weight Loss Program Loveland CO

(970) 541-0903

The 22dayweightlossprogram.com is extremely successful in helping people lose from 7 to 30 pounds in a 22 day period. This is also successful in taking inches off your waist in a short period of time.Your clothes will fit better and you will feel better about yourself. As a medical professional who has been working with people for over 30 years I have figured what works. I use this plan myself to keep myself at my ideal body weight.

The Loveland Medical Clinic runs the 22dayweightlossprogram.com that is partially based on the ketogenic diet. We have come to the conclusion that this is the most successful model that works for just about everyone. Once people have gone through our program they are able to manage their weight on there own. If you are interested in losing weight go to 22dayweightlossprogram.com.

#22dayweightlossprogram #losebellyfat #LovelandWeightloss #Fortcollinsweightloss #Greeleyweightloss #LovelandMedicalClinic

On paper I did not think today was going to be very difficult. The temperature was supposed to hit 100 again so I knew getting an early start was important. The distance was 85.8 miles and there was 7,700 ft of climbing. Our route took us from Ten Sleep to Meeteetse. Yes, Wyoming has some interesting names for their towns. I got to the first rest stop fairly fast. One thing about this tour is that it is not marked very well. You have orange arrows spray painted on the roads. If you zone out and miss an arrow you could easily get off the path. On the other hand, there are not many turns on this course.

 

 

There was not much on this leg that was interesting. That sign was all that was left of the stage stop. The badlands are called that for a reason. I just kept moving trying to get as far as I could before the heat of the day. The roads in Wyoming have cracks in them that are repaired with tar. They are just about the width of a tire and soft. When the day gets really hot  and your tire gets into one of  them it is really scary because you could crash. Pluses and minuses of doing a tour with so few people. Kind of nice to ride by yourself for a while. On the other hand minimal trains formed that could speed the day up or help with fighting head winds.

On the road I saw an owl that had been hit by a truck and was laying by the side of the road. A couple of riders from Cody called the bird lady who came and picked up the bird. From what I understand she takes these birds to the vet and sees if they are salvageable. If they are, she rehabilitates the birds herself and then releases them back in to the wild.  She has an interesting blog you can check out here.

Toward the end, the gradual uphill turned into 2 small stiffer climbs. There was a highway rest stop that I stopped at. Went into the bathroom thinking I would use the sink to cool off. Would you believe there was only warm water ? At the top a pretty good descent into town. All I could think of was a cold beverage. Luckily Jeneane had the forethought to stock a cooler full of beer in our SAG. I can’t think of a time where a beer tasted better.  Can you believe we then had a short hail storm ? Variety is the spice of life !

 

Tour de Wyoming keto diet day 3

So how did I fare on this long leg ? Ride took around 6.5 hours. I ate one keto bar and had  fruit slices at every rest stop. I also used an electrolyte tab in two of my  water bottles. Felt pretty strong when the temp was below 90, but could really feel myself flagging after that. As soon as I got back I checked my ketones( 5.8) and glucose(108). The glucose was post beer. You can see from my ketones that the exertion from the heat really makes a difference. I am finding that eating the fruit at rest stations works pretty well for me. I am not having any problems with keeping my energy up. I know that my body is using up the glucose immediately as well so I am not concerned about insulin spikes.   I did do my  2 bouillon cubes which helps, but I did have some foot cramps today towards the end of the ride. The one thing I am not doing that I usually do is take a magnesium supplement. Just to hard to have all that stuff on a ride like this.  Never hungry or needing to eat with any urgency.

As soon as my teammates were all cleaned up we headed to Meeteetse to eat and drink. Cool small town with a population around 350. Once again had a chicken salad for lunch. The Chocolatier in town ran out of chocolate really fast. Surprisingly this town has an awesome museum. There was a  stuffed grizzly that was famous because of the amount of livestock it had gorged itself on. We ran into some locals that told us in one day a guide saw 24 different grizzly bears. Great .

The Tour de Wyoming put on a dinner that night which consisted bbq pork and baked beans which was really good.  Tomorrow is a rest day with the route mostly downhill. I am still going to get up fairly early to beat the heat.

 

22 Day Weight Loss Program Loveland CO

(970) 541-0903

The 22dayweightlossprogram.com is extremely successful in helping people lose from 7 to 30 pounds in a 22 day period. This is also successful in taking inches off your waist in a short period of time.Your clothes will fit better and you will feel better about yourself. As a medical professional who has been working with people for over 30 years I have figured what works. I use this plan myself to keep myself at my ideal body weight.

The Loveland Medical Clinic runs the 22dayweightlossprogram.com that is partially based on the ketogenic diet. We have come to the conclusion that this is the most successful model that works for just about everyone. Once people have gone through our program they are able to manage their weight on there own. If you are interested in losing weight go to 22dayweightlossprogram.com.

#22dayweightlossprogram #losebellyfat #LovelandWeightloss #Fortcollinsweightloss #Greeleyweightloss #LovelandMedicalClinic

Today’s route was on everyone’s mind as the hardest day of the tour. Our route would take us from Buffalo to Ten Sleep.  It was 64.8 miles long and had 6275 feet of climbing. The average age of  the bikers on this tour was over 50 years of age. Lots of people got up early and started right at sunrise even though officially the course opened at 6 am. The mornings were pretty warm so we did not need to carry a lot of cold weather gear. I had my cowboy coffee, packed up, and got going. On the road around 6am.

 

 

I was feeling pretty strong at the start. Definitely was petering out towards the top. The climb was relentless. I prefer climbs  that are not steady and vary in pitch. We had to go over the Big Horn Mountains via Powder River Pass.  Thankfully they placed aid stations only 11 miles apart. Once at the top it was a screaming 30 mile descent down a beautiful canyon to Ten Sleep.

Our SAG was awesome and found us  a shady spot for our tents. We knew the shade would not last but it was good when we got there. It was the start of a bunch of 100 degree days. Since we were among the earliest arrivers’ in town we got cleaned up pretty quick. All the stops on this tour were in local schools and we camped on athletic fields. We used the school gyms for showering. It really pays if you are doing a tour like this to arrive early so you can get  a shower without having to wait a long time. Other riders have the philosophy that just go into town first and eat. Once the line is down then  go and  get cleaned up. I just like to get the sweaty, salty clothes off as fast as possible. Prevents problems down the road like skin problems.

Tour de Wyoming keto diet day 2

So how did I fare on this hard leg ? Ride took around 6 hours. I ate one  keto bar and had  fruit slices at all the uphill rest stops. I also used an electrolyte tab in my second water bottle. Felt reasonably strong all day long. 1.5 weeks prior to this ride I was climbing Mt Audoban and took a bad fall and landed on my knees. My left knee took the brunt of the fall and after this climb would bother me for the rest of the tour.

As soon as I got to the nights stop I checked my ketones( 4.8) and glucose(84). You can see from my ketones that this was a much harder day than yesterday. I lit my stove and had 2 bouillon cubes for salt replacement.  Wasn’t  hungry or needing to eat with any urgency.

 

As soon as my teammates were all cleaned up we walked to Ten Sleep to eat and drink. It was scorching. This town is really small  with a population around 260. They do have a microbrewery , unfortunately it was not within walking distance and it was too hot to get back on the bikes . The lady that served us lunch in the cafe was also making dinner and breakfast for all the riders on this tour. Busy lady. At the bar we were served by the same waitress who had served us lunch at the cafe.  It was here that I had my first of many chicken salads I would eat on this tour. Everything else had too much carbohydrates. The Tour de Wyoming put on a dinner that night which consisted of …..chicken breast and baked beans. The evenings entertainment was a musician Jalan Crossland. He was incredible. Tomorrow is the longest day of the tour so an early start is planned to get as far as possible before the heat of the day.   Stay tuned for day 3.

 

22 Day Weight Loss Program Loveland CO

(970) 541-0903

The 22dayweightlossprogram.com is extremely successful in helping people lose from 7 to 30 pounds in a 22 day period. This is also successful in taking inches off your waist in a short period of time.Your clothes will fit better and you will feel better about yourself. As a medical professional who has been working with people for over 30 years I have figured what works. I use this plan myself to keep myself at my ideal body weight.

The Loveland Medical Clinic runs the 22dayweightlossprogram.com that is partially based on the ketogenic diet. We have come to the conclusion that this is the most successful model that works for just about everyone. Once people have gone through our program they are able to manage their weight on there own. If you are interested in losing weight go to 22dayweightlossprogram.com.

#22dayweightlossprogram #losebellyfat #LovelandWeightloss #Fortcollinsweightloss #Greeleyweightloss #LovelandMedicalClinic