July 6, 2018
Casper, WY – Rest Day
After yesterday’s grueling ride, we get a well-earned day off in Casper.
So far, we have ridden our bikes a total of 1,370 miles, with 2,330 miles to go. And we’ve climbed an aggregate of 57,060 feet. That’s over ten miles!
As you can imagine, we’re burning a ton of calories every day and it’s vitally important to keep our energy up and to stay well-hydrated. Our fabulous support team keeps us well fed and provides meals every riding day. On rest days, like today, we are on our own and free to explore our host city.
The food so far has been pretty good. We’re all so hungry at dinner time that we’ll eat just about anything. The hotel breakfasts, though, are not so great but I eat a light one anyway – usually just a bowl of cereal or granola with yogurt and some eggs. I did draw the line one morning when I saw donuts with icing and bacon. Seriously: bacon donuts. Thanks, no thanks. Occasionally, we go out for a real breakfast.
Sorry to say, the coffee leaves a lot to be desired and the Europeans must think we’re a country of barbarians given the state of coffee service. I haven’t seen an espresso machine for 1,000 miles. (Actually, I did stop in at a Starbucks a few hundred miles back, and even that was sub-par.) With the help of Google Translate, I told Maurizio, “Soprattutto, voglio scusarmi con te per il nostro pessimo caffè americano. È appena bevibile, non è vero? Per favore, accetta le mie più profonde scuse.”
We’re grazing throughout the day on nuts, granola bars, bananas, peanut butter, watermelon and whatever other fruit treats Deana, Karen, Judy or Pam have for us at the SAG stops. Many folks drink Gatorade, but I find it to be just all sugar. So some of us bring our own powders and electrolyte supplements. And on long days, we often stop at a Dairy Queen in our destination town for a milkshake or Blizzard. I haven’t had a milkshake in almost forever, but on this trip it’s ok.
Dinner is either catered in at the hotel, or a walk to a nearby restaurant and mostly hit, but sometimes miss. (Last night was a miss.) Back in Baker City, dinner was at a local brew pub and we ordered off the menu. This was a treat – real food at a real restaurant. I pondered the special: Coffee-rubbed flat-iron steak with beer cheese sauce.
Hmmmmm … beer cheese sauce.
“Excuse me, miss, I’m not from around here. Could you tell me, please – what is beer cheese sauce?”
“Oh,” she replied, “you’ve never had beer cheese sauce?”
“Why, no, I haven’t”.
“Well … ,” she went on, apparently unsure exactly how to describe this local delicacy, “have you ever had beer cheese soup?”
“Hmmm,” I shook my head, “I’m afraid not.”
“Oh, because it’s a little like that.”
I paused.
“It’s really good,” she added reassuringly.
“Ok, I’ll have the steak then, medium rare. And, … um, … could you put the beer cheese sauce on the side?”
“Certainly,” she answered, “I’ll just mark it SOS.” And then, as if to let me in on a trade secret, she added, “that means sauce on side.”
When the entrees came, the steak was delicious and medium rare (or, close enough). And there, on the side, was a rather large bowl of the beer cheese sauce. It actually looked like a bowl of Mac and Cheese, but without the Mac. I gently dipped a piece of steak in and tried it. It was quite good. It had a bit of a kick – the beer, I guessed. I shared the new find with my table mates and pretty soon, everyone was taking a dip and nodding affirmatively.
Live and learn.
***
Our rest day was spent sleeping in, relaxing and taking care of equipment issues. Some of us hiked over to the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center which had a fantastic exhibit on the history of the pioneers and the development of the West.
Mostly, it was a stark reminder of the harsh conditions of the pioneers and traveling in covered wagons without America by Bicycle SAG support!! A walk into town for dinner capped off our relaxing day.
It’s another century-plus ride tomorrow of 107 miles, so I will say adios for now.
Journey with Jeff 
Truly inspiring. Beer cheese sauce? Who would have known. The wagon trains went the wrong way to catch the winds, I hope yours have returned to their rightful place: At your backs.. Did you read the blurb on my old friend tackling the Siberian wilderness on his way to Japan?.. I bet he does crave some Beer cheese sauce with his “steak”.
LikeLiked by 1 person