July 5 – 108 miles from Casper to Lusk, WY. Lots more high plains, with sage and
cattle ranches. A long but
pleasant ride, interrupted by an auto accident on the road from Douglas to Lusk
– see comments below. A strange moment
was when a group of 8 of us got a police escort into Douglas, right to the main
park, where one of our members was
ceremonially handcuffed to the giant Jackalope. The group member, Larry, is doing a ride for his charity,
Life Across America, which targets to increase blood donations. As Larry is a former policeman, some
friends back home contacted the cops in Douglas, who were more than happy to
support a brother. So we formed a
little parade through town, got pictures taken, and even had a small blurb in
the local paper. Fun.
July 6 – 98 miles from Lusk, into South Dakota and the Black
Hills, to Hot Springs. A very
pretty ride, helped be the fact that temperatures stayed cool and winds
reasonably favorable. (They had
been predicted to blow strongly in our face.) Uneventful – just a nice day of riding.
Thoughts:
Wyoming Humor:
Dick Cheney comes from Wyoming, which of course is not funny, and kind
of gives an impression that people from there are nasty, secretive and power
hungry. Well we should not
generalize from a single example.
Turns out, Wyomingers, or Wyomites, or Wyomians, or whatever they call
themselves (Whynots?) are very nice, and even have a sense of humor. As I mentioned in previous notes, the
Casper minor league baseball team is the Casper Ghosts, surely the most
self-deprecating sports team name in the country (maybe excepting the Maryland
Terrapins.) And the Ghosts mascot
– a big stuffed platypus. Go
figure.
Wyoming also has an official mythical creature – the
jackalope. Not too many states can
claim this! It’s a cross between a
jack rabbit and antelope. There is
a rivalry amongst towns as to who has the largest jackalope – we saw giant ones
in Dubois and Douglas, but missed Riverton’s entry. As you might expect, there are even jackalope hunts – I
think done in the same vain as the snipe hunts of Maine.
So there you have it – nice people who often do not take
themselves too seriously. Now if
they could just disown their most famous resident, they would get the respect
they deserve.
Roadkill observation:
As you travel around the country, the nature of roadkill changes. You see, when you are on a bike, mile
after mile, you get to see a lot of roadkill, up close and personal. In fact, we are warned not to ride over
it, as bones and teeth can cause flats.
As if we would run over it if this were not so!
Anyway, in the northeast, on my 3000+ miles of training
rides, the most frequent roadkill, by a large margin, was squirrels. You would think there would be none left
for the number on the road. After
squirrels, the common critters were chipmunks, skunks, and groundhogs, followed
by the occasional possum. And in
the Hudson valley, you have to add regular white tail deer strikes.
In Oregon, there was, comparatively speaking, less roadkill,
with still frequent squirrels in the moist west, but also these small black
birds. Then came Idaho’s Snake
River plain, and the onslaught of jack-rabbits. These guys are positively suicidal. They must wait for the infrequent cars
on the back roads, just for the chance to get under the tires. These were followed by these cute
little yellow birds, and the occasional coyote.
Into the Rockies, and mule deer start showing up on the
road, but no more jack rabbits.
Interesting that the elk and antelope never get hit – I guess they are
smarter than deer. Then the plains
of eastern Wyoming, and the jack rabbits are back, with the yellow birds, and a
new entry – snakes, particularly rattlesnakes. Lots of these all over the place. And you know, even obviously dead, these guys, particularly
the big ones, are a bit scary.
Tomorrow, its into the Black Hills and prairie dog country – a whole new
opportunity to study the predatory habits of SUVs.
Hey – I didn’t promise deep thoughts on this blog.
Fatal Accident:
On July 5, on the long journey from Casper to Lusk, we came to a section
of US 20 where there were no other possible routes. And then found that the 2 lane road was closed due to a
fatal accident – an SUV hit by an 18 wheeler. Our handlers (America by Bicycle) were advising us riders
not to proceed to the area, which was 8 miles past the last turn off, with
absolutely nothing around it for miles, but many of us riders pressed on anyway,
basically figuring the police would clear the accident after not too much time,
or we could get around it somehow.
I came upon the scene alone. I passed perhaps a ½ mile line of trucks and cars waiting
for the road to clear, with many holes where people had given up and gone back
to do the long, 2 ½ hour detour around.
Finally at the front, I saw the scene: a completely burned out, rolled
over, smashed SUV on the road, with parts and char spread out over maybe 40
yards. The tractor-trailer truck
was in a wash, smashed but more recognizable. Ominously, there were blankets covering something on the
road, presumably the people killed.
I was told later by the police that they were not even sure how many people
were in the SUV.
I saw fellow riders preceding me carrying there bikes across
a railroad trestle across the wash – the tracks being some 40 yards off the
side of the road. So I followed,
and in the process got a good clear view of the scene. It was horrific – see
the picture in the Wyoming gallery.
Talking to a policeman on the other side, after crossing the
trestle (of what turned out to be an inactive track – perfectly safe), I
learned that the probable cause was the SUV trying to pass another vehicle on a
curving section of road, hit by the semi with an angular blow, as the truck swerved
to avoid the SUV. The swerving
truck lost control and landed in the wash, 20 yards off the road. Everyone in the SUV was killed, but no
info on the truck driver.
So there it is, an all too common story. An impatient driver, a careless moment
and life suddenly over. The lesson
is learned over and over, but the mistakes are still made. From my years in the safety business, I
know all about the psychology – how we grow to accept and take risks that are
familiar, when the probability of adverse consequences is low and the reward
for taking the risk is immediate.
And I know us humans need constant reminders of the consequences to wake
us up and keep us alert to the risks we take. Just, it’s a shame that we have to have those blankets on
the highway as the reminder.
