Day 17 July 6th

We biked 97 miles today from Dubois to Riverton, WY. This was supposed to be a relatively easy 79 mile ride but due to flooding and road closures we got the extra mileage and a couple of really good climbs which I don't think anyone really wanted after the prior two climbing days. The first 30 miles or so had some incredible rock formations with the sun reflecting off them. I had a scary moment about 30 miles into the ride. I usually don't wear or carry a jacket but it was a little cool this morning so I put one on. About 15 miles into the ride of course I didn't need it anymore and I put it in one of my jersey pouches. I was riding along a flat section at about 22 mph when all of a sudden I came to a skidding stop. The bike was going every which way and I had to fight to keep the bike upright and me on it. Somehow I managed to do both. What happened was that my jacket came out of my jersey pocket and got stuck in the rear wheel of my bike in the brake area. The rear tire was badly shredded in one spot but not flat. I managed to ride it into the sag stop and had the tire changed and finished the ride. We are moving quickly through Wyoming with almost 100 mile rides for 3 straight days. We have a 120 mile ride tomorrow into Casper and then a day off that everyone is looking forward to.