for the past probably 10 years, i have been saying that i was going to retire when i was done being 30. well, yesterday i was officially done being 30, so it was time to reflect a little. on my last day of being 30, i had quit my job and was gainfully unemployed. i was riding my bike through the Great Basin of Wyoming, a dry, desolate place where i saw practically zero people. it was a monday, but i did not have to report to work or worry about any current projects or issues or problems. i cant say that riding through the desert of Wyoming would have been my first choice of retirement activities, but i would say that i met my goal nonetheless.

lets see - what has happened since my last post? well, i am now in Rawlings, WY and only have 2 more days to go before i will be done with Wyoming completely. when i set out on this last stretch, there were no stores and no water so i was not looking forward to it. turns out that the first two days i did find water sources, so i was feeling pretty good. the third day was the big one though - i was supposed to ride 70 miles through the desert and then follow it up with 55 more miles the next day, all with no water sources. well, the 70 miles was long and hot and i got sunburned, but it actually went by pretty fast. so fast, that when i arrived at my planned destination, i still had a fair bit of sunlight left. since it was my birthday, i decided that i did not want to camp amongst the cow manure and sagebrush for the night, but i wanted to eat a real dinner. to make a long story short (and save my parents the worry of reading all of the details), i ended up riding all the way to Rawlings that day. by the time i got to the MiniMart in Rawlings, it was 2:15am, i had ridden 116 miles, and i was totally worn out.

looking back, my decision to ride to Rawlings last night on almost no water without knowing the terrain was a very bad one. during the entire trip, i have been extra cautious and prepared and made good decisions, but yesterday i had a lapse in good judgement and i paid for it. i should have just been happy with my cow manure and sagebrush.

---