Diagnus Well to Rawlins I was apparently sleeping well when I was jolted awake by my tent being pushed over against my face by a strong wind. I reached over and tapped my phone—it was 3:36 in the morning. Luckily there was no rain or hail or anything—just high winds. I moved my sleeping pad and body against the inside wall of the tent to help brace it and decided that was the best I could do at the time. If I got out, I’m convinced the tent would have blown away! I laid there hoping the wind would subside and that my other things outside the tent were still in the same county. At some point the wind did subside, and I went back to sleep, waking up about 6:30 to a calm, beautiful morning. Knowing I had a long day ahead, I tried to keep momentum and packed up camp, getting on the road before 8:30. According to my rough estimate I had about 90 miles to get across the Great Basin, then another 10 to Rawlins. There were no services of course, so my plan was just to eat bars and gels and keep hydrated. Off I went, the wind still fairly calm but freshening in my favor. The landscape was vast and open with huge skies and literally hundreds of antelope to break up the scene. Early in the ride the sun was low in my view, so the first sign of antelope would be the dust they stirred up as they ran. Randomly, one brave antelope soul would simply stand there at close range and watch me pedal by. As expected, the wind increased in speed as the day progressed, and with decent roads I was making good progress. Occasionally the road would bend to the point that I would have a cross/head wind, and I was happy I wasn’t attempting to ride the opposite way! It seemed the more well traveled roads—the oil and gas industry roads—were in worse shape than the more lightly traveled ones. I began to dread turning on an oil/gas road, as those were guaranteed washboard roads. I had one possible water stop noted, but it turned out to be dry, but I had packed a little extra water so I thought I would be OK. In looking at the route ahead of time, I noted about the last 40 miles were pavement. Ordinarily I would be a little bummed about that, but in this case it was a welcome sight. For 25 miles, I was on a secondary paved road with almost no traffic and a beautiful tailwind. I was very grateful for it, as each mile brought me closer to real food! I reached the main busy highway into Rawlins, and was happy to see it had a nice shoulder with rumble strips so I could just pedal and get to town. The miles seemed to drag on a little, as the long day was starting to wear on me, I think. Finally, Rawlins came into view, and with it a sigh of relief. I made my way to the KOA—my destination for the next 2 nights—which was at the top of one last steep hill. I arrived having drank my last swallow of water just a few miles before. The KOA office had a water cooler which I very much appreciated. I stopped my gps for the day: 112 miles. I decided to ask if they had a cabin available and thankfully they did! I took it. After a quick shower, I headed down to a taco shop I had spotted on my way into town. Real food was so welcome, and I began to feel refreshed right away. I sat there reflecting on the day, and most remember the sky. It was so blue, with clouds looking like ships floating out to sea spread across the horizon. In every direction wide open space, beautiful in its own way, and insignificant me—right in the middle of it. I felt a sense of honor to even be there. I was content with the day, and again grateful for my little part in it.