Bike Trip Day 28: Rest day in Riverton

We call it a rest day, but usually it’s a day to do all the things we can’t get to on riding days. For me, it was a day to take two of my bikes to the bike shop for repairs. Riverton doesn’t have a bike shop, so I drove the RV to a nearby town, Landers, to visit the Bike Mill, a great local bike shop.

My road bike had two flat tires from the new bike rack we purchased for the trip…got to get that fixed too. My gravel bike’s brakes were dragging and the chain was making a strange noise. The Bike Mill was great. They changed the tires, fixed the brakes, and changed out the chain on both bikes. And, best of all, they recommended a great coffee shop to go to in town while I waited.

I’m not one to order pastries at a coffee shop, but the bike shop guy claimed Lander Bread Share’s pastries are the best. Can’t pass up that kind of recommendation. And, he was right; the muffin was incredible. The coffee was great too.

Landers is a great little town. Some of the most popular cross-country bike routes pass through the town. It has a bit of a hip vibe, lots of art shops, bakeries, and restaurants. I stopped by an art store that used only recycled materials. They had a make-your-own journal area, and lately I’ve been obsessing over book binding. I’ve been watching YouTube videos about the process, so the idea of picking out all the pieces and having a journal bound really appealed to me. It turned out great. I’m not sure I needed another journal, but I enjoyed the process.

With my bikes and my new journal in tow, I headed back to Riverton. We have functioning bikes, groceries, a cleaner RV, and fresh laundry after a busy “rest day.”

Tomorrow we head to Jeffrey City, a bit of a ghost town. No hotels or restaurants that we know of, and (we thought) no RV park…except, someone just bought an old closed RV park and is opening it. I found out about it a few days ago and exchanged emails with the new owner. I think we might be the first guests, so fingers crossed that goes well. I’ll let you know.