The plan for today was to head up to Cody via Shoshoni and Thermopolis to arrive by lunchtime and send the afternoon at The Buffalo Bill Museum. It did not happen.
The reason for this breakdown in the plan was simply the worst weather anyone in our group had ever experienced on a motorcycle. It was bitterly cold from the start but we had the gear against the cold so felt confident, however it was to prove quite futile against the conditions we would encounter when it would be impossible to turn back.
The first leg to Shoshoni was a shade over 100 miles but we found ourselves stopping at Powder River just to get some feeling back in the fingers. 40 miles from Shoshoni we ran into driving rain laden with ice crystals blowing in from the north and freezing temperatures that were greatly enhanced by wind chill. At about 30 miles from Shoshoni I realised that there were no longer any bike lights in my mirrors so I pulled over, got off the bike and tried to revive my fingers on the engine. Eventually Nige rode up to explain that we had lost a rider, Brian. It wasn't an easy decision to make but we decided to press on to Shoshoni and wait for him there because conditions were so bad that if he had gone down with exposure anyone going back for him was certain to suffer the same fate. Everyone had been briefed that Shoshoni would be our RV and I was certain Brian would make it and had just stopped to warm his hands.
Never have miles gone so slowly and never have I been so glad to see a 2 horse town like Shoshoni. Thawing out was painful, have a look at this movie. A group decision was made to stay in Shoshoni and see if conditions improved in the morning.
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