Lusk to Wright

This ride should be called the Tom Petty, because you will be riding into the Great Wide Open. In fact, Wyoming is my favorite state partially because of its open, big views.

From Lusk you will ride north for 40 miles on rolling hills through ranch land, where you'll have incredible views of the surrounding sagebrush steppe.

You'll then descend off the ridge and turn west on Wasserburger Road and then north on Lance Creek Road, where you will start climbing once again. Along this road is a patch of BLM land where you'll probably want to camp, because there isn't much opporunity before or farther on. As you continue climbing from your campsite, you'll have some of the best views of the trip. Soon you will begin to see the Rochelle Hills off to the north - this is where you're headed.

After a seemingly long stretch on Dull Center Road (appropriate name), you'll turn north toward the hills and the Thunder Basin National Grasslands. First you'll encounter a low water crossing of the Cheyenne River (or not, NFS indicates it's seasonal). When I passed through in mid-May it was ankle deep, but you could skirt to the west where it's only a trickle. Then you'll start climbing again, up and over a hill where again, you'll have some of the best views of the trip (what can I say, there are so many).

At the bottom of the hill you'll see a right turn, and in front of you a Road Closed sign due to landslide. The map indicates that this road crosses over the hills, which is where I intended to go. I thought perhaps I could get around this landslide on a bike, so I took this road a few miles, but it is a proper landslide indeed, no getting past, and apprently no plans to clear it. There's a great shaded campsite up there, though, and great views.

Back to the turnoff, and some lovely, quiet miles through the grasslands. You may want to find a campspot here, because there isn't much public land left. You'll then hit some more private ranch land, start climbing and relish in yet more stunning views. Back into a brief section of grasslands, which is where I pitched up for the night, at the intersection of two roads, no privacy, but few cars.

From here it's a short distance to the highway, which unfortunately you'll ride 30 miles to Wright. There's been a boom in coal mining and drilling in the area, so be prepared for some ugliness.