Into the Colorado Mountains

Wow, time is flying by, as I sit here in the AYH hostel in Breckenridge on the 26th of June, we have five weeks left on this trip. It has been a while since I have been able to get a good wifi connection so this may be a somewhat long post.
We got up in Sheridan Lake on Tuesday to beautiful day, sunny and cool with a light wind from the north.  On the road we had a 91 mile ride to get to Ordway to get back on schedule.  After 27 miles we stopped in Eads for a good breakfast and then back on the road and into a head wind for about 13 miles. Once we turned to the southwest we picked up speed and made good time for the rest of the ride.  A stop at a small rest stop in Arlington and then back on the road.  Lunch in a small cafe in Sugar City and then on to Ordway.  Now as we ride into Ordway we come up to the Ordway Hotel, an old building and I am thinking "this might be interesting".  Well it was, these were the nicest rooms that we have stayed in on the whole trip. The hotel originally opened in 1904 and a few years ago the current owners purchased it and remodeled every room.  David got a single room and we called it the "King David Suite".

To say the least David heard a lot about this room.

Wednesday we got up and headed for Pueblo, the biggest city is a long time for us.  The ride was good and we made excellent time on the 51 mile ride and there really was not much to say about this ride except that it brought us to a nice city.  The motel in Pueblo was OK and the five Amigos went out for dinner to DJ's Steak House and I had a buffalo steak that was the best meal of the ride to date. I forgot my sunglasses at the DJ's and had to go back a little later.

Thursday we got up and after a motel breakfast we headed for Royal Gorge and the ride was uphill and took us into the foothills of the Rockies.  We had our first climbs in a while and our legs got woken up to climbing.  We did have a very nice downhill from Wetmore to Florence and it lasted for ten miles.  Lunch in Florence and then we rode the worst road of the trip for seven miles into Canon City.  Very bad road surface, no shoulder, and heavy traffic. Oh, and the drivers in Colorado are the worst of the trip.  They do not give cyclists an inch.  I have had many cars pass me within a few inches.  Not fun!

Out of Canon City we had a seven mile uphill to Royal Gorge and at least there was a great shoulder.  The KOA campground at Royal Gorge was good and Sjef and I rented a small cabin for the two nights we were there, with air conditioning!

On Friday we had a rest day and while many of our group went rafting I rode to Royal Gorge and took a few pictures.

I walked across this wood deck bridge along with traffic.  The bridge rocks up and down and sways a little depending on how much traffic is on the bridge.  The gorge is deep and the Arkansas River flows through running high right now with snow melt from the mountains.  All in all this was a nice easy day and we got ready to head into the mountains on Saturday.

And head into the mountains we did on Saturday, with a 67 mile ride to Fairplay, CO. We climbed to an elevation on 9600 feet and for at least 30 miles had a strong headwind. This was a slow tough day of riding with the lowest speed of the trip at 8.96 mph.

We did stop for lunch in Hartsel in an old bar and had a good time there.

From Hartsel we rode the last 18 miles to Fairplay into a strong headwind. But we finally got to Fairplay and the motel we stayed in was better than most and after a good dinner we all turned in early.

Sunday was a big day for us.  We rode up to Hossier pass at 11,532 ft. (3,505 meters) and it was not a real tough ride.  The grades ranged from three to eight percent over ten miles. Once at the top we had a lot of hand shakes and backslapping since this is the highest pass on the entire tour.  The weather was perfect, about 70 on the top with sunshine.

Now after all of the picture taking and snowball fights it was time to head for Breckenridge, DOWNHILL for ten miles.  I put my helmet cam on and took a great video for the first five miles of the decent. This was fun and fast and we had a lot of chuckles after we got to Breck. We are staying at the AYH hostel, four to a bunk room but it is a really nice place.  They even did our laundry for us.

Speaking of laundry, before this trip, my friend Sjef had never done any laundry!  Well he has been turning into a regular laundry expert and when he gets home he may even do some laundry, time will tell.

We have a rest day tomorrow here in Breck and I will pick up my new Kindle and also mail out a package to Linda.

Life is Good

Bobo

Onward to Colorado

Friday the 17th had us riding to Ness City a total of 67 miles at over 15 miles per hour. This was a fun ride with a gradual grade all day.  The only thing about this type of riding is that you pedal all of the time. There are no downhills to stop pedaling and rest, so just keep pedaling away. We made one stop and arrived in Ness City just after noon.  Again the usual city pool and cold showers but it was nice.  In the evening there were severe storm warning and the local police came by to warn us that if the sirens sounded we should immediately seek cover. So OK we are in a park, where is the cover: four blocks away.  We did not hear any sirens but it can really storm out here.  Rain, very hard rain and strong winds along with the thunder and lightning. Some of our group did not select their tent sites well and had items floating in their tents.  But not me!
From Ness City on Saturday we rode to Scott City and we got slowed down a little by the continuous grade and a fairly strong side wind. This 57 mile ride thru central and western Kansas makes one realize just how big the great plains are, miles and miles of wheat and corn. It just keeps going.  You really do not get a feel for the size driving a car at 65, but at 13 miles an hour you sure understand the greatness of this land.
In Scott City we stayed in the Athleticlub and had a very nice evening after the five amigos went to the local watering hole for a few hours.  Great local people and some good stories.  Fortunately we were inside tonight because another of the evening severe storm warnings came up.  This time we were told to go into the shower areas of the building in case the sirens went off.  But once again we had a severe storm but no sirens.

Storm Clouds move in and within an hour we are in a very strong storm on the road on Monday.
That's getting a little ahead but on Sunday we rode to Tribune on our last full day in Kansas. This was another day of all pedaling on a gradual grade up and we made it to Tribune in good time and once again stayed at the local park with the cold shower and swimming pool.  No one came around to tell us about storm warning and we all went to sleep thinking this would be a quiet night, ha, ha, about 11:30 the winds came up, and I mean the winds came up with gusts up to 50 mph.  Kathy  in our group had a pole in her tent frame break and puncture her tent badly but other than that we all made it thru the wind storm fine.
The winds did not stop in the morning and after breakfast we got on the road with a very strong side wind from the north, with gusts up to 45 mph.  And we are riding on a main highway with lots of heavy truck traffic.  Nothing like being blown into the traffic lane by a gust but at least at the start of the ride it was not raining.  The picture above is of the storm clouds that we rode into and just as we entered Colorado the skies opened up and the temperature dropped about 12 degrees to 55 and this along with the side wind.

This picture was taken about 10 am and it had gotten very dark.  About two miles form here two of us stopped at a grain elevator scales and went into the building and talked with the operator and we stayed there for over an hour hoping that the weather would break since this had not been forecast.  The operator brought up the weather channel and the radar showed this storm settling in right over us for the day. Well it did not break and we went out again in the cold rain and wind and I rode 12 miles to Sheridan Lake and stopped in the auto parts store where we were told they sold snacks and soda.  I asked if there was anyplace where we could stay for the night and everyone there said to go to the local church, so here I am at 3:30 pm out of the weather and looking forward to a 85 mile ride tomorrow since I only rode 30 of the scheduled 57.  The weather for tomorrow is forecast to be sunny and warmer so we should make decent time with the winds forecast to be out of the north at 5 to 10 mph. 

Kansas was great to ride in, except for this morning we had essentially no wind issues but Colorado really welcomed us with cold, rain and high winds.

Life is Good   Bobo 

Central Kansas

OK, so after a really nice rest day on Tuesday and a good dinner at Montana Mike's Steak House we got up early and headed out for Sterling, KS.  The riding was flat and fast for touring, we averaged almost 14.5 mph and had a lot of fun.  Again there are very few places to get water or other provisions but in Nickerson, Sjef and I stopped at the Sunshine Cafe and had coffee and I had a home made cinnamon bun, it was huge for $1.59.  Sjef had his favorite, Eggs and toast. we stayed at the city park in Sterling  and had a good evening with a decent meal, hot dogs, hamburgers, salad and other goodies.
Many of us set up our tents near Sterling Lake and it was very nice until at 10:30 pm the sprinkler system that surrounds the lake came on, well it lasted for a half hour.  OK that is not too bad, in fact it kinda put me to sleep.  Well at 4:30am the sprinkler system starts up again and lasts for another half hour.  We took our time taking down our tents and it was pretty dry when I packed it up.
Oh, did I say this is the land of OZ, well it is, see below.

On Thursday we headed to Larned, KS and again this was a flat and fast ride with the winds helping us most of the way.  We have been lucky so far.  There were no services between Sterling and Larned to we rode the entire ride taking only one short break to stop and eat a little and water the roadside. The temperatures were OK and now that the humidity is finally reasonable, riding is comfortable.  Again we stayed at the city park in Larned and it worked out well with the swimming pool next door with showers and rest room facilities. 

About 6:30 PM a lady stopped by and told us that there were severe storm warnings for Larned until 11 PM.  Oh goodie, so we made sure that our tents were secure and the local police stopped by and opened a lodge for us in case the weather turned really bad.  A couple of our group went to the lodge and stayed there for the night.  About 8:30 the first storm came thru and the winds came up pretty good, secure in the tent I read for a while and listened to the storm.  Good light show and lots of loud thunder.  Winds gusted to 50 mph and it was a good blow.  It stopped for a while and then about 11 started again and it was not as severe as the first storm but is was pretty good.  No hail or twisters but there was a small twister about 50 miles away.

Friday when we got up there was a nice breeze blowing from guess where, the EAST, Oh boy another good day of riding.  As we ride from town to town you can tell there is a town coming up when you see the grain elevator, usually at first about 10 to 12 miles away.

Every town has one and sometimes more than one. 

Early this morning we rode to Fort Larned an outpost on the Santa Fe Trail in the mid 1800's

The buildings were not open yet so we could not take a good tour but it was interesting to see one of these frontier forts. The well constructed stone buildings were solid and the fort was in use by the Army for about 30 years. 

Riding the last three days we have slowly begun to climb toward the Rockies, Each day we are picking up four to six hundred feet of elevation and with the luck we have had with the wind our riding has been fast.  Today over 67 miles I averaged 15.42 mph.  I doubt that I will be able to do that again but it was fun to do.  Everyone was so worried about the winds riding east to west but except for a couple of short stretches on the entire trip the wind has not been a problem. All that could change quickly but we will take the good winds for as long as they are with us.

Now a friend of mine is complaining that I am staying in motels too often and should rough it more or give up camping.  Well this is coming from the holder of the No Tell Motel, Master Motel Stayer Award Certificate.  This guy camped with me for a couple of weeks last year and let me tell you, he will never get a Master Camper Certificate, bitch, bitch, and more bitching about camping.  By the way tonight we are camping at the city park in Ness City, KS.  Kansas is cool in that most cities have nice parks with swimming pools and allow cyclists to stay for free. Today we do get the benefit of cold showers, My Motel friend would love that!

Hey everyone, Life if Good  Bobo

Kansas

Over the weekend we rode thru eastern Kansas and really had some scenic riding.  It is a lot flatter here and so far the winds have not been a big factor. On Saturday we rode to Chanute, KS and stayed overnight at the Episcopal church.  Sjef and I picked a small room and claimed it as ours for the night.  Our cooks decided they did not want to really cook so off to WalMart they went and picked up rotisserie chickens and some premade salads. it must have been OK because there was nothing left.

Terry and I went to the Safari Museum in Chanute and it is dedicated to Martin and Osa Johnson who were early filmmakers of wildlife in Borneo and Africa.  This was a real gem and an unexpected treat on the trip.  The picture is of the old train station that houses the museum and the city library.

On Saturday evening five of us decided to ride a century on Sunday since the temperatures were forecast to be in the mid eighty's and winds were to be favorable.  So in the morning the five of us took off early and rode thru some typical Kansas countryside.  We only had one steep but short climb and the rest of the time it was one to three percent grades up and then down, miles and miles of grades up and down. We rode and made good time averaging almost fifteen miles an hour. and arrived in Cassaday around 3:30 PM.  The only thing open in Cassaday was a country store and we ate there before setting up camp in the city park.  This was the poorest camp yet, with dirty tables, dirtier outhouses and one water spigot.  But with the nice breeze and the constant train whistles all night we did get a good night sleep.  Cassadsy is a railway crossroads of sorts and there are trains going by about every 20 minutes of so.

This was it for Cassaday, the country store and not much more.

OK so we get up on Monday morning and have breakfast, of course at the country store, and everyone wants to head out since the temperature is forecast to go up over 100 and the winds will change about mid day, and not in our favor, so off we go.  A little short of four miles out I reach for my camel back tube, and it is not there, it is back at the country store.  So I turn around and head back and this allows me to add an extra eight miles to my days ride.  Fortunately with the century on Sunday I only had to ride forty five miles.  The countryside was mostly pasture for livestock. I did not realize that Kansas has a lot of oil wells. On this ride there was not one single turn.  Thirty eight miles of absolutely straight road.

I actually made good time getting to Newton, KS but for about the last six miles the wind was getting stronger and beginning to come out of the south west.  Made for a little more work but it was OK since we are staying at the Day's Inn in Newton and Tuesday is a rest day for us.

Well I don't know if I mentioned that I ordered a helmet cam last week from REI for delivery to the Newton Post Office via general delivery.  REI in their wisdom sends the helmet mount by mail but decides to send the camera via UPS.  Now UPS does not deliver to post offices so the delivery was refused.  Fortunately I caught this in time and called REI and had them reroute the camera to the motel and I finally received it today. Maybe I will be able to post some video, maybe not, we will see when I have something to make a film of.

Being a rest day we all clean and lube our bikes so today I do the routine and notice that my Brooks saddle is a little stretched out so I get out the wrench and try to tighten it up. The result is that I break the adjusting bolt. Two hundred miles from the nearest bike shop and I break a special bolt, Its a good day.  I walked over to the truck stop (its a big one) and talk to the mechanics in the garage and we get a bolt and nut and finally get it in place correctly and the saddle is as good as new, and I am now a certified Brooks saddle mechanic.  The guys at the shop were great.  We are finding that generally speaking everyone we have met on the trip has been very nice.

This is our last rest day for nine days until we get to Royal Gorge CO. so I do not know when the next blog post will take place.  Services in the small towns out here are very limited and we all make sure that we are loaded up with water and snacks when we head out.  It is getting very common to go forty miles without a water stop or anything.  Ranches tend to be way off the route on gravel roads and some of the gravel out here is very sharp.  I picked out 4 stones from my tires today.  Tonight is steak night so it is almost time to indulge.

Life is Good  Bobo

On into Kansas

Time is really flying by, we have been on the ride now for over 5 weeks and we are about 1/3 of the way across the country.  Now that we are moving out of the mountains and hills of the east and Missouri the daily mileage is starting to pick up.
On Tuesday the 7th we rode to Marshfield, MO with lots of hills but the hills are getting smaller, not real long climbs but lots of little ones and some with up to 14% grade. Still a lot of work on the bike.  This ride was thru rolling country side with nice farms and ranches.  We did come across three posted detours for bridges out and decided to risk it and rode on and were able to get across all three bridges,  Enough work has been done to allow us to ride through. Camped at a city park in Marshfield and did the usual for dinner and a card game before hitting the bag. 
On Wednesday we headed out and rode to Ash Grove with the same type of riding on nice rolling countryside.  The roads in Missouri have been nice with good paving and these are the best marked roads of any state that we have been in so far.

Temperatures continue to be well into the 90's every day and on the road the temps get to well over 100. I can't say that I am getting used to the heat with the high humidity but it is not bothering me as much.  I just keep drinking lots of water and Gatorade. Ash Grove is a small city and again we stayed at the city park. The shower was close and had hot water so life was OK in Ash Grove.  It is amazing how just the availability of something like a shower can mean so much.  We did have a lot of climbing on this day and really it may be the last of the really hilly days.
Thursday had us up about 5:45AM and headed into Kansas.  The ride information indicated that we would ride about 20 more miles in the hills then things would change. And it was correct, hills for about 20 then the landscape just started to flatten out a lot.  To be sure there are rolling hills, and now added to the  mix was a wind out of the south southwest at about 15 to 20 mph.  Not a straight on headwind but enough for some of our folks to notice. After 63 miles we crossed into Kansas.

Now that we are in Kansas we will have the winds and flatter riding, well a little flatter. Arriving in Pittsburg after 71 miles we rode again to a city park where we have a nice camp site next to the local baseball field, so we are treated to a ball game each night.  We are staying over on Friday for a rest day and will head out again on Saturday. Thursday a friend of Deloris, who is on our ride, showed up with a nice dinner for us and it was good to get a home cooked meal.  This lady (Terry) rode with Deloris last year on an ACA ride. Thanks Terry!

Well it is now Friday and laundry is done, a really good breakfast is over and here I sit in the Library (air conditioned) doing the blog thing and catching up on other computer stuff.

Below is a picture of the Five Amigos

From the left are Sjef from Holland, Jason from London, myself, Terry from Moab, UT, and David from England. This is the group that plays cards every evening, creates a little havoc in camp and we all tend to ride somewhat together and watch out for each other.

On across Kansas, Life is Good      Bobo

Missouri

We finished riding in Illinois on Thursday when we crossed the Mississippi River into Missouri.

The weather has gotten very hot and now in Missouri we are back into hill climbing, lots of small hills but hills none the less.Farmington, MO was a very nice town for an overnight and I had to replace my chain, it was toasted and I was having trouble shifting. We did get to watch a Little League Ball Game in the evening and it was a nice diversion.Tacos were on the menu and while they were good they were not very filling, especially with the riding we are doing.

On our way to Lesterville on Friday, one of our riders crashed while moving from the highway to the shoulder of the road. She lost control mainly due to about a four inch difference in surfaces and a very stony and rutted shoulder.  Jill is out of the tour with a fractured scapula, broken ribs and cuts and bruises.  We all wish her well. On the way  into Lesterville the school temperature sign registered 105F while riding on the road my bike computer registered 113F. It was HOT.  We camped on the Current River and a swim cooled me down.  A couple of our riders really suffered from the heat and had a hard time recovering.

On Saturday we rode to Eminence, Mo and this was a hilly ride with some good climbs. We thought we could  beat the heat by leaving before seven but it got hot quickly. This was only a 52 mile ride but with the temperature reaching 113F on the road it was a very tough day riding. Once again I drank and drank fluids all day and made it into the Circle B Campground OK.

At the Circle B I was able to get a motel(really basic motel) room for Sjef and myself.The best feature was the AIR CONDITIONING! When Sjef got in he was really worn out.  He fell onto the bed and did not move for at least a half hour.  But being Sjef he was soon up and about and asking for a beer. We went into town for Dinner and it was a good meal. 

Eminence is the County Seat for Texas County.  There are a total of seven thousand residents in the county and the big issue in this area is the reintroduction of Elk into the National Forests in the area.Ranchers and farmers are against it and everyone else is in favor.  This is a beautiful area with the Current and Jack's Fork Rivers with lots of tubing, rafting, kayaking and canoeing on over 100 miles of unpolluted waterways.  Everyone is working hard to keep it that way.

We had a rest day on Sunday and that is just what I did most of the day until I had to prepare dinner . As cook for the day we had chicken, bratwurst, baked beans, salad and watermelon.  Not a bad meal if I do say so myself, although Jason and Sjef helped a lot.

Today,(Monday) we rode 42 miles to Houston and we are camped at the city park with a swimming pool and showers at hand.  Nice.

Life is Good   Bobo