Ahh.... what a day. We have never biked so far in our lives! I'd love to say we went out and had a party last evening, but we didn't. We dropped by the gas station and bought a gallon of water and some ice cream, came back to the room, ate ice cream and then macaroni and cheese for dinner, showered, and then promptly passed out. I don't think a three year old with a full set of pots and pans could have awoken us.
This day, we biked one hundred eleven miles. 111 miles.
The morning started normal enough. Get out of bed, eat something for breakfast (a hotel-provided continental breakfast), debate about what our goal for the day was, load bikes, bike off into the morning. Today we got our first glimpse of what Kansas might be like. It was as if we had already made the transition. The land was now flat and grassy, where ranching and farming were the only ways of life. Towns and cities were no longer within sight, and traffic was minimal, a car or two maybe passing every ten minutes at the most.
Soon Pueblo was far behind us, past the horizon line from our view. We were on US 96, a road running parallel to US 50, but approximately 50 miles North. The majority of the traffic takes US 50, so we had stretches of road where if you stopped and listened the only thing you would hear would be the light breeze rustling the grasses and maybe a fly buzzing. It is quite an incredible experience to listen to such silence. Train tracks also run adjacent to US 96, though we didn't see a train today.
We stopped for lunch after about 50 miles in a small town called Ordway. There was a restaurant, a hotel, a post office and a few small businesses. The restaurant was occupied by two other groups when we went in, one of which were fellow cyclists. They are the only cyclists that we've met headed in the same direction. They actually started in San Diego a short time after us and we've been on the same trail ever since. We first met Courtney in Kayenta at McDonalds. She and her boyfriend are the drivers of a small SUV providing support for his parents as they bike across the country. They are an older couple and wanted to bike across the country for fun. We have seen them multiple times since then, even eating in the same restaurant back in Rico, CO and they passed us in Cañon City when we stopped for lunch. Here we were again in Ordway, having lunch! We talked about and exchanged blogs (www.crazyguyonabike.com - Joseph Brennan, Brennans' Magical Mystery Tour). They were staying in Ordway that night. For some reason, after our lunch, we kept going.
The grass was pretty, and the sheer expanse of flat, building-less land was impressive. However, the sameness of it all, combined with a headwind, quickly got boring. The first fifty miles that we travelled, before lunch, went by much quicker without the headwind that we now faced. It is amazing how much the wind can affect your speed on a loaded touring bike - our panniers became parachutes.
We stopped in Arlington, which was maybe six buildings large, at a picnic table in the center of town. Shade!!! We had an apple and some snacks before building up our courage to get back on the road.
We starting taking breaks every ten miles to stretch, drink water, and relax. We started to take turns drafting behind one another so that we could get temporary breaks from the wind. At mile 100 we watched the sun go down and called the hotel in Eads. Lucky call. We reserved the last room! At the time we knew of no other lodging alternatives, and we were going to be too exhausted to investigate once we got there.
We pulled out our lights and the last 10.8 miles passed by in a blur. Finally the headwind eased off and we picked up our pace. 12 mph, 15 mph, and then 17mph, maintaining strict control over our brains not to think about the ache in our legs or the boredom we felt towards the scenery. The little twinkling lights on the horizon slowly got closer and then came in reach. We made it. We pulled into the hotel parking lot, Eads' Travel Lodge, shortly after 9pm. The owner was very kind, saying there were four other cyclists staying there that evening, asking if we knew them. He even turned on the AC in our room so that it could cool off before we arrived.
We carried our bikes up to the second floor (much easier since we mailed our extra gear home - 16.5 lbs worth). We quickly ran over to the gas station, grabbed some snacks and went back to the room to relax. We still can't quite believe how far we bikes. 111 miles is a long way....
But we did it!
Location:Pueblo, CO to Eads, CO
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