Tuesday, July 3, 2012, 53 miles - Total so far: 828 miles*
* Miles ridden on the TransAm route
Odometer miles - Today - 53.4 Total to date - 867.3 miles
(Time to get caught up - Wednesday afternoon, July 4.)
Finally, a glimpse of the Rockies
First some catch-up. Yesterday evening in Ordway, CO Wendy's brother Derick, his wife, two sons and daughter drove down from Denver to visit with us. They brought a huge smorgasbord of Pizza Hut food for our dinner. We ate dinner in the lobby of the Hotel Ordway. Derick's family stayed overnight in the area so that Derick and oldest son Daniel could ride with us for a couple of days.
On Tuesday morning I got started earlier than some of the others. The day before I had been slower than everyone (probably still paying for the 80 miler the previous day), so I wanted to get a bit of a head start. I made it to the first town, Olney Springs, CO ahead of everyone but found there wasn't much there.
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| A worn-out cottage in Olney Springs, CO. The faded lettering says "Welcome to Olney Springs, A nice place to invest the rest of your life." |
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| These earth mounds are pretty much the first "terrain" we've seen since I rejoined the ride in Kansas. |
About 15 miles into the ride Derick and Daniel caught up to me. We chatted a bit and Derick said he was into endurance cycling and had ridden the Leadville 100 a few years ago. It was clear he was much stronger than me, so I suggested he head on down the road ahead of me. Instead, he suggested I tag on behind him and use him to block the wind and give me a "tow". What a huge assist that was! Derick towed me for a while, then Ubald joined us and I tucked in behind the two of them. I tagged along for about 9 miles which sped my day up tremendously. Many thanks to Derick for the tow!
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| Derick towing me towards Pueblo, CO |
We stopped at a grocery/hardware store in Boone, CO for a lunch break. Then I fell back and rode with the slower riders on into Pueblo.
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| Lunch stop in Boone, CO - in the shade of a tree near the city park. |
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| Although we've been riding alongside railroad tracks for several days, this was the first train we saw. We saw two more later in the day. |
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| 11 miles to Pueblo. Still not much scenery, but we could make out the outline of mountains in the distant haze. |
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| Pueblo City Limit - Elevation 4695 Ft. |
When we reached town, Gina and Wendy split off to go to a hotel and Paul, Judy and I continued on the route into town. We stopped at the Great Divide bike shop near downtown. Judy needed some work done, so while we were there I had them true both wheels and adjust my brakes. I went across the street for lunch at a Mexican restaurant while they did the work. The total charge for their work was $28 - a bargain in my estimation.
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| The Arkansas River with downtown Pueblo in the background. |
After the bike work was done I made my way across town to the house where we were spending the night. A couple who are bikers and very touring cyclist friendly had agreed to host our group. Evan and Marcella let us sleep inside and use their showers. They also prepared a big dinner of spaghetti, salad, bread and desert. Because they have a dog and I was concerned about my allergies I slept outside in the garage, but it was quite comfortable overnight and I still got to use all the facilities.
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| The backyard hang-out space at our overnight accommodations in Pueblo, CO. |
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| My "bedroom" in the garage. |
The next morning Evan and Marcella made us pancakes for breakfast before we started out. They were great hosts who went out of their way to make us welcome and take care of us. Thanks, Evan and Marcella!
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| Evan and Marcella, with Lucy in their backyard - seeing us off on our ride Wednesday morning, July 4. |
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