This was along day - 167km to be precise. We crossed into Kansas from Colorado at about the 80km mark and low and behold Kansas greeted us with a howling easterly wind. And she stole another hour from us. Trish had obviously checked the forecast the night before and had volunteered to drive for the second half - good choice. This is grain growing country - corn, wheat, barley you name it. The only thing that makes the horizon look anything but straight are the grain silos dotted every 25km or so. At least it gave us something to focus on. The odd "nodding donkey" or stray turtle was all that seemed to break the monotony. We finished in Scott City and managed to find an old 1922 theatre that had been converted into a restaurant. Very high brow for this lot. A fairly long, windy day assessed as a 6.
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This was another relatively short ride over similar country to yesterday - flat and straight for 98km. It's getting warmer with the temperature topping out close to 90F and the wind strengthening from the south. It seemed a bit harder than yesterday. We did however reach one milestone today, exceeding the half way target of 3,300km since commencing. We stopped for the photo shoot and celebrated with cheap sparkling wine at the end. It is always a good feeling to start counting down rather than counting up. We are in the grain growing area and the flat horizon is broken by the grain silos in each town much like our wheat belt. Not as easy or as much fun as yesterday so we assessed it at a 7. Tomorrow we put in the big miles .... This was a very cruisy 87km ride in flat country with sunny skies and a slight tail wind. So easy it was over and done before lunchtime. So what to do in Ordway for an afternoon? How about meeting some locals? Carol the motel owner, Mike the texas ranch hand, Bill the barman, Cal the Sherrif, Ed the asparagus grower. We met them all and did our best to find out the local gossip and not get arrested. There used to be 120 farmers in the district, now there are less than 20 as most sold their water rights off to the local municipalities for more than their farms were worth. We also rode past our fifth prison (correctional institution) since we started in Colorado. And it aint marijuana possession as it has been legal here for 2 years. A swim in the lake Harry was a chnace to display our white, shrivling bodies. Time to eat more. An excellent day at 9/10. A rest day in Pueblo to do all the last minute things that only a large town can offer - get the bikes serviced and repaired, buy clothes from TJMax, go to a local brewery pub, have a swim in a pool, go to Starbucks. Yes we have fallen victim to the dreaded chain coffee house and resorted to buying coffee from them. Shame of shames ... We were joined by Mike Galinski and his wife Barbara for the evening and day as they were on the way back to New Mexico. Mike was in Perth for a few years and rode with the Subi Sprockets - he still had the shirt. He and Rodney even went for a bike ride just for old times sake. The rest of us just veged. The weather has turned and we will start riding in hotter conditions from now on. Oh for the snow .... After a very tough day yesterday, today was an 80km relatively flat ride into Pueblo. However with the regular navigator on car duty, the rabble managed to find a way to add another 10km to the ride “touring” Pueblo. They had all sorts of excuses but none worth boring you with here. This was a ride to let the legs recover from the monster day yesterday and the average speed testified to that. This is the end of 5 weeks of riding (half way by time) and in this period we have ridden just over 3,100km and climbed just over 24,000 vertical meters (close to 3 Mt Everest’s). All fairly useless information but hey it’s something to put on the CV. For some odd reason we have another rest day tomorrow – probably because this is the last large town for the next 2 to 3 weeks and we need to get the bikes checked over. So bike servicing and last minute shopping. Our last day in the Rockies with the highest pass to get over as the opening to this long 157km ride. But unlike yesterday where the madmen had to battle rain and very cold weather, today was sunny with a gentle breeze to see us on our way. And what a great climb through the mountains up to Hoosier Pass at 11, 542ft. This was also the last crossing of the Continental Divide (how many times did we cross it?) and our farewell to a truly great mountain range. Having taken the obligatory photos at the top of the pass the remaining 140km was meant to be a long downhill with very little pedalling. Naive people. While we did descend a total of 6,000ft after the pass, it had a number of ugly climbs and a strong southerly wind in our faces for most of the way. Quite depressing having to pedal downhill. But everyday has an end and Canon City was ours today. Consensus was an 8 day dragged down by the wind and length but still a fantastic farewell to the Rockies. This was a rest day to explore this famous town. MaddScott and the equally mad Howard were good to their word and got up at 6am to ride up to the Hoosier Pass and back. Unfortunately it was raining and very cold. Two hypothermic bodies crawled into the accommodation as the rest us were getting stuck into bacon and eggs. So cold were they that they required help to remove hats, gloves, shoes – we drew the line there however. The rest of the day was spent fixing bikes, shopping for bargains, getting gout tablets, going on gondola trips, catching up on correspondence and generally having a great time. Iain left and now we are 7 – the “hard core” as we would like to think. Tomorrow the rest us go over the Hoosier pass and out of the Rockies – boohoo... We couldn’t get much more into the Rockies than this ride. Right in the heart of the mountains culminating in one of the best known ski resorts in the world. Pity we weren’t skiing. This was a 120km ride that started as a very pleasant downhill ride out of Hot Sulphur Springs to Kremmling where we discovered real coffee. Yes – espresso coffee as a cappuccino, latte, double, triple whatever way we wanted. After weeks of “drip” coffee this was the real thing. We then turned south and it started to go downhill – not literally as we had to climb to over 9,300ft into Breckenridge. Roadworks, rain, rough roads and a lack of shoulder to ride on all conspired to make this a tougher section. “Wortho” got his first flat. God knows how he expected to change it with only a spare tube but no pump, no tire levers and no glasses. When he got his second flat about an hour later he didn’t even have the spare tube. The section after Silverthorne was a 25km bike path with gentle slopes alongside the river making it a very pleasant way to finish a tough day. This was a 6.5 day despite the beautiful scenery. We have out third “wall of shame” candidate – Iain leaves us tomorrow to continue his yearlong sabbatical in Europe. While the remainder of us rest, he has promised to get up early to ride to the top of the Hoosier Pass to celebrate his final day. At 11,542 ft this is the highest point on the entire route and Iain obviously feels a need to punish himself one more time. Thanks for the companionship Iain. Tomorrow we will explore this famous ski resort and get ready to ride over this one final pass before leaving the Rockies behind us. The mountains returned but so did the rain, although only enough to wet us without freezing us. This was a 98km ride through the true Rockies with mountains all around and some we had to go over. Andrea returned to the horse, rode all day and even decided she was good enough to put in a sprint over the last few kilometres. She’s back !! The first half was generally uphill culminating in a decent hill that took us to the highest pass we have reached on the tour to date (9,683feet and over the Continental Divide again). But there was no snow, the wind was light and the rain gentle. The second half was a great downhill into Hot Sulphur Springs with the return of the pine forests, running streams and rock canyons all around us. Excellent. And what would you do with a few hours to spare when you are staying in Hot Sulphur Springs .... (go on Brenton, even you could get this right!!). So a few hours soaking away the days aches and pains (not quite, Howie is still with us), a beer and dinner. An 8 day, dragged down only by the rain. Rocky Mountain high - Colarado. Yes you John Denver fans we have entered our fifth state and low and behold we are surrounded by snow capped mountains. This was supposed to be a relatively easy 80km ride but for some reason it was a bit tougher than expected. Maybe the drinks with the multiple other Transam riders who stayed at the same place last night. Or the early morning wake up call from the herd of cattle being driven down the Main Street. Or the poor road conditions on the Colorado side of the border. But the positive news is that Andrea got back on her horse and looks like she will ride tomorrow. That combined with the great sunny weather pushes the day to an 8.5. Resting in Walden surrounded by mountains ain't a bad way to end the day neither. On on .... This was an easy 100km made pleasant by the sunny weather, the lack of hills, the generally smooth roads and the slight tail wind. Only one section of roadworks to rattle our teeth. To top off the day Andrea would appear to have no major damage in her knee and will try to get back on the "horse" tomorrow for a short trial. This town seems to be a stopping point for many other bike riders heading west and we exchanged stories over a few beers. Can't get much more pleasant so a 9.5 it is. With a woman down, it was time to take a break to ensure Andrea’s knee was given the chance to recover. The x-ray tomorrow will tell us the extent. Time for the rest of us to catch-up on washing, forward bookings, resting the legs, going to prison and sleeping. For Trish, it was an opportunity to catch-up with her long time school friends brother, Keith, who moved to the USA 23 years ago. A really enjoyable meet and greet over lunch. Tomorrow we spend a week riding up into the Rockies proper before descending onto the plains of Colorado. Hills coming to an end, at least for a couple of weeks. Yeeha! This could have been a 7 day for this 110km ride into Rawlins. Long straight roads through the Wyoming high country with a few hills thrown in to keep us focussed. However the head wind with 70km to go, the atrocious condition of the road and shoulder for a good 25km, our first injury from riding and some very large trucks getting very close spoilt the day and it was reassessed as a 4. Andrea took a tumble when the peleton got too “cosy” trying to shelter from the wind and had to abandon the day. Hopefully no serious or long lasting problem as she has been a power house over the past 4 weeks. We shall rest tomorrow to give her knee time to recover. We crossed the Continental Divide twice (again) – we are either riding in circles or else this is a very twisting and turning divide line. It may well be the former given the lack of confidence in the leaders navigational skills. Resting in Rawlins – sounds like a movie title. With the big American out and the nimble Australian teacher on driving duty, the days 93km ride was done at record average speed. I will leave it to you, our astute readers, to draw conclusions about these two events. Iain “red wine” Scott bravely surfaced for the ride after a very full evening at the Cowfish the night before – courageous effort Iain. This was a ride through the high country of Wyoming with generally rolling hills with a few gorges thrown in to break up the landscape. The road we followed was the scene of the “Pony Express” back in the 1860’s as well as the Oregon, California and Mormon treks from the east to the west. This is sparsely populated country – even the cows were few and far between. One reasonable climb on a day that was overcast but dry made for an enjoyable ride except for the 6km of road works that rattled our false teeth. Jeffery City is a former mining town (gold then uranium) which has fallen onto tough times but the beds are clean, the water fresh and the bar open. A pleasant day rated 7 out 10. This was a relatively easy, 120km ride through the high country of Wyoming with most of the route heading downhill. Even the weather was being generous with sunny skies and a gentle head wind. This is Shoshone and Arapahoe country with much of the land under their control. From rolling hills to mesa’s and butte’s to distant snow covered mountains this is an area much less rugged than the previous few days in the Grand Tetons. It was also the last day of riding for Ron “Ned” Kelly who has decided to give up his dual citizenship, reneging on his Australian honorary title to return to “work”. A second addition to the wall of shame (WOS). To celebrate we found a local brewery pub in Lander with a bit of live music – an excellent way to finish a day. Thanks Ron and Clare for your company. Rated as a 9.5 offset only by the cracks in the road. Tomorrow the group shrinks again as only the tough survive. |
The ChallengeTo celebrate Wheelchairs for Kids 30,000th wheelchair, a team of nine people including Trish O'Reilly, CEO of AAMIG will be riding the 6,600km TransAmerica Trail starting in Florence, Oregon on 11 May 2015 and finishing the challenge in Yorktown, Virginia on 19 July 2015. This cycle challenge is about raising awareness of this inspiring charity. To donate, please visit: https://give.everydayhero.com/au/aamig-challenge Archives |