May 14

Big Day today, we want to get to Salida.  Big climb until Westcliffe.  We prepared with some instant coffee off the Trangia.  The climbs weren't as bad as I thought they would be.  It isn't like the ozarks where you're crawling up a wall for a short burst then it's down and back up again for another.  The rockies are a gradual grade all day, or at least for a few hours.

We ran into a couple of cyclists in Westcliffe, Rusty Nails and George.  George is a local coloradoan and Rusty Nails was visiting from Plano Texas, they told us that the climb we just did is the steepest we'll see but there are gonna be much longer ones.  We took a break in town and I hit up the library for an hour and threw up a post.  It has been harder to stay on top of the blog now that I have a partner.  Sitting at a library and typing for a few hours just doesn't sound as exciting as it used to be.  Now that I have a buddy it's more appealing to explore the town a bit and talk to the locals.

The last 20 miles to Salida were hell, not because of climbs but because of wind we didn't get there until late.  Ate at a subway and then went looking for a bar so Tyler could watch the Bruins game.  In downtown Salida we asked a young fella with some kayaks strapped to the roof of his hatch back if we are near any good campsites and where a good place to watch the game is.  He told us of a nice site back the way we came then he mentioned a hostel a block down.  We decided to check it out.  Very cool place, The Simple Lodge,  http://www.simplelodge.com/ When we rode up there were a few young travelers like ourselves sitting and hanging out in front of the establishment.  Kimberly looked extremely excited and introduced herself and the others.  She and her business partner run the place, she took us around and let us know the rates.  $22 for a bunk, it would definitely be cheaper for Tyler and I to just split a motel room in town but it seemed like such a cool place we thought we should stay the night.  And they have free waffles in the morning.  This would be very convenient for someone who didn't have anyone to split a motel room with.  So we sat and chatted with the other travelers for a while, Smokey Bear, Jeremy, and Tony.  Smokey is just a weird dude backpacking around Colorado, Jeremy seems to be obsessed with Kimberly so he just stays there all the time, and Tony is an avid drug user who is getting his wilderness first aid certification nearby.  It seems like a fun crew, but we couldn't chat for long because we had to go check out the game.

The bar Kimberly suggested was very nice, but we had to beg the bartender to put the Bruins on  They were watching basketball, luckily the game was almost over. Once it ended we watched the Bruins and ate fish tacos until sudden death overtime.  At this point the bartender, Evan, switched over to the Lakers game.  Some of the older patrons were complaining about hockey.  Tyler was furious and I was very disappointed. I'm not much of a hockey fan but I would watch it over basketball anyday, and it's the principle of the thing.  The lakers game had just started, all you need to watch is the last 2 minutes.  The Bruins game was in Sudden Death Overtime.  Thats some exciting stuff.

We left the bar and rode back to the Hostel.  Nobody was there, so Tyler and I decided to make some waffles, very good.  There is a computer in the common area so Tyler was able to follow the game.  Soon Tony came home in what seemed like a drug induced haze.  Very strange.  Then Jeremy came down and started talking to us about Marathons and growing up in Minnesota.  Smokey Bear was still MIA, at this point I think that was for the better, who knows what he would have brought to the table.  We stayed up and talked for a while before getting some sleep.  We have a big day tomorrow Monarch Pass, 11,300 feet.

Mileage: 66

Total: 1515

May 13

Leaving Pueblo today and leaving Toby.

We went out for breakfast then loaded up the Bikes.  I'm going to miss Toby, these last few days with her have been great.  Another unexpected luxury I have encountered on my journey. Leaving Pueblo our sluggish rides were heavy and slow.  The mountains came on us quick and we powered up some steep grades.  They're going through a major dry spell here, we passed a restaurant n Wetmore that was closed down to drill a new well.  They were down to 110 feet and still no water.  further down the road we stopped at a small grocery store for a power lunch.  Debra, the owner was very friendly, she let us know of the climbs to come and warned us not to think about cell phone service for the next 10 miles.  I called my family and checked in early.

We had our first major climbs after the store, crawling at 4 mph was rough.  we only made it 6 miles before coming across a very pleasant campsite.  It was almost 5:00 and we were pretty beat.  The campsite was great, right along a crystal clear creek, I got to wash up a bit.  Mac and cheese for dinner, very good.  We wanted to sleep outside without the tents but the cloudy skies looked like they wanted to rain on us.  We pitched our tents and the rain came down late at night.  That was a good call.

Mileage: 37

Total: 1449

May 12

No more rides from Toby.

Ordway to Pueblo today.  We were staring at the mountains the whole time.  They came up on us quick.  Fast riding all the way, we still have Toby carrying our gear.  Pueblo is a big city, 100,000 people.  I am excited to be here, it's the biggest city since Bloomington we are excited to eat at a nice restaurant.

They have a fedex store so my brother overnighted my debit card.  It feels good to have that again.  We found a Japanese place for dinner.  We also went to a bike shop, Tyler lost his helmet so his grandma bought him a new one, she's sweet.  Tomorrow we get back to the grind and I am excited for that.  Tyler and I are both excited to get into the mountains.

Mileage: 52

Total: 1412

May 11

We drove out to tribune, another ride from grandma, then rode to Eads crossing the state line to Colarado. At the end of the day we took one last boost to Ordway. I don't feel like I'm cheating for taking the rides, as long as we are pedaling some decent mileage each day my biking needs are taken care of. I just feel like I'm passing up some adventure or a story to tell. I havn't had much to say lately, just drive, ride, resturant, motel room. Tommorow is our last day with Toby and today was our last day in the car. I am itching to get back into the grind.

Mileage: 58+110=168

Total: 1360

May 10

We woke up in our fancy motel rooms and had some complimentary Danishes and coffee. We discussed it a bit last nigh and we would like to shoot for 100 miles today. With Toby carrying our gear we thought we could pull it off. Halfway was Nickerson and it was a sluggish ride. I think the 74 mile day yesterday did us in.



During a power lunch in Nicherson we talked about the car, we discussed how flat and boring Kansas is, we pointed out how much Toby is itching for a decent resturant. Se was disapointed with the China Buffet last night, she needs something better than that. We are all just itching to get to Colarado. we ended up turning what would have been a disapointing 50 mle day into a Guilty 250 mile day. We loaded up the jeep and drove through the vast ocean of land in western Kansas.

We are in Scott City for the night. We found a mexican resturant to chow down at and maybe get a beer, it was the only thing open in town. Sunday is never a good day to ride through rural America. On the ride to Nickerson we couldn't even find an open gas station to get some snacks and water. Beer at the resturant was a no go no beer on sunday. We never figured out if that is a Kansas thing a county thing or a Scott City thing. Liquor stores don't even sell on sunday.

Mileage: 48+194 with Toby

Total: 1192

May 9

I woke up early to get a good start, I didn't eat much but breakfast in Cassoday was my plan. Then it would be 38 miles to Newton.

I was riding north a little to get to Cassoday, the head wind was awful. A woman passed me in her jeep then pulled off to the side of the road to wait for me. She told me that her grandson is riding his bike across the country, he left from Boston and is heading to California. She said that his bike is loaded up with gear just like mine. Toby and her grandson Tyler Harlow. They stayed in a motel in Eureka last night while I was in the park. I told Toby to meet me in Cassoday for breakfast and there we will wait for Tyler. This is great I thought, Am I going to have someone to ride with all the way to Dolores? Tyler is going to be on the trans am all the way to San Francisco. We found a country store in Cassoday and I had some time to chat with Toby, Tyler was about two hours behind me. Toby is a very hip grandma, very with it. She is 71 and she flew into Kansas City yesterday to support Tyler for a few days. They are from a small town in Vermont called Putney. Tyler is doing his ride for charity. His goal is to "raise awareness for youth in foster care and the importance of keeping sibling connections intact" Everyone should just check out his blog: http://tharlow.wordpress.com/ Support Tyler and donate to his cause



Tyler arrived in Cassoday and we chatted for a while and got to know each other We are both very excited to have someone to ride with. This journey is going to be a lot different now. We set off for Newton and got there in no time. Toby is going to be here until Wednesday the twelfth and they both invited me to take advantage of the support. I threw my panniers into Toby's Jeep and Tyler and I rode to Newton in what seemed like no time. We were flying with just hour handlebar bags, I felt like Orange County Mike, http://meezan-thecrossing.blogspot.com/

Toby got us a motel room in Newton and bought us dinner. I felt bad, I can't let her do this for me untill wednesday. Tyler assured me that it's alright, his grandmother is extatic that he now has someone to ride with. I figure I'll just go with the flow.

May 9, today all the college kids graduate. Congratulations to everyone. I got to talk to Dana and congratulated her, it sounds like the ceremony was lovely. It's strange to think that my sister Deanna is going to go to ISU next year. she graduates from Elmwood Park Highschool in June and will be heading out to the ILSTU in the fall. I'm glad I still have a lot of friends there, they will have to watch out for her.

Mileage: 74

Total: 950

May 8

I was about due for a bad day.

Journal got wet in the rain... Everything got wet in the rain.

I was woken up at 4:00 am by some hammering thunder. Next the wind started. Still no rain but I knew it was coming. The tent was getting blown around. I was set up under a gazebo, I knew there was a chance of stormy weather so figured this would give me shelter. The bad thing about the gazebo was I couldn't stake down. My tent is self standing so I just popped it up on the concrete. I didn't attach the rainfly, I didn't think it would be necessary with the roof over my head. The rain started coming down, with that wind it was coming in sideways. The shelter did nothing, and without the rainfly my tent is basically mosquito netting. I ran out and threw on the fly. Without stakes it isn't very secure and it acted like a sail. The tent was taking too much in the wind, I was sitting with my arms extended for a while holding the walls out. the wind was so strong I thought the tent might rip. I decided to get out and take it down. I threw on my rain gear and broke down the tent. I sat there under that useless gazebo until 7:00 am. I sat there with my back to the rain, I didn't even try to keep anything dry anymore. I wrapped my sleeping bag in the rainfly to try and salvage that but it didn't do much. The rain covers weren't on the bike so all the panniers were soaked. The wind was blowing so hard I heard my bike crash to the floor. Again the gazebo has provided me with no shelter.

Once it all stopped and I went to pick up my bike, It had a flat tire. I pumped it up to see if it would hold air. Lucky, it was only a slow leak. I headed out for a laundry mat to dry my clothes and then my plan was to hit up a motel room and mope all day and all night before heading out in the morning. All I could think about was a relaxing day off after this awful night. I Packed up my soaking tent and sleeping bag the set out of this campsite. All the roads out were flooded, I had to wade through mid shin water to get out. When I got thought all of that I asked a local where the laundry mat was. I got there, and threw everything in the dryer. It felt nice to be in a warm dry building. I popped my tent up outside to let it air out, and repaired my tire inside. Sitting and waiting i strung up a conversation with an older gentleman. he was stuck doing laundry today, his plan was to go fishing but he said that the boat launches and most the roads to his lake were all flooded. He asked about my bike trip and explained that most the roads out of town were flooded. I accepted the fact that I'm stuck here tonight and was looking forward to a motel room until he offered to give me a ride out to where he thought there would be no more flooding.

Leary Townsend gave me a ride about 10 miles out, He was a real swell guy. We stopped at a McDonalds to get a couple burgers and he told me about his kids and his ex wives. He has two ex wives and each of them got a house out of him, poor bastard. Now he's retired, lives on a lake in Kansas and goes fishing every day. He's living the dream, except when he cant get his boat out. We eventually got to a road that was so bad he didn't want to try plowing through it. Leary and I had been blasting through puddles in his big old truck for 10 miles now, but this one was just too much. There was an abandoned house nearby so he dropped me off and we said our goodbyes. It seemed like a good place to sit tight until the water got down to a safe lever. It was going down pretty quick, I figured I had a bout 30 minutes before I could ride across.

I was on my way in no time, I made it to Toronto and had a quick bite. Eureka was my goal for the day. Just outside of town I got another flat, different puncture same wheel. Bad luck with that rear tire today. Again it was a slow leak so I pumped it up and muscled my way to town. Updated some blog at the library then fixed the flat. Quiet park in town I'm looking forward to a good night sleep

Mileage: 58+13 with Leary = 71

Total: 876