the cattle branding ..

calf branding. this operation includes not only branding, but male castration, horn removal, and innoculations. a very impressive system. this crew did 2000 calves in one day at 3 different ranches.

Day 57 - Rand, CO

awoke to a fine morning after a great night. set out toward Walden to try to catch up with Josh. today's ride was on the tough side, very warm and hilly. the ACA maps' elevation profiles could be better about showing the steepness of some of the climbs! the 2 mile climb to willow creek pass (elevation 9621') wasn't too bad, though.

halfway up the climb to willow creek pass, these men (randy, justin, and matt)  stopped in a pickup to offer a beer (no thanks, not pre-happy hour yet...). besides, i had just downed one i happened to be carrying (still on some ice, no less !!) along with a bagel just before they passed me. they gave me Gatorade instead which was welcome. then they asked if I wanted to go to their ranch for the night and go with them the next day to a big community calf branding. I told them that it sounded like fun, but i was already planning on meeting Josh and Dana (who were ahead of me) in Walden, but thanks anyway. turns out they caught up to her and talked her into it, so she waited for me and talked me into it.  i felt a little bad for standing up Josh but we got in touch and all was good.  we rode a couple of miles to the ranch and what a place! amazing mountain views and nice hospitality. a hot shower (oooh, ahhhh), a community pasta dinner and a big bonfire all were fantastic. a neat thing about being at elevation is that planes flying over look ALOT closer and you can see satellites flying over in the early night sky. very serene here. makes one yearn to work here, if just for food....

once again, the day had an unforeseen and festive ending. this cycle touring business is a never-ending stream of unexpected interactions with locals who all seem to be intrigued with our endeavor and are replete with hospitality.  i love it !

this ranch has it's own sawmill.  these men are cutting logs to build benches for the weekend festivities...

some of our hosts at the ranch near Rand, CO

the ranch home where dana and i stayed.....

today: 70 miles
to date: 3046

Day 56 - Heeney, CO

the B&B had a great breakfast, and after, the morning turned out to be set aside for domestic 'chores'. Josh had his tires/tubes/rim tape all replaced at a local bike shop in order to eliminate his on and off troubles. me, did some laundry and spent alot of time locating a bike shop that stocked a front touring rack since I missed my chance in breckenridge, and fortunately, i found one. by the time I got that squared away, it was early afternoon, so today's ride was to be on the short side. Josh set out ahead of Dana and I, so we set out to Heeney, CO to camp along the Green Mountain Reservoir. Bare-bones camping area, but not bad. cold water bath in the lake and was good as new. camping area filled up fast behind us for the memorial day weekend. enjoyed a simple meal on the stove and a bonfire with our neighbors. easy day.

today: 38
to date: 2976

Day 55 - Frisco, CO

we bad breakfast in guffey  at rita's place before heading out. ANOTHER sunny and cool morning, again with predicted tailwinds, great news for the climbing ahead today.  said goodbyes to our fine hosts from last night.

we ventured on north-bound, intending to reach breckenridge, and perhaps beyond to frisco. being in need of a bike shop for a new front rack as mine is cracked and is barely hanging on, either town was viable.

the ride toward fairplay, CO appeared to be unexpectedly flat, but was actually a very gradual climb.  the tailwinds made it seem easy ! we started out finishing out the climb over currant creek pass at 9400' just a bit north of Guffey. we reached fairplay for a quick lunch stop and pressed on from there. the route turned upward for the 4 mile climb ahead to hoosier pass before descending to breckenridge. we reached the base of the climb, and i then settled into an easy spinning gear and quite contendedly pressed upward for 4 miles, enjoying the stunning scenery as i rode up to 11,524' above the snowlines. reached hoosier pass and waited for dana; josh was lagging a bit behind, so we took off on a 10 mile high-speed downhill thru switchbacks and long straight sections - EXHILARATING !!!! we reached breckenridge just in time to find to the bike shop closed that had the rack i need. damn. waited for josh to arrive and then collectively decided that breckenridge was too heavy on the commercialized and high-society decorum. we all proceeded another 10 miles to frisco, mostly downhill on this great bike path. found a fine B&B to get that coveted hot water shower and cozy bed. a stroll thru town and a late hurger and beer did me in.  absolutely amazing riding today. stunning scenery and beauty.

 THIS is the part of the trip i had been most wanting to experience, the rocky mountains !

today: 78 miles
to date:  2938

summit at hoosier pass

on the way to hoosier pass and then Frisco.

on the way to hoosier pass. the blue skies are brilliant !!

Rita, proprieter of rita's place in guffey, CO. stopped in for coffee and a breakfast of a monster bagel, croissant, and some Wifi to upload some pictures. nice place and a very nice lady.

Day 54 - Guffey, CO

today's ride from Canon City started with another sunny morning and a gentle tailwind. the abbey had a full kitchen, so a hot water shower and a place to make coffee and such made this a great stop over !

we headed north toward Royal Gorge. we had mixed feelings about going there as we had found out the fees to get in were just a bit on the price-gouging side. we went ahead to check it out anyway.  it really seemed like a site worth visiting, so we decided to pull the trigger on the fees. dana, trying to work out a discount, ended getting us comped into the park ! sweet ! rode the tram across the gorge, and walked back across the bridge. what a spectacular sight !  we stopped for a pre-pre--pre happy hour beer and pizza to get us going for the rest of the ride.

the ride continued upward into higher elevations rather gradually. we encountered a couple of long and steady climbs of 1 to 2 miles. nothing as steep or brutal as the ozarks, but managably steady. we ended with close to 4000 feet of gain today.

since we took so long at the royal gorge, we realized we were a bit short of time, so we decided to head to guffey for food. water and a possibly a place to pitch camp. we ran into much more than we expected !

a great day, great ride, great sightseeing and finally, a FANTASTIC evening !

the gang at the Bull Moose Inn gets today's Good Samaritan Award. we pulled into guffey hoping to find food and water and perhaps a stealth spot to pitch the tents for the night. the only sign of life was this BBQ smoke spewing from the back of this supposedly closed restaurant. we checked it out and found this group of family/friends cooking up a storm to cap off their day of renovations of what will be a new restaurant/bar opening in 4 weeks. they invited us for dinner once we got settled, and then we found bill (of bill's boneyard notoriety :) ) who gave us a nice place to pitch our tents. a quick baby wipe cleanup (yes, this was another no running water location...) and we were on to a BBQ feast that rivaled the great meals of this tour. PLUS, they were testing out a new frozen marg machine, so of course, we had to help with that. so, with what looked to be a bleak ending to this otherwise fine day turned into a great time !

just another example of the generosity and kindness people continue to extend to us out on the road.

TO ANY CYCLE TOURISTS PASSING THRU GUFFEY - STOP AT THE BULL MOOSE !

today: 44 miles
to date: 2860

bill's boneyard in Guffey, CO, home of last night's camp spot.

action shot of Josh on the way to guffey.

wrapping up our visit at royal gorge. we had pizza and a beer before heading on to Guffey, CO

royal gorge, CO

royal gorge, CO

royal gorge, CO

Day 53 - Canon City, CO

we left this morning from lake pueblo with a sunny morning and winds quickly increasing from the west. hmmm. had coffee and oatmeal and got rolling. we had planned to reach canon city before determining from there where we might end up. once we got on the hiway west-bound, we ran face first into 30-40 mph winds, with gusts we would later find out that reached 60-70 mph. it was so ridiculous that we had to dismount and WALK our bikes ! we were all laughing out loud at the intensity of the winds ! completely unrideable.

shortly, a woman named Helen in a pickup pulled over, seeing the futility of our circumstance, to offer us a ride to canon city. we happily accepted ! we went to her farm house to unwind, over a pre-pre-pre happy hour beer. helen filled us in on how she came to live here. very nice and kind lady, once again another example of the pay-it-forward mindset.

we then went to her friend Stephanie's place, and then we all went to lunch at the owl's, a small burger joint. great burgers ! then to the chamber of commerce for information to evaluate local camping options. came away from there with a lead to stay at the local monestary. there is a winery attached, so we stumbled into a wine tasting venture - how apro pos since it was happy hour time ! we said so long to our new friend who gave us help and her fun company for the afternoon !

we setup our wares at the building where we could get a hot shower and a quiet place to camp. very nice. went for a nice walk-about along the river walk toward town and another stop-in at the owl's for a burger nightcap !

low miles today, but justified !

today: 20 BRUTAL miles
to date: 2816

holy cross abbey, sleeping accommodation for the night

this is helen, today's recipient of the Good Samaritan Award. she stopped to rescue us from an absurdly windy day that essentially left us stranded out in the open. she gave us her afternoon to show us around canon city. another shining star who again reminded us that there are good people out there willing to help and pass on that pay-it-forward mindset !

Day 52 - Pueblo, CO

today's ride started with a stunning morning in Fowler; sunny, gentle breeze from the east (that is, TAILWIND !) did up the usual coffee and got going to lake pueblo, west of pueblo.  the tailwind made easy short work of the the ride. 

ran into dana on our way in, so we decided to resume our tour together !  josh and i found a nice spot on the south side of the lake, but we all moved to the north side for better views and fewer neighbors. 

vance, the bike shop owner we had arranged with to purchase some needed sundries met us at our camp spot at juniper breaks. he had just come from running a mountain bike race and stopped by out of his way to drop off our supplies. he gave us a 5-gallon bottle of water, a box of energy bars, me a ride to town to pick up groceries (and let me use his store discount card) AND a ride back to the camp site, stopping off along the way to pick up firewood.  unbelieveable generosity and kindness on a day he was plenty busy with already. his attitude mirrored ours as we have been touring: pay it forward.  we have seen such kindess along the wat, but vance's selflessness was highly appreciated !

we took a dip in the lake, started a great fire, and cooked up a meal of BBQ chicken, salmon, skewered veggies, pasta and black beans.

beautiful night to camp, and we all slept well !! 

today: 55 miles
to date: 2797

this is Vance , owner of Vance's Bicycle World in Pueblo.

he gets today's Good Samaritan Award. he helped out josh and i by bringing us tires and tubes we had ordered over the phone yesterday. more than that, he went way out of his way to help out with other things.  he is actually up for consideration by the Touring Committee for Tour Sainthood for his boundless energy and willingness to go out of his way to help.  Thanks Vance !

getting the fire going at lake pueblo camp. happy hour, of course....

at lake pueblo

happy hour at juniper breaks camp at lake pueblo

lake pueblo

action shot. Josh is in the back...

Day 51 - Fowler, CO

enjoyed a great tent sleep in nice temps and breezes. per my routine, brewed some coffee and cooked a big pot of oatmeal and granola. killer. got packed up and ready to roll in already building headwinds.

funny how things happen. Josh limped in yesterday with tire and tube concerns. I had mentioned my only flat occurred in florida, when jorg rolled up to join in. well, as we push off, I discover my rear tire was flat. hmmmm. changed the tube and off we went. turned out that tube had a slow leak that I was able to manage for a bit with pumps of air refills. at the water stop at mile 35, I changed the tube again. will report back on it ...
I had other equipment issues; some friction rubbing from my front rack. got it squared til an easy fix later. headwinds and friction on the front, slow air leak on the back all made for a testy start to the ride.

from the get-go we experienced stiff and steady headwinds, increasing to 30-35 as the day progressed. relentless. out in the wide open spaces of eastern Colorado, there is nothing to block the wind. at all. nowhere to hide. was only able to SUSTAIN about 8mph. my legs felt a bit toasted from the long day yesterday, but regardless, this wind was nasty.

along the way, a van pulled up next to josh and i as we struggled to maintain speed. a rough looking fellow with long straggly gray hair and beard and ONE tooth tried to engage us in conversation. he professed to be a prophet, and began to tell us his theory about the next great prophecy, the second coming of colin powell. his was a long rambling rant that left us shaking our heads.... all kinds out here.... !

at 50 miles, it became clear that reaching pueblo in time to hit the bike shop for josh's and now my needs was not going to happen, and it was going to be closed on Sunday. so, at the stop where we found water and a good deed our way, we called ahead to Vance's Bike shop. we prepaid for and made arrangements to do pick up along the way at a criterium Vance was running. good fellow.

neither of us was up to the brutality of another 33 miles of the winds, so we stopped in fowler and made camp there. kind of skanky camp spot, but a nice skanky. :)

going to go short tomorrow to recover, just past pueblo.

today: 57 tough miles
to date: 2742

at camp in Fowler, CO

this young lady whose name we didn't get was very thoughtful and helpful towards Josh and I during a rest stop today. we were low on water and looking around for some while evauating our options for the day when she drove by offering to help. she was about to head home for bottles of water for us and then we found an operating (and un-padlocked) well water spigot. we say thanks anyway and then she returns in a few with a ziploc full of ice for us. didn't get her name, but she gets today's Good Deed award.

Day 50 - Haswell, CO

awoke to a very pretty morning in tribune. was looking to go long today, 80+ to haswell, CO. said goodbyes with Susan and we were both on our ways. early sunny skies turned overcast, again .... the skies cleared up in short order and I was left with a warm sunny day with winds that were mostly cooperative, abeit somewhat stiff from SSE. settled into a groove early and made good time to my water stop in eads, CO. in and out of there and got to beautiful metropolitan haswell, CO. (rolling eyes here ...) set up camp in the local park (if you want to call it that..). came across a cold water spigot so an opportunity to primitive shower and get clothes washed and out to dry. nice breeze made for quick drying on the line. Josh showed up at the park not long after i got there. he had stayed in eads the night before and was having tire/tube issues that allowed him to only progress 22 miles. he chose to camp here and we'll work together to push the 90 miles to pueblo in expected headwinds. nice to have unexpected company tonight.

excellent ride today. kept up with nutrition and hydration, feasted on last night's leftovers for dinner. beautiful night out for camping; cool dry air, good breeze.


today: 83 miles
to date: 2685

sunset in Haswell, CO

enjoying the late afternoon warm sun at camp in haswell, CO.

Welcome to a new state !

Day 49 - Tribune, KS

today brought STILL another gloomy morning, but with clearing skies and NO RAIN today. headed out with the intention of going long to Eads, CO, but fatigue and winds made me have to consider stopping short in tribune. besides, would rather spend the time visiting with Susan than grinding all day. these towns the last couple of days have been spread out, but more so today. found a very snappy B&B, a cottage really, so a good stopping point to relax.

saw more west-to-east cycle tourists today: a solo rider, a couple on a tandem who stopped by just a moment; they tipped me to the B&B. also saw another fellow later in the ride. he was grinding the NNE headwind he had and while he acknowledged me, he appeared completely and understandably uninterested in chatting....

the skies did clear nicely in the afternoon, with a good forecast for the next couple of days. the main street of tribune was quaint; there was piped-in music, something from back in time - charming !!

Susan heads home tomorrow, and I go long to haswell, CO.

cooked a home-style dinner in the cottage! nice to cook inside for a change!

today: 49 miles
to date: 2602

Day 48 - Scott City, KS

a rather foul-weather ride today along 96W, heading today to Scott city. a full goretex day. drizzle led into steady rain for long stretches. wasn't so cool out to be too cold, but nasty riding weather. get those sometimes.... decided to stop there vs. move on to dighton because scott city seemed to have more going on. met up with Susan there to visit for the remainder.

saw another solo west-to-east rider today. shortly after, I crossed paths with jorg, whom I had ridden with briefly in Florida. we anticipated running into each other, and it was good to do it. we were both navigating bad weather, so timing up for a pre-happy hour happy hour wasn't meant to be this time.

today: 57
to date: 2553

Day 47 - Ness City, KS

today, we shared coffee, oatmeal, and our touring isms. fine morning with the weather, another great night of camp sleeping. next stop, continuing on this endless ride on 96 west is ness city. today would have an added surprise ! my honey from home, Susan, drove up for a semester break visit and to shadow along a couple days of the tour!

today: 75 miles
to date: 2495

Pre-happy hour happy hour on the way to ness city...

Ft. Larned, Larned, KS

Day 46 - Larned, KS

today, we shared coffee, oatmeal, and our touring isms. fine morning with the weather, another great night of camp sleeping. next stop, continuing on this endless ride on 96 west is ness city. today would have an added surprise ! my honey from home, Susan, drove up for a semester break visit and to shadow along a couple days of the tour! 

today: 75 miles
to date: 2420

As we were pulling into the city park area to set up camp in Larned, we bumped into the first touring cyclists we have seen on this trip since i rode with Jorg early on. Everyone, please meet Josh and Brian !

Day 45 - Day Off in Hutchinson , KS

today began with a nice sleep-in and weak hotel coffee - yuk. the weather was, you guessed it, cloudy and gloomy. there was a high chance of rain, so a seemingly well-timed day off. moved our bikes and gear a few blocks away to the cyclists' hostel at a local church. we had scoped out the place yesterday and found it to be a great setup: beds, stocked kitchen, showers. had a quiet place !

I had begun to experience flare-ups of a chronic foot ailment in the early spring, so I hadn't run in some time, maybe 10 weeks. my foot had been feeling fine as of late from the rest, so with the weather actually looking up, I decided to go for a short easy run to break up the grind of cycling. very much enjoyed the run, feeling the wake-up to running muscles. unfortunately, my right foot didn't agree; I seem to have easily aggravated the plantar fascitiis. will have to bag running til I can see my foot guy back home. :(

spent a couple of hours at the library doing blog maintenance, mostly downloading pictures from the digital cam; most of each days' pic posts come from the iPhone. it's been a nice treat, and a good impression of the regular presence of public libraries in these small midwestern towns.

the weather cleared throughout the afternoon into a sunny day; go figure, the day expected to be the crappiest of the week turned out to be the nicest. it did rain later that night. ugh.

settled into an easy dinner of a monster salad, and called it an early night.

in the picture above is the church that housed the cyclists' only accommodation. very nice.  fully stocked kitchen, HOT WATER shower !