Day 25 - Colby, KS to Norton, KS

Daily Stats:
Time: 3h17m58s
Distance: 117.62km
Avg Spd: 35.6km/hr
Climbing: 248m

Today's ride was glorious!  We actually had somewhat of a tailwind for almost all of the ride.  Except for the final mile into the campground - that was straight into the wind, and super tough.

The scenery was pretty much the same as yesterday...

Marc "Stretch" started this game where we sprint for town and county signs.  I won the first one, didn't see the second one coming but made it a photo finish just the same.  And Marc took the third and fourth ones with no contest as my legs were beat.  An average speed of 35km/hr is crazy fast to sustain for three hours, even with the wind, and this game took it's toll on me.  Tomorrow we ride another century, so we'll be taking it slow.

We took advantage of the time change in Colby last night, and played cards 'til 10:30pm.  The mayor of the town came by to check on us, as well as one of the two on-duty police officers.  He joked about making us take our tents down because we didn't have permits to stay in their park.

Tonight we're staying at Prairie Dog State Park.  No joke, it's called Prairie Dog park... It's a quiet RV park on a man-made lake in the  middle of nowhere (actually 5miles west of Norton).  The lake is like a giant mud puddle.  Likely because all the wind stirs up the sediment on the bottom. Shade is minimal, but the wind keeps the heat down.

We're at McDonalds (again) for a quick hour of Wi-Fi and easy calories before dinner.  I doubt this place has ever seen this many people...

Not much else to report today, so I'll end it here.

Day 24 - Burlington, CO to Colby, KS

Daily Stats:
Time: 3h53m19s
Distance: 109.06km
Avg Spd: 28.0km/hr
Climbing: 154m

Nothing to special to report about today's ride.  The distance wasn't too bad, and we climbed much less today than yesterday.  Despite four flats (2 in camp for Karel & Brandon, and two on the road for Mark and Karel), our spirits weren't hampered. The roads were flat and straight, and the wind was 20mph from the south as we rode east.  We were able to keep a decent average speed for most of the day, then Mark and I hit it for the last 15km after the road turned and we had a slight tail wind.  We probably averaged over 40km/hr for the final run into camp.

For all you Calgarians - we rolled through a small town called "Brewster" today.   I was hoping we could stop for beer in honor of the brewery in Calgary by the same name.  Unfortunately Brewster, Kansas is a tiny farming town, and the only thing to see is the grain silos as pictured.  And it was 11am when we rolled through...

Camp tonight is at Fike Park in Colby.  We've backed the semi's onto the pathways, and taken refuge from the sun and wind amongst the trees.  Showers were the best we've had in a week at the community center across the parking lot.

We set out from camp hoping to find a local coffee shop with Wi-Fi to hang out at for the afternoon, but the downtown is pretty dead.  We rode our bikes toward the freeway and came across the Oasis rest stop - twelve pumps, four restaurants, a Starbucks and free Wi-Fi.  One could almost say it's a traveler's "Oasis"...  And there are more people here than we've seen in a long time.

You probably noted we crossed into Kansas today, but we were on back roads so there was no sign to stop and photograph to commemorate entry into our fifth state.  With the new state we bump our clocks ahead another hour and are now on CST (or GMT -5hrs).  This is a good thing as it will shake up our sleep schedule and hopefully encourage people to sleep in a little bit more in the morning.  Every day feels like a race to get out of camp.  Today, we were the last ones to leave - even after fixing two flats after breakfast (Karel & Brandon) - and we were on the road at 7:30am.  There's nothing wrong with this, per-se, but our evenings feel super rushed after peloton meetings and it would be nice to be able to hang around and chat after dinner without feeling the need to rush to bed so we can get up the next morning to race out of camp again...  And that's the end of my gripe for the day.

I really appreciate all the comments and emails you readers have been sending my way.  Internet time is, incidentally, quite rushed so I don't have time to respond to everyone.  Thanks for taking the time to express your interest and encouragement - it is encouraging.

Day 23 - Limon, CO to Burlington, CO

Daily Stats:
Time: 4h40m48s
Distance: 126.37km
Avg Spd: 27.0km/hr
Climbing: 470m

The prairie winds are going to kill me.  Maybe not actually, but they are sucking my enthusiasm for riding.  Today's ride looked like it was going to be an easy-ish 126km of downhill heading east out of the mountains.  But we faced a constant cross-wind from the south blowing at 30-40km/hr.  It is super tough to find any shelter in the draft from wind in conditions like this and the kilometers drag on and on..

At least it wasn't raining again...

The State Troopers didn't have much to tell us this morning, just warning us to stay as far right in the bike lane as possible, and be careful when crossing the on/off ramps.  They did throw up some warning messages on the portable sign boards to warn the drivers - and it actually worked - most drivers and semis were quite considerate.

North-east Colorado is flat.  Not quite barren - there is plenty of farming going on around here (mostly corn, it seems) - but it's boring scenery.

To add to my misery today, I suffered two flats.  The first was found after we spent a good 15 minutes at a gas station/cafe stocking up on chocolate bars.  A wire from a blown car tire was found to be the culprit, and I had to borrow tools from the mechanic's shop next door to pull the tiny shard out of my tire. While I was fixing the flat, the local reporter came by and took a group photo of everyone who had stopped at the same spot.  But I missed being in the Flagler paper as I was in the shop making repairs. Oh well, perhaps my 15 minutes of fame will come later.

The flat was repaired with a tube I had patched last week.  And an hour later the patch let loose and I went flat again.  Talk about a drag!  This time we had grass on the side of a not-too-busy road to do the repairs.  I borrowed a tube from Brandon, and we were on the road again within ten minutes.

Camp tonight is at a great little park in Burlington, Co.  There's a swimming pool (with a waterslide!) right next to it and we were given use of their showers to clean up.  The park itself is quite new, and right off the I-70, but there's grass and shade and a great new playground with a space theme.  I forgot to take pictures before we walked over to McDonalds (where I sit, yet again using their Wi-Fi).

I collapsed into my tent to sleep for an hour after I showered, exhausted from a long day.  Tomorrow will be more of the same, I'm sure, and I can only hope that Kansas takes as good care of their roads as Colorado does - wide, clean shoulders make at least partial drafting possible, and the days just a little bit easier.

Prayer requests for today:

* Positive attitudes in camp as spirits are being worn down by the wind

* My wrist is still a bit sore from the fall in Desert Center

* Two members of our riding crew have broken limbs in crashes (since the beginning of the tour) and have had to withdraw from the ride - please pray for recovery and positive attitudes despite the set-backs

* Rest & recovery of sore muscle and other body parts for all riders

Day 22 - Colorado Springs, CO to Limon, CO

Daily Stats:
Time: 4h22m33s
Distance: 123.23km
Avg Spd: 28.2km/hr
Climbing:57m

Today started out miserably.  We left camp to overcast skies and cool (~15C) temperatures.  We took our time leaving, and ended up being the second last group to depart.  Just over a kilometer from camp, Karel flatted from a piece of glass.  It was bad enough that we needed to replace the tire, so Brandon and I rode back to camp and retrieved his spare from the gear trailer and brought it back to him.

It had started raining, so I dug through my basket and pulled out my neoprene gloves, booties and leg warmers.  It was a good thing we had to go back for the tire, because it would have been really cold without all the extra gear I picked up.  We ended up riding in the rain for at least two hours.  But it was more than just rain - it was foggy.  We could barely see 30meters in front of us.  We all had our red flashing rear lights on to help the traffic see us better, but it was still a little sketchy riding on the side of the road.

After two hours, we came to the little town of Calhan and decided we needed to warm up.  A few other riders had stopped at a little restaurant just off the side of the road called "Taste Buds."  We sloshed inside, and unloaded our wet gear on a table already covered with wet riding gear from the group already warming up.  Coffee and hot chocolates came for everyone, and we found the refrigerated display case put out some nice heat from underneath to dry our shoes and toes.

An hour and a half later, full of delicious home cooked breakfast/lunch, we paid our tab and re-donned our wet gear, bracing ourselves for the upcoming cold second half of the ride.  But to our surprise, the temperature had risen and the sun was started to peek out.  We rode for twenty minutes, then had to stop to shed layers.

Camp is Limon High School.  We've got nice grass right off the running track, but the washrooms are miles away.

Everyone spent a good half-hour after they arrived cleaning up their bike from all the road grime that we collected on the road.

My team was on sweep duty tonight, so I've had very little time to relax and recover.  Adam and I had to fire up the big BBQ and start grilling chicken around 5pm, then we served food, and finally got to eat around 6:45.  After dinner we had to clean up the kitchen, then we had our peloton meeting followed by small groups.  Finally, around 8:45 I had a few free minutes to collect my thoughts in my tent and write a blog.  No internet here, so I'll post this next time we get it.

Tomorrow we have to ride on I-70, so the Colorado State Troopers will be joining us for breakfast at 6:30am and telling us how to ride safely on the Interstate.  They might be under the impression that all 100 of us cyclists will be leaving camp and taking over the road in one big mass, but that won't be the case.  Unless they insist we do so.  I think we have 40 miles to ride on the highway, so there's no way we'll able to stick together for that long.

Alright.  it's 9:07pm and I'm bushed.  Time to call it a day.  Can't believe we've started week 4 already!

Day 20/21- Canon City, CO to Colorado Springs, CO + Pikes Peak

 Daily Stats:
Time: 6h18m24s
Distance: 117.77km
Avg Spd: 18.7km
Climbing: 3,324m

Wow!  What a day.  It was an easy 88km run from Canon City to Colorado Springs, but then six of us decided to ride up Pikes Peak.  Rachel, Joel, Marc, Brandon, Mark and Dave joined me on this adventure.  Rachel rode with us for the morning, but opted not to ride up when we got the base.  Dave ran out of water at the half-way point, and had to turn around.

We left camp around 6:30am, and we made it to Manitou Springs (a small town near the base of Pikes Peak) around 10am.  It was another hour of climbing to reach the toll gate, followed by nearly three hours of tough riding to get to the summit.

And holy smokes, was it ever tough climbing.  The road is 29.5km (18miles) long from the gate to the summit, and gains 2,181m (7,155ft) of vertical elevation.  The elevation at the summit is 14,110ft.  We started climbing around 11am, and it was after 2pm when we reached the summit.  Ideally we should have left earlier, as a storm regularly forms at the summit around 1-2pm.  I got rained on for the last 20minutes of my climb, but the other guys weren't so lucky, as they had rain for the last hour of their ascent.

When we reached the summit, it was cold - about 7C (45F) and rainy.  I was the first to summit, and was so physically and emotionally spent that I hunched over the railing at the summit and summoned all my strength to breathe.  I didn't care that I was getting drenched in the rain.  I got another tourist to take my photo, but didn't even have the wherewithal to get a decent background to the picture.

About fifteen minutes after I arrived and was stumbling through the gift shop, Joel showed up, and we congratulated each other and got the 'world famous' donuts from the shop at the top.  I also snagged a Gatorade and a Twix bar to try and rehydrate and get some sugar.  A few minutes later Marc arrived, then Mark, then Brandon.

I had been eating every half-hour on the way up, but I ran out of water around the 13,000ft mark and that really hurt me.  With maybe 2-3km left to ride, I had to take my first break and took ten minutes to eat more and collect my strength.  The elevation was tough on me - it made me light headed, and every pedal stroke was a challenge.  A few people in cars driving past yelled encouragements out their windows as they flew past, and that was actually incredibly uplifting.  A few minutes after summiting, I felt fine, but after I finished eating, and once the last of us arrived I began to feel a little ill.

The rain was coming down hard, and we were shivering from the cold.  My arm-warmers and vest had been put on during the climb, as the temperature dropped once we cleared the treeline - but we were way too cold to try descending, being drenched with sweat and rain and not being able to dry off in the gift shop.  Thankfully, two other Sea to Sea riders had decided to drive to the summit to see it for themselves, and we were able to hitch a ride back down to camp with us and our bikes in their vans.  But not before the obligatory (although somewhat bedraggled) picture at the the summit sign...  from left to right: Me, Joel, Brandon, Marc & Mark.

Driving down from the summit, the altitude and the donut & gatorade caught up to me and I had to make an emergency stop to relieve my stomach (out the window of the van...).  By the time we reached the toll gate again (probably 30 minutes later) I was feeling better.

The views from the mountain were spectacular, but somewhat terrifying when looking ahead and up the hill at the roads and seemingly unending switch-backs we had to climb.  The change in vegetation from bottom to top is impressive - lush and green at the base, and stark and rocky at the top.

After the ride, a few of us climbers when out to Old Chicago's restaurant for dinner.  Never in my life has pizza and beer tasted so good.

I'd like to say I slept like a rock, but that wasn't the case.  We're staying at Colorado Springs Christian School, and were given freedom to sleep in any hallway.  I couldn't get comfortable, or regulate my temperature properly, so was up a few times during the night.  I'll try and nap this afternoon, and hopefully be ready to ride again tomorrow.

The school we're at is a spectacular, built on a hill over looking the city and mountains.  But everything is far apart, and it's a long walk from the showers and washrooms up the 8% grade parking lot to the gear trailer...  Pikes Peak is visible in the background (the mountain peak without trees).

Today we joined the Cragmore CRC for worship, and were treated to a huge dinner of pulled pork sandwiches and desserts.  This afternoon was spent at the laundromat and blogging.  Sleep is the next priority.

This week we start descending into the prairies.  We're very much looking forward to not climbing and time to rest our weary legs.

Day 19 - Poncha Springs, Co to Canon City, CO

Daily Stats:
Time: 3h13m08s
Distance: 100.6km
Avg Spd: 31.3km/hr
Climbing: 470m

Easy ride today. 95km of downhill and a 5km climb.  But absolutely stunning.  We followed Highway 50 along the Arkansas River and passed through some amazing canyons.

We rode with Mark K today, who is a Colorado native.  He directed us to a sweet alternate route heading into town.  Rather than rolling down the highway into town, we peeled off to the left, and took a one-way road called "Skyline Drive" that follows a ridge overlooking town.  The view from the top was amazing. Totally worth climbing the 11% grade to get to the top.

Camp tonight is at "The Abbey" an old monastery that has been converted into a facility that can be used for public events.  No pics of it yet, but it's a decent size with hot showers.  We showed up early enough to pitch our tents in the shade.

Day 18 - Alamosa, CO to Poncha Springs, CO

Daily Stats:

Time: 4h08m14s

Distance: 128.7km

Avg Spd: 31.1km/hr

Climbing: 548m

Today's ride was pretty average.  It was super flat and my legs were a little cooked after yesterday's climb.  We rode pretty easy, but maybe a bit harder than I would have done on my own.  There was a short section of 1.5% uphill grade at the end, followed by a sweet 15km 4% downhill.  The downhill was a good deal of fun, and at peloton meeting tonight, about 80% of the riders said they went the fastest they had ever gone on a bike.  We definitely thanked the Lord for safety on that hill.  Here's a shot of the hill from the gas station/pub at the bottom.

As I said before, it was flat today.  And straight.  I never would have guessed we would see roads so straight and boring in Colorado.  Even with the straight, flat roads, we were entirely surrounded by mountains off in the distance.  But the space between the road and the mountains was almost desert at 9,000ft.  It's crazy topography and plants.

Our accommodations this evening are a little stark and barren - we're at the Chaffee County Fairgrounds in Poncha Springs.  Poncha is a tiny little town just west of Salida, and the fair grounds are almost entirely dirt.  We found small section of almost green way away from the gear truck, and have set up a circle of young folks, with the intention of sleeping in tomorrow.  We were given the option of sleeping in one of the buildings here, but our tents were wet from dew this morning when they were packed up, and I didn't feel like dealing with snorers again tonight.

I went exploring in Salida with a few others before dinner today, and can honestly say with big enthusiasm that it is the greatest little town I've seen.  It's small, with a compact downtown core of shopping right off the river.  The river has been crafted to allow people to play in the water and float over some tame rapids.  There is also a kayak course strung up along the river.  There are a few restaurants with huge patios overlooking the water.  And the bikes!  There are bikes everywhere, and more bike racks on the street than I've seen anywhere.  Bike shops are plentiful as well - I walked through four of them within a ten-minute walk.  It's a big mountain biking area, so there wasn't much product for us roadies, but I was in my element.  Absolute Bikes was my favorite, as they had all sorts of old mountain bikes and parts hanging on the roof.  Marc and I had a blast checking them all out.

To make the day even better, we were treated to a roller derby practice in the building right next to our gear trailer.  The team scrimmaged for a bit after their practice and invited us to watch.  It was nuts.  And redneck.  And bizarra.  But totally awesome

Tomorrow should be an easy 105km, so I'm hoping to convince the guys to spend some time in Salida in the morning.  Problem is we'll be out of camp by 7:30, and nothing will be open that early...  ah, well.  Canon City should have some sweet sights to check out, too.