Monday, August 1, 2022

Day 53-Feels Like Kansas, But It’s Still Colorado

The only real hills today were getting into (downhill) and out of (uphill) Pueblo. The rest was pretty flat. 

We stopped in Pueblo for a good resupply from the King Sooper. We haven’t bought that much food for awhile, as we didn’t want to carry too much food over the Passes. That’s all done now. In this resupply, due to the heat, I have prioritized non-cooking options for dinners. Think lots of avocados…

As we left Pueblo, there was road construction on the highway. The outside lane and shoulder had been ground and were grooved pavement. Still, it was the safest place to ride…until the construction truck came barreling toward us. We got onto the shoulder. Fortunately, it wasn’t for very long. 

Our own lane…sort of. 

Out into the nothingness that looks and feels like Kansas, but is still Colorado, we had a bit of a tailwind. 

Wide open space!

At Boone, we stopped for lunch at the park in progress. 

Picnic shelters are up. Restrooms are available. Now they just need to plant some grass (sprinkler heads were in too). 

After lunch, our next town was Olney Springs. Supposedly, there was a convenience store. As we stopped to see where this store was, a woman pulled up in her car and asked if we needed water. We said yes, so she parked, and let us into the town hall to get water from the water cooler. Her name was Diane, and she was the mayor of Olney Springs. She asked us what we, as cyclists, would want to have in the town. We gave her a few suggestions, and she wrote them down. She was also going to contact Adventure Cycling to let them know the CS was no longer open. Really nice woman. It was because of my lucky horseshoe that she happened to pull up right as we did!

The town hall

They seem bike friendly. 

From there it was 11 miles to Ordway. After Crowley, we went past the fourth prison in two days. Apparently, incarceration is big business in this part of Colorado. 

The Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility off in the distance. 

We went to the city clerk’s office in Ordway to pay our $5 to camp at the city park. It was $5 total. The showers at the Ordway Hotel were more expensive at $10, but again, worth it after a hot day in the sun. 

There are actually 6 of us in Ordway tonight. Three Westies, and three of us eastbounders. Quan, Vic (we didn’t meet Vic), and Ron have been riding together the past two days. But, Ron has to wait in Pueblo for a new set of tires as he has a bubble in one of his. Hopefully, he’ll make the 50 ish miles to Pueblo. 

Quan just graduated from MIT. Really nice guy. 

Quan, Doug and I (check out my hair now!)

The other eastbound guy is Jeff. He’s kind of been doing a mixture of Trans Am and his own thing. It wouldn’t bother me to not see him again. 

As the sun goes down in Ordway, the smell of cow permeates the warm air, and the mosquitoes have joined the flies in antagonizing us. Time to retreat to the tent. Goodnight!





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