Day 51 - July 24, 2013 - Eads, CO to Ordway, CO

Miles - 61

Total mileage - 

It was a cool start to our day today, and we were thrilled to check the weather and find that today's high was under 90 degrees!  It was overcast as we hit the pavement, and  stayed that was almost all the way to a small town called Haswell, which we were hoping had a convenience store that we could grab some lunch at, since it was really our only option for the first 56 miles of our ride!  And we thought the wind would be blowing in our favor today, but it was just our luck that it turned into a headwind or crosswind for the entire day - lucky us!!!

We lucked out in one way, and the propane store/gas station/antique store also sold pre-packaged sandwiches, other snacks, and cold drinks.  They also had a sweet Pomeranian to love on, and the most adorable 6 week old Border Collie pup!  Getting to hang out with animals always brightens our day.

The terrain is definitely different here than it was in Kansas - fewer farms, more cacti and scrub brush, more dust, and probably even fewer trees dotting the landscape.  We arrived at the one-house town of Arlington, and they thoughtfully put a pit toilet and picnic table in a little rest area for cyclists.  Some people even camp here, but without water or anything else around, it's a bit too primitive for us!

Sugar City was the next dot on the map - it was only 5 miles from our goal for the day, Ordway, but had a cafe so we stopped in for a quick sandwich and cold drink, and I may have had pie and ice cream too...

The stretch of road between Sugar City and Ordway might be the winner for the smelliest stretch of road on the trip.  Big feed lot full of cows that stretched nearly the entire 5 miles...and we were downwind.  Yuck.

We grabbed snacks at a truck stop in Ordway, and headed toward the hotel since storms were forecast for this evening.  We got settled, and not long after that heard thunder...full on storm rolled into Ordway.  These things follow us...they have been in a drought, and we arrive and bring the downpour!  The gutters were overflowing by the time it stopped raining.  We went out to try and hit up the grocery store (more food, seriously, some days we could eat everything in sight!), but they closed at 7:30.  The restaurant was closed too...I wouldn't survive in a small town!  Someone told us the VFW was having Mexican night, but we decided to pass.  We are some granola bars in our room, and are getting ready to pass out now.  50 miles to Pueblo tomorrow, with the possibility of thunderstorms, lets hope they hold off!!!

Day 50 - July 23, 2013 - Sheridan Lake, CO to Eads, Co

Miles - 28

Total Mileage - 1386.3

So, it took forever to fall asleep last night, but the sunlight pouring in the curtainless windows in the church nursery that we slept in didn't let us sleep past 6:30 this morning.  The group of 3 guys who just graduated high school and had ridden 166 miles to get to Sheridan Lake awoke at 4am to make the 135 miles to Pueblo today.  Crazy kids...  Of course another group of four guys who stayed at the church had ridden 200 miles in one day to get to Sheridan Lake.  Also crazy!  There was a group of 3 girls with the 200 mile guys, and they got up really early to ride out into the sunrise.  We hung around for a bit with the 200 mile guys enjoying some coffee and getting a later start to our day!

After a quick breakfast at the gas station, we took off.  We weren't in a hurry, because we planned a short 28 miles today.  We got a little off on our city timing, and our options were:

1.  A 79 mile day to Ordway, CO, in temps in the high 90's.

2.  A 50 mile day to Haswell, CO - a town where you can camp in the park with no real services.

3.  A 28 mile day to Eads, CO, with all services.

We knew we weren't going to survive 79 miles in that heat, and a town without services or an appropriate toilet in the park didn't sound appealing either, so short day it was.  The ride wasnt difficult, and we pulled into Eads before noon.  After a lunch at the local diner, we grabbed a room at the one motel in town to catch up on the sleep we missed the night before.  Dinner was some sort of camp food and a can of green beans...delish!  Hah...

Day 49 - July 22, 2013 - Leoti, KS to Sheridan Lake, CO

Miles - 53

Total mileage - 1383

We got up on time and early today, and headed to breakfast at the Hi-Plains Motel. The motel used to have a restaurant, and the owner now offers a small menu of cooked to order items for breakfast. We ate a ton of food and left to go pick up the packages waiting for us at the post office. Erica picked up her shipment of Sheps, and my amazing mom sent us a package with camping food, GU packets, and the camera that we forgot back in Virginia. Thanks, Mom! 

We headed on down the road, hoping to make it out of Kansas before the end of the day. The weather was awesome early in the morning, with temperatures in the high 60's and only a small wind. It didn't take us very long to get to Tribune, KS, where we stopped for lunch at Burger Bar. The folks there were really nice and let us fill our water bottles with ice and water before we left. 

There wasn't much else to see for the rest of the day until we came to the Colorado state line, which we were thrilled to see.

The tiny town of Towner welcomed us into Colorado, but sadly had no services or anything to stop and look at. We had just 11 miles to our stop, Sheridan Lake, but of course, the winds picked up and blew right at us,and the temperatures were rising, as well. We took the opportunity to stop at an elementary school that had sprinklers on their lawn, and enjoyed just standing in the mist. Four miles later, we made it to Sheridan Lake, where the population is arguably 88 people, the lake has dried up, and the only place to eat is the gas station. We are staying tonight at Sheridan Lake Bible Church, with quite a few other cyclists on the same route.

Day 48 - July 21, 2013 - Scott City, KS to Leoti, KS

Miles - 25

Total mileage - 1330

Another short day, so we took the opportunity to sleep in a bit.  Turns out it was a good thing we did - there was a dense fog advisory and it was pretty chilly out this morning.

It was overcast as we left Scott City, and stayed that way all morning.  The wind was light, and almost a tailwind, so this made for some really nice riding conditions!  We even got misted on at one point.  

More of the same scenery today, but more of it for some reason - feed yards and oil derricks.  Traffic was light since it is Sunday, but we did get passed by a couple of oversize loads.  The drivers in Kansas have been the most considerate of all - almost all of them cross completely into the oncoming lane to go around us.  And almost all of the oncoming drivers wave at us.  Nicest people we've come across yet!

We got to Leoti around noon, and ate lunch with the after-church crowd at the one diner in town, The Route 96 Diner, and checked-in to the one motel in town, the Hi-Plains Motel.  Dinner came from a convenience store.  Leoti actually has a golf course, which we briefly entertained the idea of attending, but dropped that once the clouds burned off and the afternoon heat set in!

Tomorrow we will take advantage of our complimentary cooked-to-order breakfast at the hotel, pick up our mail, and get on the road early to beat the heat.  Temps are projected to be over 100 degrees tomorrow afternoon, and we would like to go about 60 miles or so to Sheridan Lake, CO.  New state, new time zone, woohoo!

Day 47 - July 20, 2013 - Dighton, KS to Scott City, KS

Miles - 30

Total mileage - 1305

Today was a perfect riding day - temps in the 70's, big puffy clouds in the blue skies, and a light cross/tailwind.  Gorgeous weather...we flew through the miles to Scott City and arrived before noon.

Along the way, we spotted an Eastbound couple on a tandem.  They stopped to chat for a bit, and found out they are in their 70's!  Way to go to them!  They shared our complaints about the terrible biting flies in Kansas, and didn't stop long to chat so we all wouldn't be eaten alive by these things...  There have been biting flies in every state so far, but by far the highest concentration has been in Kansas.

Kansas is a tough mental game...you pedal for miles and miles seeing nothing but the same old fields and pasture land. 5 miles feel like 20.  If you can't come up with other things to keep your brain occupied, it will drive you insane.  I'm tellin' ya...if this trail isn't throwing physical challenges at you, it's testing you mentally.

We were planning on doing at least double the miles we did today, until we realized we had a couple of packages waiting for us in a random small town only 25 miles from Scott City, and it was the weekend.  We have already forwarded this mail, so we really need to pick it up.  Which meant waiting until Monday morning.  While grabbing lunch, we decided to cut today and tomorrow short in order to be at the post office in Leoti, KS on Monday morning when it opened.  A tough decision to make when the cycling conditions are perfect, but we need some additional camp food that's in one of the packages for some towns in Colorado with limited services.

All we pass around here is cattle feed yards (also known as "cattle concentration camps", very sad), and those same old oil derricks.  Both are very stinky in their own way...

Day 46 - July 19, 2013 - Ness City, KS to Dighton, KS

Thankfully, the wind died down quite a bit overnight - it was only supposed to be 10 - 15 mph today instead of the 20-30 it was yesterday.  It was still a cross/head wind though, so not good can come of that!

Yesterday have us a serious beating - so much so that I (Erica) suggested sleeping in, which I never do.  We slept for probably an extra hour and a half, and I should have known better...

By the time we got ready to ride, it was just after 10am.  It was already hot, and we were worn down from fighting the wind yesterday.  This was not going to be pretty...

My bike computer stopped working a while before our trip, which is fine by me, since I am a number watcher, and each mile feels like a million when you watch every tenth of a mile tick by.  It makes the day feel incredibly long to me.  So after we had been pedaling a while, I am exhausted already, and ask Mel how many miles we have gone already.  We had no services for 31 miles or so to Dighton, and had planned to go 54 into Scott City today.  When she gave me a number that was less than 10, I nearly dropped my bike right there and put my thumb out to hitch a ride.  I was not doing well at all today...

We got about 15 miles in, and stopped at a historical marker for George Washington Carver's farm that he owned at a point in his life.  That was the line tree we saw today - our one piddly break from the blazing Kansas sun.  I laid down with my cooling towel on my face and really, really had to will myself to get back up.

About 5 more miles down the road, we see more cyclists in our mirrors coming up behind us.  It's always a treat to break up the monotony by chatting a bit with other cyclists while you pedal on.  These guys didn't chat long though, they were in tip top cycling shape, and doing long days, so they were quickly out of sight.

The last 7-8 miles into Dighton were a low point for me.  We didn't eat a proper breakfast this morning, just a protein bar, and I'm sure that had something to do with it.  I had my emotional breakdown, and uttered words I didn't think I'd ever say on this trip - "I just want to go home".  Yep, that decided it folks, Dighton was to be our new destination for the day.  Better get there before I do something really rash like tossing my bike into a  ditch, hitch hiking to the nearest regional airport and begging a ride from some crop-duster pilot to the nearest real airport to catch a plane home.  Yep, that thought obviously crossed my mind a few times...

We arrived incident-free into Dighton, and pedaled past the "Bowl and Diner" in search of other food options, but had to turn and come back when we found nothing but that and the Frigid Creme open.  No joke people, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.  So I ordered a salad in a bowling alley/diner.  It was surprisingly delicious.  The other two cyclists were also there, passing the afternoon eating and journaling, and there was a group if elderly ladies celebrating a birthday with homemade angel food cake.  The only thing they ordered from the diner was coffee (eww, coffee in the heat of the Kansas afternoon?).  The bowling alley was sadly not open for whatever reason.

We ate, then decided we would enjoy  some frosty treats at the Frigid Creme.  Then we found The Heritage Hotel, got a room, and laid down for a good long while.  They had an awesome laundry room, and when I went to put our closeted in the washer, there was the sweetest black cat in the lobby!  I told Mel she had to come out and per the cat, and that's when the cousins of the hotel owner came out to chat in the lobby.  They also brought out their other cat, a Siamese named Ted, and later their 3 dogs - 2 Daschunds and a Yorkie.  They were all so cute, and the lady and two guys running the hotel while the owner was out helping with the harvest were the nicest people.  

We chatted with them and enjoyed the company of the animals for probably a good hour, then finished some blogging in our room.  It was nearly 8:00 by this time, so we decided to see if the pizza place in town was still open, since the hours said it should be until 8:30.  But...it was closed (maybe for good, who knows).  Back to the bowling alley then...but it closed at 8 too!  Ahh well, good thing the Frigid Creme was open until 9, and sold food as well as ice cream...

We watched an American Pickers marathon until bed, then were awoken around midnight to a hell of a thunderstorm outside.  I knew this was good news for the farmers around here, since we heard it had been a very dry few years, and we were glad the weathermen were right for once and we had heeded the warning and taken cover inside for the evening, instead of in the city park.  Oh, and they were also showing The Goonies in the park, which would have been awesome if we could stay awake past 9 anymore, but would have royally sucked if we had stayed there and tried to sleep while most if the town partook in seemingly the only form of Friday night entertainment!

Hah, as I add this picture to the blog, I realize that Mel is also one of these people enjoying coffee in the middle of a hot Kansas afternoon!

Day 45 - July 18, 2013 - Larned, KS to Ness City, KS

Miles - 63

We woke up in Larned and got everything packed away pretty quickly. We ran in to the local grocery store, Dillons, and bought some drinks to carry with us throughout the day. While at the store, a lady had set off her car alarm and we spent a few minutes with her to try and help her figure it out. We managed to get the alarm to go off, after getting weird looks from store employees, plus waking up the entire town. 

We passed the Ft. Larned National Historic Site, about 6 miles out of town. Then, my friends, we found the wall of cross-winds blowing our way at 20-30 miles an hour. It was brutal, along with the kickback of wind we got every time a semi truck passed by. Thankfully, we were able to turn north so the wind was at our backs for about 20 miles. We really enjoyed this part of the day, as we rode up a few hills with little effort at surprising speeds. As we neared the town of Rush Center, we even enjoyed a couple of miles downhill. 

We stopped at Rush Center for lunch at the only place in town that had food...Greg's Pub and Grub. We didn't realize it until we stopped, but the heat was getting pretty bad. Earlier in the day, we met another cyclist from Savanna, GA doing the trail and swapped stories about making it through the Ozarks. He was just leaving Greg's as we were pulling in, but highly recommended the cheeseburgers. 

After a filling lunch, we set our sights and bikes for Ness City, a mere 31 miles away. We knew we might have a difficult time, as the winds were still blowing full force and we now were riding slightly head on into them. Riding into the wind is probably the thing I hate most about riding bikes because it turns something relatively easy into a challenge, and there is nothing you can do but keep going. 

At one point, Erica pulled into an old grain elevator to find water and as I pulled up behind her, facing north, the wind literally pushed me over the small hill onto the road to meet Erica. Riding in Kansas had been awesome up until this point and as the miles wore on, we were struggling with the wind and just not being able to see anything but fields for miles and miles. It's hard to describe the mind trick this becomes, but suffice it to say that we were convinced that Ness City didn't exist, because we were in the middle on nowhere. Finally, we reached a roadside rest area, bought some cold drinks and refilled our water and dreaded the last 18 miles to town. I literally watched the odometer and was counting down, which is usually my last resort to keep our spirits up. When we did roll into Ness City, we decided that we desperately needed showers and a bed to sleep in, so we stopped at the Oil Derrick Inn. Right about this time, everything else in town was closing up shop, except for one gas station and convenience store on the other end of town, so we hiked down the way and bought 5 different drinks and food we could heat up in our room. It was the end of a rough day for us, and we were glad to let the sun set on a difficult journey.