7/25 More climbing and miserable winds...
Lil foot and I have pretty much been riding with Chris and Gary now for a while and we all planned on doing 87 miles from Cotopaxi to Gunnison which judging by the elevation profile on our maps should be a repeat of the day before. A long ass climb with a huge downhill on the other end. Well the climbing began and again felt never ending. Along the way lil foot and I met a few guys that where hanging out by the side of the road waiting for a few other friends. We got to chatting about cycling and found out two of their friends had a bet going on. One was cycling up to Monarch's summit while the other had to hitch hike up. Clearly not an even bet but the cycling guy actually made extremely good time, though I'm assuming he still lost. This guys were entertaining for the 15 minutes we talked to them, but now it was time to ride on.
After 5 hours on the saddle we still haven't reached the top. My ass was soo numb at this point, on top of that it began to rain and the temperature dropped a bit. Every turn we made the road continued going up as our moods were going down. FINALLY, the top! At over 11000 feet we reached the top of Monarch Summit! We took q little break before cruising downhill.
The next 10 miles were beyond amazing. Lil foot and I cheered and high five all the way down, then the fun was over. With 30 plus miles left, the wind picked up. We were still going downhill but without peddling we would have been at a stand still. This went from a high fiving downhill to a long ass night of riding. As if the wind wasn't bad enough we both needed a restroom desperately but of course there was nowhere to go except for our final destination. By about 9pm we dragged ourselves into Gunnison and were exhausted. After finding a restroom we got in touch with Chris and Gary, Chris offered to let us share a room with him, but refused to take our money... We repaid him in drinking all night. As if we hadn't learned that drinking the night before riding is a bad idea, we continued on to the bars. Once again we closed a couple places, played some pool and then passed out for the night. Chris snores so now I have a video of it on my phone, blackmail!
7/26 Now that's what I'm talking about....
Two days of 40plus mile climbing, it was time for a great riding day. Today was just that, 66 miles into Montrose. Thefirst 20 miles was filled with mountain side views and the Arkansas river along side of us. Then it was a rough 20 miles, a little climbing but the rough part was the down pour and hail. Though the hail wasn't huge it still hurt a lot. There was a gas station/store right in the middle if our only two climbs for the day, and it was perfectly located. We reached there right before the rain got even heavier, so we hid out for a while before doing our last 20 miles.
The rain slowed down so we hustled out, only a 4 mile climb and then downhill 16 miles! The rain picked up again on the way up, but our downhill was perfect even with the rain. I don't think I had to pedal for more than a minute on the entire way down.
By the time we reached Montrose I was soaking wet and freezing. After my aunt Karen found out, she and C Bear (Uncle Craig) booked lil foot and I a room at the econolodge! AMAZING! Love you guys and thanks again! Right now I'm recleaning all my clothes because they were drenched during the rain. Lil foot is doing her thing of post cards, talling up numbers and so on. Tomorrow we will make it to Telluride, Colorado and the next day its Utah time. Not sure we'll see anything as beautiful as the Rockies for the rest of the adventure but we are still looking forward to all that's ahead!
Night all!
Sasq
Ps... We miss our friends and family, so comment away and say hi!
Thanks again Karen and Craig for tonight, I probably would have caught pneumonia if I was still out there tonight.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Oh Colorado the climbs, downhills, rain and beautiful scenery...
Just to start off, we are alive and kicking. The Rockies have been pretty crazy in so many ways but let's start where I left off.
7/22 Dinner and drinks with Chris...
Lil foot, Chris and I planned on having a fun night out in Pueblo, and what a night it was. First dinner at the Texas Ranch House close to the hotel. Amazing food, but I felt and looked like total shit. I was definitely getting sick, but with the next day being a rest day I pushed through to have a few drinks. We left the restaurant and 20 minutes later walked right back to their bar because nothing else was walking distance, but it would be an early night there. They close at 11 and there was a 4 drink maximum, LAME. the bartender informed us that Applebees is pretty popular on a Friday night and open til 2am but that was a lie. We took a cab over, $6, had maybe 2 or 3 pints each only to find ourselves needing another place to go because it was closing time and only 1am. That's when we went to the Quality Inn's bar/club. Clearly we wanted to keep drinking but once we arrived at our last location we had a fast beer and got the Hell out of there. What a group of weirdos in that place. You could tell we didn't belong at all. At that point it was time to call it a night and get some sleep. ThAnks again to Lindsay and hubby for the night in the hotel!
7/23 Rest Day
As I already mentioned, I hadn't been feeling too good, and it still showed the next day cause lil foot took one look at me and said "wow you look like shit." Thanks buddy! My plan was to stay in bed all day and thanks to my mommy, Eileen Tynion, we had another night at the hotel so we didn't have to pack up anything! I slept through the continental breakfast but food wasn't on my mind. Lil foot had a big day of errAnds, she's been looking to find a 26 inches touring tire but apparently its not a common size tire so she road about 15 around town to a couple shops only to find out that no one had the right tire. Then she ran a couple other errands before returning to the hotel. We wanted to see Harry Potter but lil foot's friend, Leah, drove over for the night to visit so we all went for some Mexican food. I was still feeling like death but needed something in my belly.
Cactus Flower was pretty good, but of course the waitress had a minor default that I couldn't get my attention off of. A little arm, haha. Not to be mean but its very distracting when you notice someone's default, it becomes the only thing I focus on. During dinner Leah mentioned she made us a present, I love presents and surprises! She made us energy cookies which didn't last long the next morning! YUM!
After dinner I went back to the room and slept a ton hoping to get my energy back, lil foot went to Leah's room and got to have a nice night of catching up. Lil foot returned at around midnight and said I still looked like crap, thanks again. The plan was to get breakfast and hit the road for our first day in the Rockies!
7/24 Happy Birthday Chris! (My brother)
We started our day a little later than planned but didn't mind because the weather was amazing and we didn't have to worry about hiding out during 100 degree weather for a few days. 87 miles from Pueblo to Cotopaxi and the halfway point would be roughly 9000 plus feet elevation. What a bitch of a climb. It wasn't too steep, just felt never ending. Along the way lil foot and I found Nina, Norwegian cyclist, in the side of the road and boy was she excited to see us. She hauled ass for two days doing twice as many miles just to catch up to us for some company. We road on and climbed little by little. I thought I was feeling better but the climb was getting to me, I was might headed and exhausted. This was going to be a long rough day.
We reached the top finally and found a place to eat, but the service was a bit crappy. Good thing my food was decent otherwise I would have been even more mad. An old woman, I'm guessing the owner, asked if we were having a bad day and I told her "No, your service is shitty." You would think that would get rid of her but no. What a head ache. We had enough of that place, so it was time to finish up our last 30 or so miles to Cotopaxi. After the rough climbing all day we finally caught a break and it was smooth sailing downhill for the remaining ride! Beautiful scenery the whole way and my energy was back up!
We spent the night at the KOA, the guys got a cabin (doesn't count as camping, haha) and the three of us camped out under the stars! Our first night of amazing camping in a long time!
Sasq
Part 2 to follow...
7/22 Dinner and drinks with Chris...
Lil foot, Chris and I planned on having a fun night out in Pueblo, and what a night it was. First dinner at the Texas Ranch House close to the hotel. Amazing food, but I felt and looked like total shit. I was definitely getting sick, but with the next day being a rest day I pushed through to have a few drinks. We left the restaurant and 20 minutes later walked right back to their bar because nothing else was walking distance, but it would be an early night there. They close at 11 and there was a 4 drink maximum, LAME. the bartender informed us that Applebees is pretty popular on a Friday night and open til 2am but that was a lie. We took a cab over, $6, had maybe 2 or 3 pints each only to find ourselves needing another place to go because it was closing time and only 1am. That's when we went to the Quality Inn's bar/club. Clearly we wanted to keep drinking but once we arrived at our last location we had a fast beer and got the Hell out of there. What a group of weirdos in that place. You could tell we didn't belong at all. At that point it was time to call it a night and get some sleep. ThAnks again to Lindsay and hubby for the night in the hotel!
7/23 Rest Day
As I already mentioned, I hadn't been feeling too good, and it still showed the next day cause lil foot took one look at me and said "wow you look like shit." Thanks buddy! My plan was to stay in bed all day and thanks to my mommy, Eileen Tynion, we had another night at the hotel so we didn't have to pack up anything! I slept through the continental breakfast but food wasn't on my mind. Lil foot had a big day of errAnds, she's been looking to find a 26 inches touring tire but apparently its not a common size tire so she road about 15 around town to a couple shops only to find out that no one had the right tire. Then she ran a couple other errands before returning to the hotel. We wanted to see Harry Potter but lil foot's friend, Leah, drove over for the night to visit so we all went for some Mexican food. I was still feeling like death but needed something in my belly.
Cactus Flower was pretty good, but of course the waitress had a minor default that I couldn't get my attention off of. A little arm, haha. Not to be mean but its very distracting when you notice someone's default, it becomes the only thing I focus on. During dinner Leah mentioned she made us a present, I love presents and surprises! She made us energy cookies which didn't last long the next morning! YUM!
After dinner I went back to the room and slept a ton hoping to get my energy back, lil foot went to Leah's room and got to have a nice night of catching up. Lil foot returned at around midnight and said I still looked like crap, thanks again. The plan was to get breakfast and hit the road for our first day in the Rockies!
7/24 Happy Birthday Chris! (My brother)
We started our day a little later than planned but didn't mind because the weather was amazing and we didn't have to worry about hiding out during 100 degree weather for a few days. 87 miles from Pueblo to Cotopaxi and the halfway point would be roughly 9000 plus feet elevation. What a bitch of a climb. It wasn't too steep, just felt never ending. Along the way lil foot and I found Nina, Norwegian cyclist, in the side of the road and boy was she excited to see us. She hauled ass for two days doing twice as many miles just to catch up to us for some company. We road on and climbed little by little. I thought I was feeling better but the climb was getting to me, I was might headed and exhausted. This was going to be a long rough day.
We reached the top finally and found a place to eat, but the service was a bit crappy. Good thing my food was decent otherwise I would have been even more mad. An old woman, I'm guessing the owner, asked if we were having a bad day and I told her "No, your service is shitty." You would think that would get rid of her but no. What a head ache. We had enough of that place, so it was time to finish up our last 30 or so miles to Cotopaxi. After the rough climbing all day we finally caught a break and it was smooth sailing downhill for the remaining ride! Beautiful scenery the whole way and my energy was back up!
We spent the night at the KOA, the guys got a cabin (doesn't count as camping, haha) and the three of us camped out under the stars! Our first night of amazing camping in a long time!
Sasq
Part 2 to follow...
Friday, July 22, 2011
What a crew we've become!
7/20
As we left Shay's Inn my mood was much better than the day before. The plan was to cycle to Tribune, Kansas and take a dip in the city pool, take a little nap and cycle another 30 miles to the first town after the border of Colorado. By 2 pm we were looking good, sat pool side for an hour or so, then of to the library for our nap. Our plan was working and the wind was going to be in our favor at night. The guys, Chris and Gary, were also in Tribune but they were ending there for the night. It's become a contest almost between the four of us to see who will ride further and it kills the guys if we make it passed them which just fuels us to go on.
Unfortunately the weather in western Kansas and eastern Colorado tends to change at the drop of a hat. We hopped back on our bikes to push out 30 miles, around 8pm and maybe made it 5 miles before the sky became a lightning show. Lil foot looked over at me and saw I was scared, I told her I'm turning around and finding a house to camp on, so we did. A couple miles back we knocked on a door and asked to pitch our tent on the lawn, they said sure! We put the tent up and laid down to try to sleep right away so we couple make up the time in the morning. It must have been about an hour when it began to rain, but rain we can handle, at 11 pm that's when the fun began. The winds of the plains are hard enough to ride in, sleeping in them is a whole other experience. We went from sleeping beauties to blowing around bodies. Our tent actually moved a couple feet at one point, then we spent almost 2 hours holding the tent praying it wouldn't blow away with us still in it. The lightning continued and the thunder was shaking the ground, so its plain to say we didnt sleep more than two hours tops. After the winds calmed down a little we attempting to knock on the door and ask for some shelter. At this point we had been sitting in a puddle and the temp dropped to the 60s so we were also freezing. Noone came to the door, but I noticed the door was open so we let ourselves in and stayed on the floor in their mud room. I guess you can say we had our first night of squatting!
7/21
By 4:30am the sky cleared up and we hustled off the lawn back a few miles to a gas station. As if the night of no sleep wasn't enough, lil foot got a flat tire on our way to the gas station. She also ran over an already dead snake which freaked her out because she HATES snakes. Haha. Our day wasn't looking all too bright at this point.
Back to riding and hoping the day would get better. The winds were against us to start of but we pushed and made it to the border, hello Colorado! Another 15 miles later we stopped for a little break, mainly to give my tushy a break cause my shorts were done for. During our first break the guys caught up and informed us they planned on doing 120 miles in an attempt to top us, but at that same moment we decided to keep up with them and make it just as far! We rode on while they took their break and that's when it happened... 10 miles later an 18 wheeler came up behind us and beeped so lil foot began moving over but the truck drive didn't want to wait. He came plowing through, there was no traffic coming the other way but he didn't move over, instead be wizzed by and clip lil foot's back bag causing her to lean into me and causing me to hit the edge of the road and I wiped out. The 18 wheeler went on his merry way not even a tap on his breaks to each if we were ok. Luckily not too much harm done, I have a scratched up left shin and knee and a few bruises on my legs. But no bike damage and now we can add near death experience to our list. What a mess of a morning this was turning out to be. Tue guy caught up and we rode on, they were shocked to hear about the truck.
We made it 60 miles and sat down in a diner for lunch, Gary's family joined us. It was time for the second half of our day and the weather was amazing, mostly cloudy and only the low 90s!
With 10 miles to go a storm hit us hard. LITERALLY. The guys had gotten a bit ahead of us when the winds picked up. We were riding on a 45 degree angle and rain was hitting us hard. There were tumble winds flying across the road and by the looks of things we were royally screwed. That's when Wendy came into our lives! A beautiful sight at just the right time. Wendy pulled up next to us and offered to give us a ride to our final destination. We packed our bikes in the back of her suv and chatted our way to Ordway Colorado, 10 miles! The guys were a bit stronger and toughed it out, but it was probably a little easier without bags and they didn't want a ride when offered. We were dropped off at the Ordway hotel where the guys were staying for the night and we would be sleeping on the floor of Chris' room. Saved from the storm, which never made it our way.
Once everyone made it to the hotel we showered up and hot the local bar for a few beers and had some DiGiorno. The place was pretty interesting and the bartender as well. It should have been an early night but we drank until 1am and had a blast. Unfortunately this morning was not a happy one for us. Haha.
7/22
Only 50 miles til Pueblo Colorado and for the first time lil foot and I were bagless! Gary's wife was kind enough to take our bags for us and we would get them back later. It was a bit weird at first but I sure can get used to riding without them. The ride was a quick one as we had a lovely tail wind the whole way!
Lil foot's boyfriend's sister offered to put us up for the night at the econolodge. Amazing, night two of the beds for butts foundation! Thank you Lindsay and hubby for the night! You guys are amazing! :-)
Tonight we are heading for some food and drinks on the town with Chris while Gary has some family time. So off for food now, hopefully talk to some crazy locals that way tomorrow I'll have something good to blog about.
I'm outtie!
Sasq
Also, lil foot witnessed an insane car crash right before lunch. An 18 wheeler loaded with cows cut off a woman in an suv when he turned into a gas station. He ended up crushing the side of this poor woman's car. Noone was hurt and I believe the cows are ok as well!
It was a crazy 18 wheeler driving day indeed.
As we left Shay's Inn my mood was much better than the day before. The plan was to cycle to Tribune, Kansas and take a dip in the city pool, take a little nap and cycle another 30 miles to the first town after the border of Colorado. By 2 pm we were looking good, sat pool side for an hour or so, then of to the library for our nap. Our plan was working and the wind was going to be in our favor at night. The guys, Chris and Gary, were also in Tribune but they were ending there for the night. It's become a contest almost between the four of us to see who will ride further and it kills the guys if we make it passed them which just fuels us to go on.
Unfortunately the weather in western Kansas and eastern Colorado tends to change at the drop of a hat. We hopped back on our bikes to push out 30 miles, around 8pm and maybe made it 5 miles before the sky became a lightning show. Lil foot looked over at me and saw I was scared, I told her I'm turning around and finding a house to camp on, so we did. A couple miles back we knocked on a door and asked to pitch our tent on the lawn, they said sure! We put the tent up and laid down to try to sleep right away so we couple make up the time in the morning. It must have been about an hour when it began to rain, but rain we can handle, at 11 pm that's when the fun began. The winds of the plains are hard enough to ride in, sleeping in them is a whole other experience. We went from sleeping beauties to blowing around bodies. Our tent actually moved a couple feet at one point, then we spent almost 2 hours holding the tent praying it wouldn't blow away with us still in it. The lightning continued and the thunder was shaking the ground, so its plain to say we didnt sleep more than two hours tops. After the winds calmed down a little we attempting to knock on the door and ask for some shelter. At this point we had been sitting in a puddle and the temp dropped to the 60s so we were also freezing. Noone came to the door, but I noticed the door was open so we let ourselves in and stayed on the floor in their mud room. I guess you can say we had our first night of squatting!
7/21
By 4:30am the sky cleared up and we hustled off the lawn back a few miles to a gas station. As if the night of no sleep wasn't enough, lil foot got a flat tire on our way to the gas station. She also ran over an already dead snake which freaked her out because she HATES snakes. Haha. Our day wasn't looking all too bright at this point.
Back to riding and hoping the day would get better. The winds were against us to start of but we pushed and made it to the border, hello Colorado! Another 15 miles later we stopped for a little break, mainly to give my tushy a break cause my shorts were done for. During our first break the guys caught up and informed us they planned on doing 120 miles in an attempt to top us, but at that same moment we decided to keep up with them and make it just as far! We rode on while they took their break and that's when it happened... 10 miles later an 18 wheeler came up behind us and beeped so lil foot began moving over but the truck drive didn't want to wait. He came plowing through, there was no traffic coming the other way but he didn't move over, instead be wizzed by and clip lil foot's back bag causing her to lean into me and causing me to hit the edge of the road and I wiped out. The 18 wheeler went on his merry way not even a tap on his breaks to each if we were ok. Luckily not too much harm done, I have a scratched up left shin and knee and a few bruises on my legs. But no bike damage and now we can add near death experience to our list. What a mess of a morning this was turning out to be. Tue guy caught up and we rode on, they were shocked to hear about the truck.
We made it 60 miles and sat down in a diner for lunch, Gary's family joined us. It was time for the second half of our day and the weather was amazing, mostly cloudy and only the low 90s!
With 10 miles to go a storm hit us hard. LITERALLY. The guys had gotten a bit ahead of us when the winds picked up. We were riding on a 45 degree angle and rain was hitting us hard. There were tumble winds flying across the road and by the looks of things we were royally screwed. That's when Wendy came into our lives! A beautiful sight at just the right time. Wendy pulled up next to us and offered to give us a ride to our final destination. We packed our bikes in the back of her suv and chatted our way to Ordway Colorado, 10 miles! The guys were a bit stronger and toughed it out, but it was probably a little easier without bags and they didn't want a ride when offered. We were dropped off at the Ordway hotel where the guys were staying for the night and we would be sleeping on the floor of Chris' room. Saved from the storm, which never made it our way.
Once everyone made it to the hotel we showered up and hot the local bar for a few beers and had some DiGiorno. The place was pretty interesting and the bartender as well. It should have been an early night but we drank until 1am and had a blast. Unfortunately this morning was not a happy one for us. Haha.
7/22
Only 50 miles til Pueblo Colorado and for the first time lil foot and I were bagless! Gary's wife was kind enough to take our bags for us and we would get them back later. It was a bit weird at first but I sure can get used to riding without them. The ride was a quick one as we had a lovely tail wind the whole way!
Lil foot's boyfriend's sister offered to put us up for the night at the econolodge. Amazing, night two of the beds for butts foundation! Thank you Lindsay and hubby for the night! You guys are amazing! :-)
Tonight we are heading for some food and drinks on the town with Chris while Gary has some family time. So off for food now, hopefully talk to some crazy locals that way tomorrow I'll have something good to blog about.
I'm outtie!
Sasq
Also, lil foot witnessed an insane car crash right before lunch. An 18 wheeler loaded with cows cut off a woman in an suv when he turned into a gas station. He ended up crushing the side of this poor woman's car. Noone was hurt and I believe the cows are ok as well!
It was a crazy 18 wheeler driving day indeed.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Toasty Tuesday
Picking up where I left off... We hauled ass as fast as possible away from Dennis' house and made it to Ness City, 20 miles away, where we stopped to eat some breakfast and fill up our water bottles with cold water. Plan for the day was to get.as far as possible depending on heat and wind. The morning ride was a bit tough, we had a cross wind which at one point the combo of the cross wind and an 18 wheeler coming by pushed lil foot off the side of the road. This was intense. In case you need a better idea of the winds we're facing the next time its windy out go for a run in it and then every block or two have some smack you in the face with a bat. This is how it feels to battle a head wind along with an on coming truck.
As for you truck drivers, sorry I'm not waving all too much, its just that I'm bracing myself for the hit coming my way from your truck.
Once we filled our bellies it was time to get back onto the iron horse. Another 32 miles to Dighton. The wind continued to make our ride miserable and one top of that my back tire looked low. Lil foot rode on as I stopped three times to put air in it, and on the third time the pin popped off the tube. GREAT. Just what I needed, another flat tire. I pushed my bike half a mile where I could sit on the side of the road to change the flat. The first tube I tried to replace it with was not working and finally the second one went one! As I was finishing up a guy pulled over and ask "Need air?" In which I replied "No, I'm ok." What I wanted to say was, Sir I believe the only air you can prove at this time is from your ass so I'm going to pass. But I held back and he went on his way. At this point I was pretty miserable, I have no cushion left in my shorts so my ass is sore, I keep getting flats, the head wind was killing me, I was on 3 hours of sleep and the heat was going up. Lil foot lucked out and made it most the of the way before the wind got really bad, but it took me about two hours to go 14 miles. Ridiculous.
I warned lil foot I was in a shit mood and she understood. When I finally made it to town I ate lunch and then we began to plan what we would do. We went to the library where I took a crappy nap and we got to do some internet surfing on a computer! Then it was time to go cause the library was closing. Off to get some ice cream. I was still in a crap mood and neither of us wanted to cycle on, we decided to check in a shay's inn which was a lovely HOLE. To start off when you walk on there's a fly swatter to kill the flies in the room. I'm talking old school style, like my grandma does in upstate ny. Haha.
I showered first and found a previously used towel still in the shower. Yum. While I showered little food found us a six pack of shock tops! She showered next then we had our beers and hit the hay early to get ready for a long day ahead.
This morning the alarm went off at 3:30 but we slept in as usual and got a 5:30 riding start which is still good.
To be continued... Bed time for me.
Sasq
As for you truck drivers, sorry I'm not waving all too much, its just that I'm bracing myself for the hit coming my way from your truck.
Once we filled our bellies it was time to get back onto the iron horse. Another 32 miles to Dighton. The wind continued to make our ride miserable and one top of that my back tire looked low. Lil foot rode on as I stopped three times to put air in it, and on the third time the pin popped off the tube. GREAT. Just what I needed, another flat tire. I pushed my bike half a mile where I could sit on the side of the road to change the flat. The first tube I tried to replace it with was not working and finally the second one went one! As I was finishing up a guy pulled over and ask "Need air?" In which I replied "No, I'm ok." What I wanted to say was, Sir I believe the only air you can prove at this time is from your ass so I'm going to pass. But I held back and he went on his way. At this point I was pretty miserable, I have no cushion left in my shorts so my ass is sore, I keep getting flats, the head wind was killing me, I was on 3 hours of sleep and the heat was going up. Lil foot lucked out and made it most the of the way before the wind got really bad, but it took me about two hours to go 14 miles. Ridiculous.
I warned lil foot I was in a shit mood and she understood. When I finally made it to town I ate lunch and then we began to plan what we would do. We went to the library where I took a crappy nap and we got to do some internet surfing on a computer! Then it was time to go cause the library was closing. Off to get some ice cream. I was still in a crap mood and neither of us wanted to cycle on, we decided to check in a shay's inn which was a lovely HOLE. To start off when you walk on there's a fly swatter to kill the flies in the room. I'm talking old school style, like my grandma does in upstate ny. Haha.
I showered first and found a previously used towel still in the shower. Yum. While I showered little food found us a six pack of shock tops! She showered next then we had our beers and hit the hay early to get ready for a long day ahead.
This morning the alarm went off at 3:30 but we slept in as usual and got a 5:30 riding start which is still good.
To be continued... Bed time for me.
Sasq
Monday, July 18, 2011
"Yea, I got expensive things!"
7/18
Today I think takes the cake for the mosr interesting day yet.
To begin we woke up at 3am and were greeted by June offering to make breakfast. Lil foot and I tried to insure her that we had food, but she wouldn't take no for an answer, so pancakes, eggs and fruit it was! After saying our goodbyes and thank yous, we were on our bike by 4am and it was only 78 degrees out! We finally got the super early start we hoped for.
No sun beating down on us to start our day gave us hope for another 100+ ride. The downside of riding without the sun is the darkness, lil foot and I missed our turn putting us a mile further, but we noticed the missed turn and quickly were back on track. There was a cross wind with a slight tail wind which made our morning a very proactive one. As the sun began to rise we were able to see a bunch of deer running all over to find some cover, what a beautiful sight. It was 60 miles roughly til we planned on breaking for lunch. it was about 10am when we arrived in Larned, we did a little protien bar shopping then hit the subway for a bite to eat. while we sat and ate Chris, one of the English guys, arrived covered in sweat and salt. He shocked to see how refreshed and dry the two of us looked, so we ended up having a bit of fun with his look. Then Gary caught up as well, he had the latest start of all of us but since he has legs like a horse his 60 mile ride was like a walk in the park. We all joked about passing a few people going the opposite way and not stoping to talk. Normally we would chat with other cyclists but today was all about pushing as hard as possible to beat the heat and get out of the sun.
After about two hours at Subway lil foot and I were back at it, 33 miles until the next town with a place to stop. The sun was getting stronger, so we made it a plan to put the pedal to the metal and go as hard as possible. we booked it there in a little over two hours! At this town there was only one business open, a car repair/gas station. I asked if it would be ok to hide out from the strongest part of the sun and the woman working the counter said of course! while we sat there we dealt with a few stupid comments and questions which seem to have become the theme of this Kansas heat. "Hey girls, a bit hot for a bike ride isn't it?" "Going to be a hot one today." "You must be really hot from riding." I wish I could walk around witha sign on that says, "WE KNOW ITS HOT, THANKS!"
When all the weather questions and comments passed then it was onto questions about our actual riding, where do you sleep, where are you going, coming from and so on. There was an older man sitting in the shop as well, he began to volunteer different workers' homes for us to stay the night, but we said we were fine with just camping out at the rest stop. Then one of the workers, Dennis, said it would actually be fine with him if we stayed at his house and he happened to live right accross from the rest area we had planned on camping anyway. We accepted and headed out to finish the last 13 miles of our ride, then he would come by after he was finished with work to let us know where to go. DEAL!
Lil foot and I arrived at the rest area, a Men's and Women's bathroom with two water fountain between them inside an air conditioned building. We sat there waiting for Dennis to come get us, but after about two hours of sitting there we figured he had bailed on us. The plan now was to wash us with wet wipes and get some sleep on the floor by the water fountains. As I pulled out the first wipe lil foot came into the bathroom and said he's here! Thank goodness cause I could really use a shower after the 107 miles we had riden.
Across the train tracks there was a two story house that look pretty beat up, with a bunch of rusted old things on the lawn, ah home for the night. Dennis originally made it sound like he lived in a beautiful house with nice funiture, three bedrooms, two living rooms, surround sound in three rooms and more. From the sound of things we were in for a treat but from the looks of things, it was going to be a rough night. HAHA We walked in the front door and lil foot asked for the grand tour. BIG MISTAKE. We went from room to room hearing about the prices of every piece for furniture and electronic in each room, the history of how he came to own most things and stories from his past. Ugh, if we had known the 5 minute tour would actually be an hour we would have just asked where's the shower only. As we went on the histories of objects became more ridiculous, and it was easy to see that Dennis never has visitors or friends of any kind over.
Finally it was shower time, I went first. Before starting up, Dennis demonstrated how he had fallen out of the shower once, this demonstration caused his ass crack to become exposed and it remained that way for the rest of our stay. Lucky us. I was sure to be quick and not leave lil foot alone too long with him, but unfortunately this guy could talk a mile a minute. In the 10 minutes I was gone, lil foot learned about his 6 year marriage and divorce and some other family problems. Then it was my turn to learn about the crazy man. I was shown an atlas of where his mom lives in Denver (luck her for getting away from him), where she works, where we were, where he's lived and traveled. Oh man, was the pain ever going to end. Lil foot was finished and came back just in time. We sat in the living room where he went into more detail about how expensive some of his stuff is and he acted like we were impressed with the price tags, "Yea, I got expensive things!"
Now the convo was turned to drinking and how much he could drink, which isnt actually all to impressive compared to some of the drinking lil foot and I have done in the pass. Haha. Then he wanted to show us how his car speakers can shake his shed, seriously? It was like going to show and tell for 5 year olds, except its adorable when a 5 year old shows you things he/she is proud of, not so much from a 29 year old guy. We were able to get back into the house where he continued to talk, it was 10:30pm at this point and we needed to be up in 5 hours, lil foot faked falling asleep midconvo - not cool. I was left alone, thats when he wanted to show me his favorite part of a movie. I hummored him, but once he began asking my age and if 29 was too old for me, I faked a yawn and hit the couch with lil foot.
He went to bed and lil foot and I agreed no matter how tired we were at 4am we had to leave and get out of there. He didn't seem dangerous, just had the social skills of a rock, infact a rock would be more of a good time!
7/19
Our alarms went off this morning and we didn't move too quick but luckily Dennis was awake and came in at 4am to wake us. This morning was easily the quickest we had ever gotten our shit together. We took off and didn't look back. Thanks Dennis, not so much for the house to sleep in, but more for the laughs I and lil foot will be having with our friends at your expense.
Sasq
More about today (7/19) to come tonight...
Oh and I can't forget to mention the map that Dennis drew us to a place to eat in Dighton. It is literally 6 quares (buildings) and one says Hornet's Nest (the place he was directing us). UNREAL.
Today I think takes the cake for the mosr interesting day yet.
To begin we woke up at 3am and were greeted by June offering to make breakfast. Lil foot and I tried to insure her that we had food, but she wouldn't take no for an answer, so pancakes, eggs and fruit it was! After saying our goodbyes and thank yous, we were on our bike by 4am and it was only 78 degrees out! We finally got the super early start we hoped for.
No sun beating down on us to start our day gave us hope for another 100+ ride. The downside of riding without the sun is the darkness, lil foot and I missed our turn putting us a mile further, but we noticed the missed turn and quickly were back on track. There was a cross wind with a slight tail wind which made our morning a very proactive one. As the sun began to rise we were able to see a bunch of deer running all over to find some cover, what a beautiful sight. It was 60 miles roughly til we planned on breaking for lunch. it was about 10am when we arrived in Larned, we did a little protien bar shopping then hit the subway for a bite to eat. while we sat and ate Chris, one of the English guys, arrived covered in sweat and salt. He shocked to see how refreshed and dry the two of us looked, so we ended up having a bit of fun with his look. Then Gary caught up as well, he had the latest start of all of us but since he has legs like a horse his 60 mile ride was like a walk in the park. We all joked about passing a few people going the opposite way and not stoping to talk. Normally we would chat with other cyclists but today was all about pushing as hard as possible to beat the heat and get out of the sun.
After about two hours at Subway lil foot and I were back at it, 33 miles until the next town with a place to stop. The sun was getting stronger, so we made it a plan to put the pedal to the metal and go as hard as possible. we booked it there in a little over two hours! At this town there was only one business open, a car repair/gas station. I asked if it would be ok to hide out from the strongest part of the sun and the woman working the counter said of course! while we sat there we dealt with a few stupid comments and questions which seem to have become the theme of this Kansas heat. "Hey girls, a bit hot for a bike ride isn't it?" "Going to be a hot one today." "You must be really hot from riding." I wish I could walk around witha sign on that says, "WE KNOW ITS HOT, THANKS!"
When all the weather questions and comments passed then it was onto questions about our actual riding, where do you sleep, where are you going, coming from and so on. There was an older man sitting in the shop as well, he began to volunteer different workers' homes for us to stay the night, but we said we were fine with just camping out at the rest stop. Then one of the workers, Dennis, said it would actually be fine with him if we stayed at his house and he happened to live right accross from the rest area we had planned on camping anyway. We accepted and headed out to finish the last 13 miles of our ride, then he would come by after he was finished with work to let us know where to go. DEAL!
Lil foot and I arrived at the rest area, a Men's and Women's bathroom with two water fountain between them inside an air conditioned building. We sat there waiting for Dennis to come get us, but after about two hours of sitting there we figured he had bailed on us. The plan now was to wash us with wet wipes and get some sleep on the floor by the water fountains. As I pulled out the first wipe lil foot came into the bathroom and said he's here! Thank goodness cause I could really use a shower after the 107 miles we had riden.
Across the train tracks there was a two story house that look pretty beat up, with a bunch of rusted old things on the lawn, ah home for the night. Dennis originally made it sound like he lived in a beautiful house with nice funiture, three bedrooms, two living rooms, surround sound in three rooms and more. From the sound of things we were in for a treat but from the looks of things, it was going to be a rough night. HAHA We walked in the front door and lil foot asked for the grand tour. BIG MISTAKE. We went from room to room hearing about the prices of every piece for furniture and electronic in each room, the history of how he came to own most things and stories from his past. Ugh, if we had known the 5 minute tour would actually be an hour we would have just asked where's the shower only. As we went on the histories of objects became more ridiculous, and it was easy to see that Dennis never has visitors or friends of any kind over.
Finally it was shower time, I went first. Before starting up, Dennis demonstrated how he had fallen out of the shower once, this demonstration caused his ass crack to become exposed and it remained that way for the rest of our stay. Lucky us. I was sure to be quick and not leave lil foot alone too long with him, but unfortunately this guy could talk a mile a minute. In the 10 minutes I was gone, lil foot learned about his 6 year marriage and divorce and some other family problems. Then it was my turn to learn about the crazy man. I was shown an atlas of where his mom lives in Denver (luck her for getting away from him), where she works, where we were, where he's lived and traveled. Oh man, was the pain ever going to end. Lil foot was finished and came back just in time. We sat in the living room where he went into more detail about how expensive some of his stuff is and he acted like we were impressed with the price tags, "Yea, I got expensive things!"
Now the convo was turned to drinking and how much he could drink, which isnt actually all to impressive compared to some of the drinking lil foot and I have done in the pass. Haha. Then he wanted to show us how his car speakers can shake his shed, seriously? It was like going to show and tell for 5 year olds, except its adorable when a 5 year old shows you things he/she is proud of, not so much from a 29 year old guy. We were able to get back into the house where he continued to talk, it was 10:30pm at this point and we needed to be up in 5 hours, lil foot faked falling asleep midconvo - not cool. I was left alone, thats when he wanted to show me his favorite part of a movie. I hummored him, but once he began asking my age and if 29 was too old for me, I faked a yawn and hit the couch with lil foot.
He went to bed and lil foot and I agreed no matter how tired we were at 4am we had to leave and get out of there. He didn't seem dangerous, just had the social skills of a rock, infact a rock would be more of a good time!
7/19
Our alarms went off this morning and we didn't move too quick but luckily Dennis was awake and came in at 4am to wake us. This morning was easily the quickest we had ever gotten our shit together. We took off and didn't look back. Thanks Dennis, not so much for the house to sleep in, but more for the laughs I and lil foot will be having with our friends at your expense.
Sasq
More about today (7/19) to come tonight...
Oh and I can't forget to mention the map that Dennis drew us to a place to eat in Dighton. It is literally 6 quares (buildings) and one says Hornet's Nest (the place he was directing us). UNREAL.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Home sweet home!
It's only been a few hours but I had to update everyone on the amazing night! Earlier lil foot and I noticed four bikes outside of a house in town, so before heading to the park to camp, we swung by that same house to see if anyone would notice us and sure enough two of the cyclists came running out. After two minutes we were parking our bikes behind Joe and June's house. Jim is the mayor of Nickerson and the two have been making in cyclists for years as well as being the host of many exchange students from all over the world. An amazingly friendly order couple with great stories of past visitors.
The four other cyclists were two sets of two who met a few days ago and have been riding together. One a married couple, Mike and Joan, They have done a few long trips over the years and had some good stories from the road. Mike and Rich are a pair of brothers, both retired and just enjoying the summer across the country. We were also offered a place to stay in san Diego and LA when we reach California which is amazing! All four are heading west as well but they will be heading north as we go south.
Tonight we have a bed, had a hit meal, a shower and have laundry going right now! I'm really hoping Colorado people are this welcoming otherwise lil foot and I will have to rough it more than we already are.
Sasq
The four other cyclists were two sets of two who met a few days ago and have been riding together. One a married couple, Mike and Joan, They have done a few long trips over the years and had some good stories from the road. Mike and Rich are a pair of brothers, both retired and just enjoying the summer across the country. We were also offered a place to stay in san Diego and LA when we reach California which is amazing! All four are heading west as well but they will be heading north as we go south.
Tonight we have a bed, had a hit meal, a shower and have laundry going right now! I'm really hoping Colorado people are this welcoming otherwise lil foot and I will have to rough it more than we already are.
Sasq
Burn, Baby Burn...
Not to worry the title doesn't mean lil foot and I have sun burn, just that the heat wave continues...
Last night I definitely got some much needed sleep while lil foot still stayed up a bit part, but she doesn't seem to require as much sleep for some reason, what a freak! Any way we decided to sleep in and only do 50 miles today so lil foot could give her legs a break from the sun and so I could sleep. This was a great idea but the problem was we didn't have the wind on our team today. Instead of cruising through our ride, we battled cross and head winds. Starting around 9am didn't help much either, it was already 94 degrees out and going up to 104 - great.
In the morning we were able to load up our bottles with ice water and gatorade from the fire house, unfortunately the ice part didn't last all too long. After 30 miles we went through Buhler thinking there was a store or gas station or anywhere to get more cold water, instead we found out the closest place w as 12 miles south. Oh man. An older man was the one who gave us that bad news but turned things around when he offered to help us out, he brought us out a pitcher of ice water before going on is way, also offered us to sit on the chairs by his front door in the shade if we needed to! The Kansas hospitality continued and we were lucky it did.
We took a 15 20 minute break then prepared for our 20 miles to Nickerson. Before I forget let me tell you about our lovely getups today... I am wearing two pairs of bike shorts because the padding on my shorts are almost none existent, while lil foot is wearing bike shorts under another pair of casual shorts to protect her thighs from more sun exposure. Also last night we were able to do laundry and a towel was washed with our clothes that had grease on it, that grease is now on other clothes adding to our hobo look. I must say we look lovely right now! Haha.
Back to the biking.... We started up again and found ourselves at a closed road, so we checked out Google maps and found an alternate route. That route included a mile ride on a DIRT road, more like a ride/drag because there were some spots that were impossible to ride through. Now with a layer of dirt mixed with sweat and sun block woo over ourselves we found another dirt road ahead of us. Thanks Google maps. We noticed a new highway under construction so we push our bikes up to that and began to ride back to the route we needed to be on. It was great to be on that, no traffic and it wasn't dirt. This whole process added about 2 miles but 20 minutes to our ride because of the damn dirt. Once we were back on track it was smooth sailing from there.
The wind was only a cross wind now and the sun was getting stronger, this motivated us to haul ass even more. As we continued a.cyclist going east was approaching, he stopped to chat and take a picture but lil foot was good about keeping the convo short since this guy seemed he would have gone on forever. Good luck to that guy, forgot his name, he started out on a tandem bike with his wife but now was riding solo.
Only 8 miles to go! We pulled over so lil foot could take off her outer shorts layer, then we really booked it! We did our last 8 miles in about 30-35 minutes! Unfortunately Nickerson isn't all too much of a town. The library and most shops are closed since its Sunday, but we found a gas station to set up shop in for a while in the ac. Tonight we will be camping in the city park, but with any luck we will look pathetic enough to someone to get a pity invite to a house! I honestly have no shame so I have been trying to chat it up with anyone and everyone who passes us just hoping for that invite. As of now we haven't even come close to an offer. Pooh. I will not give up though!
The English guys also made it to Nickerson, but are staying at the Animal Farm B&B, so we won't see them until tomorrow on the road when they come flying past us. Nina on the other hand has gone a bit off route. She insisted on going to some galaxy show about 6 miles out of the way (each way) and invited us to join, but we declined and opted to get the riding done with early, I think we chose the better option because it is now 104 and its 6pm so I would not want to be riding my bike right now. Not sure if she'll make it to the city park to join us tonight, if not we may not see her the rest of the trip. Just in case... Good luck Nina and enjoy the site seeing!
Considering we wont be escaping the heat for a while we aimll continue to attempt early starts. Although I love the flatness of this state, the heat is really getting to our heads and it makes us a hit cranky so bring on the Rockies!
Our next rest day is planned for Telluride Colorado which we've heard is beautiful, then after that we head into the desert for a few days before hopefully meeting some people around the Grand Canyon!
Tomorrow will be the last day of our 7th week and we will be at about 2750 miles! We are sure looking foward to the rest of our trip, with the hard mountains, heat of Kansas, dogs of Kentucky and home of Pop Eye behind us we have amazing sites ahead.
It's about 6:15 pm here now, so off to the city park to set up camp, cross your fingers for a nice stranger to take us home with them! No dirty jokes people this is a family friendly blog hahahahahaha!!!!
Tata for now.
The one and only,
Sasq
Ps. In case you were worried about my tushy, don't. My lovely num will be mailing me two new pairs of shorts tomorrow! Also lil foot's rash looks a little better and we will continue to keep her legs from the sun, no matter how ridiculous.she has to look!
Last night I definitely got some much needed sleep while lil foot still stayed up a bit part, but she doesn't seem to require as much sleep for some reason, what a freak! Any way we decided to sleep in and only do 50 miles today so lil foot could give her legs a break from the sun and so I could sleep. This was a great idea but the problem was we didn't have the wind on our team today. Instead of cruising through our ride, we battled cross and head winds. Starting around 9am didn't help much either, it was already 94 degrees out and going up to 104 - great.
In the morning we were able to load up our bottles with ice water and gatorade from the fire house, unfortunately the ice part didn't last all too long. After 30 miles we went through Buhler thinking there was a store or gas station or anywhere to get more cold water, instead we found out the closest place w as 12 miles south. Oh man. An older man was the one who gave us that bad news but turned things around when he offered to help us out, he brought us out a pitcher of ice water before going on is way, also offered us to sit on the chairs by his front door in the shade if we needed to! The Kansas hospitality continued and we were lucky it did.
We took a 15 20 minute break then prepared for our 20 miles to Nickerson. Before I forget let me tell you about our lovely getups today... I am wearing two pairs of bike shorts because the padding on my shorts are almost none existent, while lil foot is wearing bike shorts under another pair of casual shorts to protect her thighs from more sun exposure. Also last night we were able to do laundry and a towel was washed with our clothes that had grease on it, that grease is now on other clothes adding to our hobo look. I must say we look lovely right now! Haha.
Back to the biking.... We started up again and found ourselves at a closed road, so we checked out Google maps and found an alternate route. That route included a mile ride on a DIRT road, more like a ride/drag because there were some spots that were impossible to ride through. Now with a layer of dirt mixed with sweat and sun block woo over ourselves we found another dirt road ahead of us. Thanks Google maps. We noticed a new highway under construction so we push our bikes up to that and began to ride back to the route we needed to be on. It was great to be on that, no traffic and it wasn't dirt. This whole process added about 2 miles but 20 minutes to our ride because of the damn dirt. Once we were back on track it was smooth sailing from there.
The wind was only a cross wind now and the sun was getting stronger, this motivated us to haul ass even more. As we continued a.cyclist going east was approaching, he stopped to chat and take a picture but lil foot was good about keeping the convo short since this guy seemed he would have gone on forever. Good luck to that guy, forgot his name, he started out on a tandem bike with his wife but now was riding solo.
Only 8 miles to go! We pulled over so lil foot could take off her outer shorts layer, then we really booked it! We did our last 8 miles in about 30-35 minutes! Unfortunately Nickerson isn't all too much of a town. The library and most shops are closed since its Sunday, but we found a gas station to set up shop in for a while in the ac. Tonight we will be camping in the city park, but with any luck we will look pathetic enough to someone to get a pity invite to a house! I honestly have no shame so I have been trying to chat it up with anyone and everyone who passes us just hoping for that invite. As of now we haven't even come close to an offer. Pooh. I will not give up though!
The English guys also made it to Nickerson, but are staying at the Animal Farm B&B, so we won't see them until tomorrow on the road when they come flying past us. Nina on the other hand has gone a bit off route. She insisted on going to some galaxy show about 6 miles out of the way (each way) and invited us to join, but we declined and opted to get the riding done with early, I think we chose the better option because it is now 104 and its 6pm so I would not want to be riding my bike right now. Not sure if she'll make it to the city park to join us tonight, if not we may not see her the rest of the trip. Just in case... Good luck Nina and enjoy the site seeing!
Considering we wont be escaping the heat for a while we aimll continue to attempt early starts. Although I love the flatness of this state, the heat is really getting to our heads and it makes us a hit cranky so bring on the Rockies!
Our next rest day is planned for Telluride Colorado which we've heard is beautiful, then after that we head into the desert for a few days before hopefully meeting some people around the Grand Canyon!
Tomorrow will be the last day of our 7th week and we will be at about 2750 miles! We are sure looking foward to the rest of our trip, with the hard mountains, heat of Kansas, dogs of Kentucky and home of Pop Eye behind us we have amazing sites ahead.
It's about 6:15 pm here now, so off to the city park to set up camp, cross your fingers for a nice stranger to take us home with them! No dirty jokes people this is a family friendly blog hahahahahaha!!!!
Tata for now.
The one and only,
Sasq
Ps. In case you were worried about my tushy, don't. My lovely num will be mailing me two new pairs of shorts tomorrow! Also lil foot's rash looks a little better and we will continue to keep her legs from the sun, no matter how ridiculous.she has to look!
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