Chunute

After Rosalia, I decided to stop in Eureka. It wasn't a long ride, only about 45 miles but after the ride to Cassoday it was a welcome break. Around five o'clock I went out for a soda and met another biker checking into the hotel. He was riding a recumbent and also doing part of the transam. He asked about dinner so I decided to tag along. We ended up at the Copper Kettle and at long last, a salad bar. My new best friend had a rib eye and I fell for the special, some sort of big pita stuffed with a small portion of cabbage and hamburger meat. OK, I made a bad choice, but the salad was good. My fellow biker had a bag fall off his bike and didn't notice it until he made a water stop. The bag contained his computer, cell phone and Ipod and all the charging wires. When he went back to get it someone had turned it in to the police but unfortunately prior to that someone ran over the bag. All of his stuff was wrecked. Yesterday I left the hotel at 6:30 and he was already gone. I caught up with him later in the small town. Toronto. He was having breakfast with two other bikers from Virginia that were heading West. Also, yesterday I met Lisa and Ted heading West. They were meeting Ted's family in Newton for a short visit. I've lost count of the number of people I've met biking the route but more than I thought I'd meet. Most of them have been accompanied but not all.

There is a camaraderie among bikers, a shared experience and maybe a shared pain. Anyway yesterday I arrived in Chanute with wet clothes (due to sweat), tired legs and hunger. So, today I washed, ate a lunch buffet of pizza and cooled it in the air conditioning. Back on the road tomorrow as I inch closer to Missouri.

Hot Hot Hot

I thought I was going to rip through Kansas in record time. After Dighton I had a very productive day (over 100 miles) into Larned. However, when I got up the next morning it was raining and rained all day. So, I took a rest day and generally just relaxed. I should have blogged and can't really remember why I didn't, senior moment I guess. In the afternoon I saw a cycling couple checking into the hotel so I went over to talk. They were heading east as well but they had been on the road since October. It seems they received a grant to go around the country asking people if they thought there was a new awareness about the environment. They live in New York, inside the city and are free lance photographers as well as journalist. They left NY and rode down the coast to Florida, then across the southern states to California, up the California coast and then picked up the Transamerica Trail. They will have logged over 10,000 miles when their trip is finished. I left early the next morning and didn't see them until about 15 miles before Hutchington. I talked to two groups heading West, one was a father and his daughter and the other was a lone biker who had some physical problems and had been delayed five days. He didn't say what the problems were. The father and daughter couple told me about the Zion Church in Hutchington and said it was a great place to stay. When I was talking to the lone rider, the NY couple rode up and we compared notes and decided to go to the church. It was a 15 mile accompanied ride, the first time I'd ridden with anyone on the trip. It was nice having someone to talk to for a change. When arrived at the church just as the congregation was sitting down to eat and celebrate a pastor retirement after 50 years of ministry. The welcome was amazing. In the church they had cots to sleep on, showers, full kitchen and insisted we join the celebration. The food was as you would expect homemade and delicious. But, there was no WiFi, small price. The people were fantastic and treated us like family. In fact that's what Harley said, you're home, just enjoy. That night three more bikers arrived, so there were a total of six that found their way to the church. The next morning the NY couple wanted to stay an extra day so I got up early and quietly got on the road. I rode 70 miles to Cassoday on a very h0t day. The last ten miles were brutal. It took me a lot longer than anticipated and by the time I arrived I was spent. My quarters for the night was the city park and hotel Richie. Again no WiFi. Last night was a mix. It was hot and sticky but absolutely clear. There was a store a block from the park so I was able to grab some food and water and an egg salad sandwich. I got a can of Campbell's sirloin and potato soup for today and went back to the park and built my nest. The park was well maintained and had a gazebo so I pitched my tent next to it just in case it rained. Just before night fall I was treated to a firefly display. They were every were and put on a luminous display that lasted over an hour. I can't remember the last time I saw fireflies but it was quite a treat. That night I had another treat as the train came through the town every hour until around midnight. I am sure the townspeople were used to hearing it blow the horn but something unusual for me. This morning I got back on the road and headed to Rosalia where I was going to have breakfast. Unfortunately, everything was closed. Rosalia, like a lot of the small towns on the route, has fallen on hard time.That's a problem with these maps which highlights the necessity to have emergency supplies. So, I opened my can of soup and had a small meal. The sun had heated the can, so it was not bad. I got back on the bike and was passed by several cyclists doing the race across America. In fact Mike Cook's support team gave me extra water and some power bars. I could only go 40 miles today. Either that, or camp again in the heat. I opted to sleep indoors tonight. No pictures this time unless you like corn and cows. And Pat, it was 100 degrees today, what is your cut off for thermal underwear?

Totoville

Departed Pueblo Tuesday rested, going downhill, and for the first time in a long time, with a tailwind. Life was good, so good I was able to ride 110 miles to Eads, about 25 miles short of Kansas. Along the way I passed three riders. One was another young man from Holland, the second was a 62 year old man, Jim, who was supported by his wife and finally Dane. Dane is young 20 something, young man from NC. I think he said he lived in Silva near Hendersonville. When I told him I was from Shelby he said his father grew up in Shelby and graduated from Shelby High. Dane's last name was Randall and said he thought his father was 56. Didn't recognize the name but what are the odds of meeting someone in the middle of the US on a bicycle with close ties to Shelby. It was a good day. Wednesday was more of the same. Weather was clear with the same quartering tailwind. I crossed into Kansas just East of Sheridan Lake and around noon reached Tribune about 60 miles for the day. I only met one couple Wednesday. They were German, riding a tandem and we talked for about 15 minutes. I told them about places to stay and they told me about Kentucky and the dogs. Apparently, the Kentucky boys sit on the porch and sic their dogs on bike riders. The couple said the dogs come in packs and really scared the sauerkraut out of them. They even gave me a can of pepper spray to use when I reach Kentucky. Today was a bikers dream. Other than the same flat scenery, I couldn't ask for better conditions. From Pueblo through Kansas it's a slight downhill grade and today the winds really pushed me down the road. Hopefully the winds will stay out of the West. Also, today was Transamerica day. I passed the official supported group as they made their way to Scott City. The wind was against them and most were struggling. I stopped and talked with the first two I met. They complained about the headwind and said it was the first day they had to deal with it. I was so sorry. Also, they said they were the first of 13 that I would see heading East. The group of 13 were spread out about 10 miles from the first two I met to the tailwind Charlie. I did want to talk to the couple on the tandem, recumbent and see how they were fairing but I got my answer when they wouldn't stop even though I moved to their side of the road. It must really be tough in the hills on a recumbent. When I got a mile outside of Dighton, my destination, I felt my back tire going flat. Enough air stayed in it to allow me to reach the hotel. I had about 1700 miles on the tires so this afternoon I put a new set of Continentals on my iron horse and readied it for tomorrow's ride. Life was good today. I entered Central Time Zone and had a flat tire and it wasn't raining.

Missed Me, Ya Missed Me

I raced to Guffey ahead of another storm. This time I won but not by much. Guffey is a small town off route a mile, and mostly uphill. There was a campground at the bottom of the hill but another biker had told me about this quaint B&B in Guffey. Even though I had biked almost 70 miles and the storm was coming, luckily I chose the climb. I got to the B&B but no one was there. The restaurant across the street, Rita's, was open so I went in and asked about the B&B. Rita called Bill, the owner, and told him a biker was interested in a room. She gave me the phone and I talked with Bill. Apparently Bill was sick but just well enough to offer me the bunkhouse or the Honeymoon Suite. I wish now when I was taking the video I had panned further so you could see the full layout of the B&B. The "Honeymoon Suite" was the main building to the right in the video. Further right was the bathroom, an outhouse. Haven't used one of those since Grandma's. My bunkhouse was a very small one room wooden structure with only enough room for two built-in slats for beds and two chairs. I tried the light switch but wasn't surprised to learn I had no power. I pulled my bike onto the small porch hoping to keep as much rain off of it as I could. About 30 minutes after arriving, the storm came complete with driving rain, wind and hail. I grabbed the camera and caught the tail end of it. After the storm passed I walked the property. What a mess. I don't know why he saved all the old wood but piles of it were everywhere along with old cars, trucks and farm equipment. You can see the old Volkswagen, grateful dead bus in the video which was typical of the condition of everything haphazardly parked around the property. The small building to the right of the bus is the shower. The water was hot and the lights did work. I went into the suite and the brave soles who stay there have none of the comforts of home complete with wooden stove and VCR but no TV or phone. I had gone from Andy the proper Englishman's B&B to Bill's backyard bunk. I never met Bill: he didn't even tell me the price of the bunk but as it turned out concerning the storm, I guess I was lucky. That night I had a great dinner at Rita's (highly recommenced if ever in Guffey, Co.) and the next morning gave her $20 to give Bill. I was sure I over paid and told Rita to keep the difference since she made all the arrangements. Sadly, I departed Guffey yesterday and made it to Pueblo. Today was a rest day. I cleaned the bike, washed clothes and shipped some cold weather gear home. I don't think I'll be needing thermal underwear for the remainder of the trip. I checked my odometer, I've pedaled over 2,000 miles since leaving Astoria.

Breckenridge

I couldn't help it. I left Silverthorne and got on the bike path to Breckenridge and fell in love with the place. So, there was only one thing to do, after biking less than 20 miles I found a B&B and spent the night in Breck. The B&B, Fireside Inn, is a great place, two blocks from Main Street and a great view of the slopes. The Inn is run by an English bloke, Andy Harris and his wife, and for 28 dollars you get run of the house and one of four bunk beds to a room. Lucky for me only one other fellow showed up to share the room. Bad for him because I do have a tendency to snore a fact that one of my misfortune son-in-laws will attest to. After tossing in the bunk I got up early Saturday and climbed Hoosier Pass. I was a little excited and apprehensive about the climb considering the altitude. But, the climb went well. It took me less than two hours to make the climb but when I got to the top, I was stoked. I had some light headiness, and when I got out of the saddle to climb the turns at the switchbacks, I experienced shortness of breath. Other than that, reaching the top of the pass is a sense of elation that will stay with me until I get Alzheimer's I stayed at the top for about 15 minutes savoring the moment and then started the descent. The next ten miles went a lot faster and since I had started so early was able to get some good distance for the day. I managed to make it to Guffey and another B&B.

Hot Sulphur Springs

From Walden to Hot Sulphur Springs the trip was pretty uneventful. I spent most of the day on back road 125 shared with logging trucks and climbing over Willow Creek Pass, elevation 9'621'. It rained off and on during the day and when I got to the top of the pass, the rain turned to snow.I took a picture but I am not sure you'll get the full impact of the event. By the way, most of the truck drivers are great but some are just down right rude. Anyway, I turned on Hwy 40 and finally had a wide shoulder and only seven miles to Hot Sulphur Springs. Again the early afternoon headwinds kicked in. I think those seven miles were worse than climbing the pass. At least in a climb you have momentary reprieves but with the wind it just blows. Luckily the first hotel I came to was reasonably priced and were good accommodations. The Ute Trail Hotel, where I stayed, had an arrangement with the Hot Springs Resort. The resort is built at natural hot water pools where it is said the Ute Indians used to bath in the sacred waters to clean there spirit, body and soul. The resort has over 20 different hot pools to bath in and other grander pools that offer special pampering. Since it was rainy and bad, I decided to stay and take my rest day there. This morning I got up early so I could avoid the afternoon winds. Funny me. I looked out and it was raining so I laid back down and waited for it to stop. It didn't. So, around eight thirty I decided to leave anyway. Kremmling, the next city, was only 15 miles away so I thought I'd go for it and see how the weather was. It rained off and on, mostly on, the entire day but never a hard driving rain. Just enough to keep my eyes locked on the road and my camera warmly stowed away. Did I mention some truck drivers are rude. One nice fellow wanted me to have a clean bike so he came as close as he could and gave me a high pressure washing. It was good for my bike but I had to hand wash the seat of my pants when I got to the hotel. Tonight I am in Silverthorne just ten miles from Breckenridge and 27 miles from the top of Hoosier Pass. Hoosier Pass is my LAST pass to climb in the West. After Hoosier I start down to Pueblo and on to Kansas.

Rocky Mountain High

Left Rawlins and wanted to make Riverside, but settled for Saratoga. The reason was Wyoming winds. I try to have a solid plan for at least three days considering mileage, meals and sleeping arrangements but the wind made me go to plan B. The first part of the trip from Rawlins called for a 15 mile leg, East on Interstate 80. Aside from being in the mix with heavy traffic, it wasn't bad. The winds were WSW so they helped me down the road. Ah, but then I turned South. Terrain was up and down but with a quartering headwind it made the climbs tiring and that's an understatement. So, when I reached Saratoga I threw in the towel and gladly called it a day. Later, I checked the winds on the computer and they were listed at 25 to 30 with gusts. This morning I poked my head out to check the winds and they were calm. So, I loaded up and was on the road early hoping to make Walden which would put me back on schedule. Along the way I met two riders. The first was a Swiss, Mike, who was doing the Transamerica Trail, East to West. We met just outside of Saratoga. Both of us were dressed in foul weather gear since it was cold and rainy. He started about the same time I did but is better than half way across. The second person I met started in Louisiana and had traveled over 4000 miles. He planned to follow the trail to Missoula then go the Northern route to NY then back home amassing over 10,000 miles. I bowed to his supremacy. When I was about ten miles from Walden I noticed the foreboding dark clouds that had formed in all quadrants around my destination. I pedaled harder trying to beat the storm. I didn't. Three miles short, frontal gusts almost knocked me off the bike and rain mixed with hail started peppering me. I could not hold the bike steady and with the wind gusts, I couldn't even go forward since the wind was again out of the South. There was a stockpile of gravel on the side of the road for future road work. I pushed my bike over to the pile of stone and used it as a wind buffer as I hunkered down and waited out the storm. It didn't last long and luckily the thunder and lightning didn't get closer than four miles. The last forecast I saw, calls for more rain tomorrow. O Boy!

Rawlins

Had a good rest in Lander. So, this morning I got up ready to go. The forecast was for light rain so I had the covers on my saddlebags and wore my rain jacket. Didn't rain. Out of Lander most of the morning was was spent going up and down rollers and fighting a mean crosswind. There was a pretty good shoulder on the road and with the crosswind, I used every bit of it. The wind must have been 20 to 25 with some gusts higher and would sometimes blow me onto the main road. Going down hill as speed picked up and the crosswind gusts hit the bike, it almost knocked the bike out from under me a couple of times. Not wanting to pick small bits of gravel out of my arms, I did the prudent thing and slowed my descent. I was traveling 287 south but when the road turned to the left it gave me a quartering tailwind so I was able to make pretty good time when that occurred. I got to Jeffrey City earlier than expected and to take advantage of the tailwind, I pressed on. Didn't take any pictures since most of the terrain looks about the same but I did see a lot of antelopes along the road and in the pastures. A couple of stores and camping sites marked on my map were closed so I ended up being in the saddle longer than I wanted to (over eight hours). I made good time and advanced a day ahead but I paid for it. I found a new place to put a blister on my rear and my neck and back are stiff. Oh well Motrin and butt cream will help and tomorrow I am going to wear two pair of biking shorts to cushion my tush.

Togwotee

Departed Kristina's Hatchet Resort and tackled the second highest pass on the Transamerica Trail. It was a long, long 17 mile climb in slightly rainy, cold weather with old man legs. The peak of the pass is 9658' and just before I reached the top I met Inspector Clouseau. I was going up, he was coming down and we stopped to chat. I had a waterproof jacket on with just biking shorts below and the Inspector was fully encased with high Tech gear that made me green with envy. He had a small mustache and wore little square, slightly tinted glasses and to me looked strikingly similar to Peter Sellers in Pink Panther. When he stopped, I said fancy meeting you here. He just stared at me at first with a blank expression. I started grinning and half expected him to ask me if I had a raooom. When he started talking, it was complete. He was Danish and his accent completed the persona. He gave me some valuable information about road construction ahead and about possible camping sites. All the while I wanted to ask him, excuse me but does your dog bite. He really was a nice guy and was on his way through Yellowstone and into Washington. About an hour later I met two other bikers pulling trailers and we chatted for a short while. I've noticed one thing though, the bikers I've met so far are all young. After the pass I found a little cabin in Dubois and settled in for the night. Today I got on the road early, fearing rain and cold and neither happened. I got a few pictures of the Wyoming red dirt and rode along the Wind River. I passed through the Wind River Indian Reservation and the small town of Fort Washakie. The town was named after Chief Washakie, a Shoshoni Indian who was a faithful friend to the whites during the 1800s. I stopped at a service station in Fort Washakie and learned that the town is comprised mostly of Shoshoni and Arapahoe. I had my lunch, a sub, and pressed on. As I left the Reservation I passed the obligatory casino confirming that, yes indeed, they are Indians. On my way to Lander I passed two more separate biker groups. One was a lone female but we didn't stop, she was going down hill and was trying to pick up speed for the next hill. The second group was a couple on there way to Yellowstone and then down the Oregon coast. I relayed the construction information and the excellent rate at the Debois hotel where I'd spent the night. Nice young couple and we chatted for about ten minutes before departing. I rode 75 miles today so I could get to Lander. Lander has a population of about 7000 people and makes a great rest stop. I have WiFi, cell phone and color TV, Yahoo!

Wyoming

Left Yellowstone and the weather was pretty good. I made it over Craig Pass and into Grand Teton National Park and the weather turned sour. I was able to get a few pictures of the Tetons but nothing like the Hallmark Cards you'd like to see. I rode about 55 miles and stopped at Colter Bay for the night. It was a great place, right across the lake from the Tetons, however the clouds prevented me from getting the Hallmark shot. I guess my daughter will have to get good photos of the Tetons when she and The Real Man visit later this year. Got up early this morning and was ready to go but it was raining and cold. Thought I'd wait till it stopped but at nine o'clock it was still coming down, so I pushed out. I left the park and headed toward Dubois and Togwotee Pass, my last big pass till Colorado. I had only gone about twenty miles and had a flat tire. Reminded me of Oregon. It was raining and cold but managed to get the tire changed in short order. Due to the late start, bad weather and flat tire I decided I couldn't make the Pass today. I stopped at Hatchet Resort run by Kristina. Great place with a beautiful view of the mountains and right at the beginning of the climb over the pass. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be warmer but still raining. This is June, isn't it?