October 16, 2017
Day 1. Going West
Snuggled into our cosy MSR tent, the day's efforts seem like a lifetime away. The reality is, however, that the day started early (5 am) and unraveled slowly along a nearly straight road. We didn't stop 'riding' until it well after sunset around 7:30 pm.
We arrived at the eastern border of Colorado at 6:30 this morning. The spot, marked with a small brown wooden sign, was little different than any of the adjacent terrain. The previous night we had learned that there is an actual 'Three Corners' in a nearby quasi-secret location where Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska all touched.
We filmed with the Alpenglow film crew for a while at sunrise and it was spectacular to watch the big orange circle of the sun rise above the horizon. It was already a chilly morning, a few degrees below freezing, but the additional standing left us cold and shivering. It took us nearly an hour of riding to warm up.
Just about the same time, we began shedding layers, I stopped to take a picture of the Wray town sign. I don't remember pulling my bike off the pavement, but instead leaned it against a guard rail. That was enough. About 10 minutes later my bike started wobbling and I looked down to see that both my tires were flat: goat heads. For those of you who don't know, goat heads are small spiked seed pods that look like a miniature jack. The spikes are notorious bicycle tube killers.
Looking at my tires, I saw that they were totally covered in goat heads - stuck at varying degrees and depths. For the next hour, we pulled over 60 small prickers out of my tires!?!
We checked and rechecked the tires hoping that we had pulled them all out but an hour later, another flat. It would have been funny if it was at the end of the day (ok maybe tolerable) but it was now 2 pm and we had only ridden 35 miles. Our goal was to cover 100 miles.
Eventually, we got in a good rhythm of riding and taking a few breaks. We formed a pace line and alternated lead position while the other two 'rested' while drafting.
Luckily, the shoulder was decent for most of the day but and every single car that passed gave us an extra wide berth. Several honked and waved - hardly the reception we expected.
By the time we rendezvous with the film crew ( they had been doing some interviews in Otis, Colorado we had ridden nearly 60 miles total. Of course, my tube patch blew just as we were setting out so I was forced to change yet another tire.
We kept our noses down and pedaled steadily while rotating through the pace line. Ben took a few monster shifts (channeling his former pro biker self) which gave Rebecca and I an extra break.
By the time we rode into brush, we had covered 90 miles - a surprising distance considering how much time we spent not riding today (i.e. Changing flat tires).
I still continue be excited about this adventure. It's been a while where I have had so many unknowns on the horizon. Our route ahead is uncertain as Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park may be snowed in.
If you haven't already, please consider donating to Big City Mountaineers. Please the gift of adventure to underserved youth.
Image: Ben and Rebecca and highway 34.
We arrived at the eastern border of Colorado at 6:30 this morning. The spot, marked with a small brown wooden sign, was little different than any of the adjacent terrain. The previous night we had learned that there is an actual 'Three Corners' in a nearby quasi-secret location where Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska all touched.
We filmed with the Alpenglow film crew for a while at sunrise and it was spectacular to watch the big orange circle of the sun rise above the horizon. It was already a chilly morning, a few degrees below freezing, but the additional standing left us cold and shivering. It took us nearly an hour of riding to warm up.
Just about the same time, we began shedding layers, I stopped to take a picture of the Wray town sign. I don't remember pulling my bike off the pavement, but instead leaned it against a guard rail. That was enough. About 10 minutes later my bike started wobbling and I looked down to see that both my tires were flat: goat heads. For those of you who don't know, goat heads are small spiked seed pods that look like a miniature jack. The spikes are notorious bicycle tube killers.
Looking at my tires, I saw that they were totally covered in goat heads - stuck at varying degrees and depths. For the next hour, we pulled over 60 small prickers out of my tires!?!
We checked and rechecked the tires hoping that we had pulled them all out but an hour later, another flat. It would have been funny if it was at the end of the day (ok maybe tolerable) but it was now 2 pm and we had only ridden 35 miles. Our goal was to cover 100 miles.
Eventually, we got in a good rhythm of riding and taking a few breaks. We formed a pace line and alternated lead position while the other two 'rested' while drafting.
Luckily, the shoulder was decent for most of the day but and every single car that passed gave us an extra wide berth. Several honked and waved - hardly the reception we expected.
By the time we rendezvous with the film crew ( they had been doing some interviews in Otis, Colorado we had ridden nearly 60 miles total. Of course, my tube patch blew just as we were setting out so I was forced to change yet another tire.
We kept our noses down and pedaled steadily while rotating through the pace line. Ben took a few monster shifts (channeling his former pro biker self) which gave Rebecca and I an extra break.
By the time we rode into brush, we had covered 90 miles - a surprising distance considering how much time we spent not riding today (i.e. Changing flat tires).
I still continue be excited about this adventure. It's been a while where I have had so many unknowns on the horizon. Our route ahead is uncertain as Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park may be snowed in.
If you haven't already, please consider donating to Big City Mountaineers. Please the gift of adventure to underserved youth.
Image: Ben and Rebecca and highway 34.