Day Six: July 17th 2010 (Route: Sheridan Lake, CO to Pueblo, CO)

Day Six: July 17th 2010 (Route: Sheridan Lake, CO to Pueblo, CO)

Technical Data:

Distance, miles: 148.4
Time: 10:18:27
Work, kJ: 5984
Average Power, Watts: 160
Normalized Power, Watts: 177
Average Speed, mph: 14.26

Summary of the Day: Sunny and hot today, Hot as in 100+ degrees with a slight head wind.

Okay - before I start writing about the day!!! I can't resist as I love it...I'm at "The Daily Grind Cafe" in Pueblo, CO and its in a pretty hip area...so what couldn't I resist! Can some one say "ALTERNATIVE" and I love it! Reminds me of the photos my sister posted of my parents a couple of days ago...I'm sitting watching my rig (bike and BoB) and a guitarist just walked by the window. Let me describe him so you can be here with!

Purple plaid shirt, baggie black pants with a don't try and steal my wallet chain, guitar strapped to back, nose ring, ear rings that Robin Hood could shot an arrow through and to top it off as I couldn't resist "Mo Hawk" spikes at least 10 inches long!!!! 'O how I love it - I think he may be heading to work as there is supposed to be a lot of live music on this strip I'm on - would love to catch some live music but I have to get to this blog as I can't lose the day!

Sleeping in the Sheridan Lake Bible Church was "AWESOME" - I opted to sleep in the Pews, even though the nursery had a double padded floor! I think just sleeping up off the ground sounded better and the light coming through the window at the nursery wasn't to my liking so I opted for the darker area! I slept great and I'll have to send Virgil and the congregation a HUGE "Thank You" card when I get to a place I can do so...I'll confess I had to take a couple of those suckers on the counter too and I hope I didn't leave too much of a mess but I think I covered my bases before I departed - I did take some notes on the recorder but due to the long day at the office I'll save those for the next couple of days while in Colorado Springs, CO!

Okay - I stink right now and I'm surprised this Coffee shop is allowing me to stay in there place of business as I really smell like road grime and sweat! LOL Just thought you should know, aren't you glad you can't smell me! LOL Just think of that person just left a hot yoga class and opted not to shower - then throw a bucket of manure on them and have them roll around in fresh cut grass - kinda of a mixture of death! lol

The ride out of Sheridan Lake was a good one! It feels like I road this yesteday as ~150 miles seems like a century (time - not miles) ago. Leaving the church only having peanut butter for breakfast was probably not the ideal thing todo but over the last five days I have been fullying so well on the bike that I feel I am gaining weight so I planned on just seeing how I felt today with a light breakfast and I really didn't feel like cooking this morning!

The roads have been chip seal ever since I rolled into Colorado, after working in the road construction industry for the last ten years I can contest that, true a good maintenance product a crappy ride for a bicycle! I was cruising this morning and just enjoying the day because I was in Colorado and who can't smile in Colorado! The air temperature was ideal for riding this morning, however the head wind did not appel to me from what I had to deal with yesterday!

Note* - I climbed close to 3K yesterday during that battle with the heat and the wind, I realized this after noticing the elevation on the city limit signs - given I am not rereading my post, forgive me if I have said this already! I'm a little tired...LOL

Sticking with the GU (1 an hour), plus my Hammer Nutrition Sustained Energy - by the way this is the first trip I have used Sustained and its amazing! Water was going to be a must today so I got on the game early at the Church and down as much as I could without puking it all back up - I didn't want to get behind today on hydration!!!!

Now at altitude I have not only the Sun to deal with when it comes to hydration I have to deal with the effects of altitude as well - plus its dry so I don't feel the sweat unless I stop...the breeze was keeping me cool all day so I was on a roll and loving it!

Things were going great and I had another moment today with the panoramic view!!! I had to dictate this on the recorder because it was just like yesterday and I couldn't resist!

Stopped on the middle of the highway, not a soul in site. A painter takes out her easel, stool, canvas, and oil paint. Drafts a rough sketch of the open prairie and then begins to paint. Redtail hawk appears to be her only company in this serene setting. She starts to paint and majic begins to stain the canvas. The blue sky with the brightest blue you have ever scene with no cloud in the sky. Golden landscape bridges up to the blue sky with a never ending horizon. Rusted barb wire protects the contents of the view - the white truck and combines parked on this horizon....

At mile 45 I ran into "Kit" and rode with him for 45 minutes or so and enjoyed his company!!!! Kit a 62 year old retired phone company worker was out on the road fulfilling his dream of of the open road - experiencing life on a bike! I thought I had scene a cyclist up the road however then the figure disappeared. Kit lay underneath a shade tree cooling down. I was thinking - What are you doing? It's early and not that hot yet - you better get a move on it you want to beat this heat! See out on the open road in he desert (high plains) there are no trees along the road side, well there are but not that many and they are miles apart! I passed Kit's rig on the side of the road then made a quick u-turn to say "Hello" as this was the first rider I had scene heading West since Missouri - I'll be honest I was looking for some company!

Kit was great - he had been on the road since February and was pretty tired! At 62 out on the open road for six months! These guys inspire me - so much experience out there on the road to learn from! Kit and I chatted just briefly about his journys and mine before departing. He had business cards made up to hand out to people he came across on the highway, I thought this was a great idea and I should do this for my blog! I enjoyed the time spent with him as I tried to share as much as the positive I was experiencing to help lift his spirits as you could tell he was tired of being out there so long...

Kit's let me know he "Rides shade to shade" - Things just don't work as well at my age! He also mentioned he could tell I had been riding for a while...Overall it was great to see someone heading West and I plan on hooking back up with Kit soon, exspecially if I head South once on the West coast...

After departing Kit I was at mile 50 or so and started to pick up the pace a little as I didn't want to lose to much time and new it was going to be hot!!! I had no idea on how far I would get today! After refilling bottles every ten miles and staying on the hydration I came to a sign that said 55 miles to Pueblo and I was at 85 miles into my journey. I was thinking this is crazy - you'll just have to get into the Springs late tomorrow, however that was not in the plan and I was currently feeling like a champ so I made a decision to hit it! I asked the clerks what the terrain was like over the next 50 miles, the outlook was good so I pressed on. The heat was at 100+ but the heat is dryer then what I had been training in, plus the breeze was keeping me extremely cool and mentally I was extremely alert so I new the salt levels where right on and the nutrition was working becuase I had plenty of energy!

This stretch was by far the best riding I have done since the journey started last Monday - the odd thing is it took 80 miles to warm up because I didn't feel this good during the first 80! I was pretty much on repeat mode:

Down 2-3 bottles in the store or faucet (some of these small towns have no stores!)
Refill 2 bottles
Hit it the road and focus on the road ahead of me
(Repeat)

I did this until I got into Pueblo, CO where I have no idea where to go - usually out on the open road you can find a park right away - well Pueblo, CO is the biggest town on the TransAmerica Route, I failed to locate a campsite before. I'm resourceful though as I hit up the local hotels for wi fi and talk with the locals on free camping and pay camping. Hotels are nice for cyclist on the road - true you could pay to have a nice room and shower however at $50+ a night that's a lot of food so I opted for a local park for free (not sure how legal this is but I'm on a journey!) - scored as many apples as I could eat at the hotel I streamed wi fi! I prefer green apples, however afer burning close to 6K in 10 hours of riding I'll settle for an apple or two or three! If Stacey at the counter said have as many as you would like...well so I did!

The internet at the hotel was extremely spotty so I opted to ride over to the local coffee shop to start writing and to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening. The forecast had some rain in it for the afternoon so I thought being inside a little dryer and I wanted to get my thoughts out on to the tablet before I lost 'em. So I ride over to the shop and pass, and a local hells "Just Ride It" and turned and looked at them, good thing I did as they were sitting right in front of the "Perfect Grind". I pull in and chat with them for a bit which was cool - they asked me all kinds of questions, nothing really that stuck into my mind so I went inside to write. The shop was nice and I was extremely tired - I had to pursuaded the baristas to allow me to use the wi fi as I was not planning on being a paying customer. (Sign read Wi Fi for paying customers only) I guess tonight rules didn't apply to thristy tired cyclist!

After writing in my blog for a while I was asked if the bike outside was mine. Katie and Jake asked me if they could borrow a tool to fix Jake's front derailer and I replied "Well I'll trade you for a place to crash!" I said this jokingly however if it worked I could sleep inside and possibly get a shower because the one I took at the local Subway's bathroom just wasn't cutting it. After talking with them for a bit and allowing Jake to borrow the tool to fix his front derailer they offered me a place to crash - so I hurried and collected my things and road with them to their place. (At this point in time I was about half way through this day's blog - then I picked up the following day when I had time to write)

The commute back to there place was nice, we chatted a little about my day and the city of Pueblo, CO and I tried to ask as many questions as I could about them, just want to learn as much as I can about people across the nation as I can! Newlyweds whom are both Math instructors in Pueblo, so they are getting to enjoy there time off. I thought how jealous I was - you have a job that gives you 2+ months off in the summer to have fun. True the money may not be there but who needs money to enjoy oneself - I used to think money was everything however life has proven otherwise and I'm Thankful for that! (I'll talk about this soon!)

Once at their place, they fed me, I had an oamlet which I had been craving for a couple of days. I was thinking protein at this point and the more I can get the better! After enjoying dinner we had a short conversation which felt like a conversation with old friends. I will never forget the story Jake mentioned about his Mtn. Biking experience in Utah - I was cracking up so much and needed it after a day like today! I really have to say "Thank You" to Katie and Jake (Katie - I hope I'm spelling your name correctly) for allowing me shower, eat, and surf on the couch last night - its moments like this on the journey I'm on that matter to me and I will truly never forget it! It beats sleeping alone in a dark park, however those nights do have there place so lets not forget that, however an opportunity to share life with complete strangers far outweighs a night alone.
So Jack and Katie - "Thank You" as its not like me to buzz off so early however I was really looking forward to getting to the Springs first thing to start my recovery days. As for the "Bang" this morning - not sure if you heard - I blew another tube when changing the flat I had when I got to my rig. It was the loudest one I have heard in a while so I apologize for waking you...Scared me and sounded like a real gun!!!!!

Found a small piece of wire and I mean small that had to pierce the second tube at the right pressure and it blew - I laughed and thought - well the faster you fix this faster you can get to the Springs. I was so excited to get to the Springs today - little anxious to see Jan, Courtney, Josh, Josh, Megan, Darin, Sean, Boyz and Girlz at CTS, DK and Tara (if I get the opp.), the PT clinic at Ft. Carson and so many more people here!!! I might not get to rest - LOL

Since I'm a day behind I'm going to close this and start up today's post - sometimes work rolls to the next day - I'm sure all of us can relate to this!

Also - Jake and Katie - next time I would like to go dancing!