Wow... I can't believe it, I've always wanted to visit Colorado and now I'm here. The bad news is that it still looks like Kansas....flat! I know this scenery won't last for long. Despite the fact that eastern Colorado seemed flatter than what I saw in Kansas (I honestly felt like I could look to my left or right and see for a hundred miles), it was a great feeling to finally reach the state line. All three of us jumped off of our bikes and RAN to the sign!
We made great time today. We were on our bikes for a little under 7 hours and covered 108 miles averaging about 15.4 mph. The temperature today was unseasonably cool and there was a nice breeze that actually wasn't blowing in our face. For the first time I wore a long-sleeved shirt while riding. It reminded me of weather in Nova Scotia except it doesn't smell like fresh saltwater air in western Kansas or eastern Colorado, it smells more like cattle manure.
I got my first flat tire of the entire trip this morning. After 1,800 miles of riding on all types of roads, a staple from the hotel room floor punctured my inner tube. I replaced the inner tube and we were on the road in no time.
Other than reaching our 6th state, nothing too eventful happened. We rode on the same road for 108 miles, route 96 West. Towns and rest stops were few and far between. We passed another group of 3 riders, except they were carrying all of their gear with them on their bikes. Since we have a support vehicle with us on the road, the only thing I carry on my bike is my camelbak which holds my water, camera, and some snacks. I feel a bit guilty when I see those other riders carrying all of their belongings on their bikes, but then I quickly get over it and am thankful for the support vehicle. I don't even want to know what those riders think as we cruise on by them with our light racing bikes. We've actually been laughed at a few times. Most of the other riders have touring bikes which are a bit more sturdy, but our racing bikes allow us to go pretty fast. We've gone over 400 miles in the past 4 days and tomorrow we plan of riding well over 100 again to reach Pueblo, Colorado (population 20,o00) were we have a planned rest day. We'll definitely need the rest before we hit up the Rockies in a few days.
I hope everyone is doing well and thanks for posting your comments!
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