miles ridden: around 1700!
states crossed: 4
time zones completed: 2
flat tires: 3
calories consumed: about a billion.
Howdy y'all, greetings from Tribune KANSAS. Yes that's right, I have officially crossed the border into the middle lands! The good news is that I am now only one time zone away from the East Coast, one state closer, and officially on flat lands for a little while!
I think I last left you at the wonderful Benham cabin in Colorado heaven. After planning to only stay for a day or two, I definitely posted up at the cabin for a solid five days. It was just too hard to resist Grandmothers delicious home cooked meals, a cozy bed in the bears den, and such wonderful company. Again, Rene and Milt, if you're reading, thank you for such a fantastic week! I could not have asked for a better way to spend my days off the bike. I have never eaten such delicious food, not to mention, I ate my first steak; which I thoroughly loved. My days of vegetarianism seem long gone at this point, I think the kicker may have been the pound of bacon we scarfed down on an over night backpacking trip, which may or may not have been followed by a sausage and brisket sandwich. (Danielle if you're reading, I give you FULL rights to take over my duty as vegetarian. Thanks!)
I reluctantly left Creede, CO on Sunday, with a lovely farewell send off from Chiara, her family, and friends. I rode off into the rising sun thinking I was just miles away from finishing...and then I realized the inevitable; I was still in Colorado, and in fact still have over 2,000 miles to go, yikes.
So here I am in Kansas, the place my parents called home so many years ago, and also the fated home of some of the worst tornadoes in our nation. I'm considering posting a sign on my u-haul (that would be my bike) which reads: "Tornado?? Tell me what to do!" I am obviously inexperienced with this kind of crazy weather.
All in all, I have ridden over the Sierra Nevada mountains, through the arid desert lands of Nevada, the hellish towering canyons of Utah, and now the Rocky Mountains of Colorado! I am feeling ready to conquer these prairie lands of OZ, and keep slowly inching my way closer to the coast.
I had my first rainfall in Lake City, CO, and my first instinct was naturally to think, "well, at least there is no lightning, yet." I must be a true Seattlite or something. I climbed over 11,000 ft twice in two days, and vowed along the way I would never set out on a bike tour like this again, unless I can claim to be from a country the size of Holland.
Yesterday, feeling great to be finishing my day early on, I rode into Eads CO, about 40 miles from the KS border. Let me just try to convey what was running through my head as I pulled up to the library, only to discover the sky was quickly changing from a light shade of blue, to a hue you never, ever want to see when you are cycling.
"ahh a cold beer sounds so good. maybe macaroni and cheese. oh what should i eat when i stop. sometimes love will knock you down. three more miles gotta. keep. pedaling.just go.keep going.come on legs.starving.ooh my legs hurt.hands hurt.butt hurts.damn i must look real haggard.beer.across the lines, who would dare to go.almost there.almost there-then i look up to the sky- oh mother of God. sh#*$. f#$(. you have got to be kidding me. what does this even mean. that sky looks scary as sh#$#. is that a tornado? omg i'm going to die. i must be f(*&8ing crazy.someone, anyone. balls. aahhhh."
That was pretty much how it went for a few minutes.
Luckily, as I was on the verge of panicking, watching the sky turn black, another trail angel stepped outside to save the day. Leroy spotted me outside the courthouse, fumbling around with my bike. All i could think to say was, "um, do you think it's going to rain?? Do you know somewhere I could stash my bike?" And the rest is history.
I was invited back to his house where we watched the storm take over the land. Standing int he open garage I watched lightening strike the earth with such ferocity I could only think how happy I was to not be biking anymore. I have never seen clouds so terrifying, but beautiful at the same time clouds. Leroy's wife came home after the storm was clearing, so naturally we decided to take a little drive in their pickup, drink case(s) of Keystone Light-while still driving- and frolic around the grassy prairies. They were very eager to give me a taste of the country life, and as my gracious hosts for the evening they certainly knew how to have a good time. In awe of their knowledge of all the plants and vegetation I had a full blown tutorial of all the plants growing in the prairie, just ask if you need to know something, because now I'm totally an expert. Cherie and I tried to watch Sex and the City, seems to be a pretty universal obsession, but I was feeling a little hazy from all the delicious Keystone and in my impending fog drifted asleep in the living room; which i must mention is also home to all of Leroy's prized hunting game. An elk head, two deers, two massive squirrels, and sadly a beautiful fox pelt lain gently on the tv. I may have shed a tear or two over that one.
Well friends, I think this is all I got for you now. Hoping to power through the massive prairies of Kansas. Wish me more trail angels, tail winds, and NO more storms!
much love.
CIAO.
S.
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