Day 20: Welcome to Kansas

We woke up early this morning and hit the road for the second day at 6:10, to ensure that we would arrive at our final destination earlier in the afternoon.  As we lay in our tent we heard the wind howl outside which made it harder to wake up but once we got going the wind calmed down and blew mostly to our backs.  We quickly realized that the ever flattening road would give way to much higher speeds than we were used to.  Highway 94 sped towards Kansas and over some of the final slight hills of the Colorado plains.  The open range farmland looked beautiful in the early morning light as we pedaled onward.  Finally after taking one straight road we hit highway 40 which would guide us into the vastness of Kansas.  We were excited to hit the new road not only because it provided some kind of landmark but it also gave us a smoother road surface which makes riding much more enjoyable.  Twenty miles later we pulled into Kit Carson, Colorado where we set up at an abandoned gas station for lunch.  Here we dined on peanut butter and honey sandwiches, cookies, and some amazing apple sauce cake that Emma had sent with us a day earlier.  While we were eating we met a guy named Steve who was hitch hiking and train riding around the country on his summer break.  We were able to share stories, and offer him a little sun block which he gratefully accepted.  Soon after we found a women outside who let us fill our water from her outside hose and headed into the scorching plain.  Soon after reentering highway 40 Steve was halted with a flat in his front tire.  After a quick fix we stopped again to realize we hadn’t removed the thorn from his tire.  We really began to move in the afternoon, not only because it was above 90 degrees but because we were anxious to get to Sharon Springs, Kansas where we knew Stan and Jan Sommerfeld some friends that Lyle knew through church back home.  Upon entering Kansas we saw our first of many endless wheatfields and got our fix of grain bins, combines, and tractors. We rolled into Sharon Springs around 4 in the afternoon where we met Jan who showed us to our room in the bed and breakfast run by their church called Mt. Sunflower Bed and Breakfast.  Apparently Mt Sunflower is the highest point in Kansas, and we had passed the sign for it a few miles before entering town.  We were amazed to see our huge room with two double beds and were incredibly thankful for the Sommerfeld's generosity.  She loaded us back up and drove us out to their 1,500 acre farm.  She treated us to ice tea and cookies as we waited for Stan to finish his planting before dinner.  Dinner was absolutely amazing and filled us up so much we decided to go out and ride horses before starting desert.  Stan was happy to show us the ropes his horses and we learned quickly how to ride in the open fields and stone roads surrounding the farm.  We all were having a blast, Jody had ridden before but Steve and Lyle were relatively inexperienced and perhaps there is no better place to learn than in a farm on Kansas.  The horses were definitely ready to run and took some sternness to get in control, but overall Steve became “one” with Flicker and Jody was quite in control of Ginger.  Lyle rode Sunny who was the most stubborn of the three and had to be put in line by Stan a couple times in our ride.  After coming in to escape the blustery Kansas wind we enjoyed a homemade ice-cream cake and coffee before returning the bed and breakfast for the night.  Today was truly one of the most memorable of our trip as each day proves to bring us knew excitement and experiences.

126 miles, 95 degrees, lots of fun

Day 20: A Day Full of Suprises

We set out early from Colorado Springs at a little after 6, seeing if we could possibly make it all the way to Sharon Springs Kansas in one day.  It took us about an hour to get outside of the city and finally get moving.  We then experienced the flatness of Eastern Colorado.  We all never really thought that Colorado could be so flat.  Around mile 30 Lyle’s trailer was bending badly and we took a look at it and realized that the arm on the trailer was tearing and knew that we needed to get it welded.  Steve noticed that a church about a half mile back was getting started so we decided that since we really couldn’t go anywhere we would stop in for church.  When we pulled in and read the sign we noticed that Sunday school was about to start and we decided to go.  Immediately we felt extremely welcome and were invited in with some of the nicest hospitality we’ve seen.  It just so happened that the second couple we met were Anthony and Joan, and Anthony happened to be a welder who graciously said that he would weld our broken trailer.  We then made our way to Sunday school and were given coffee and some snacks and had a good lesson given by Todd.  Before church started we were welcomed by most of the congregation and once again felt very welcome.  We also met Dave and Emma who invited us over to their home for dinner after church.  So after pastor John’s message about overcoming giants we headed over to Dave and Emma’s for dinner while Anthony welded our trailer.  After we ate a great home cooked meal by Emma were able to take time and talk with some former Pennsylvania residents.  We had a great time hearing all of Dave’s stories about their property and team roping.  By the time the trailer was fixed it was too late to bike anymore so we went back to church for an evening service celebrating graduates of the past school year and another good message from John.  There was also a great fellowship meal after the service which filled our stomachs.  We then got a ride about 25 miles down route 94 to Kelly and Donny’s turf farm where they were nice enough to let us camp in their yard because it was in the direction that we wanted to head the next morning.  The day was filled with surprises and situations where you know God was looking out for us.  We are just so thankful that we broke down where we did because we were able to meet some amazing people in the congregation at Ellicott Baptist Church.

30 miles, amazing people, amazing blessings, 25 mile car ride

Day 18: Relaxing In the Springs

Day 18: Relaxing In the Springs

One day after our 175 mile crazy trek we decided to take the day off and relax in Colorado Springs.  We woke up around 10:00 and took some time to call our parents, examine maps, and make future plans.  Since we did not want to bike any farther than necessary we carefully examined all points of interest and calculated if it was worth the mileage to see the sights.  After talking with some friends we realized that Meghan Hess, a former Navigator Staff member at Penn State was in town at the Nav's headquarters in Colorado Springs.  She was happy to come pick us up and gave us a tour of Glen Eyrie, the castle on the Navigators Property.  It was really neat to experience the castle with such a private tour.  Meghan then offered to drive us through Garden of the Gods were we got to see some unique rock formations.  We were all greatly relieved for the drive by tour which was much for efficient than anything we could have done on our bikes.  After our brief sight seeing we headed back to Steve's Aunt and Uncles house where we watched movies and relaxed some more.  Most of our activity for the afternoon was deciding where we would go out to eat and precisely calculating whether or not it was worth biking to.  After much searching we found a Chinese restaurant only 1.4 miles away and since it was so close we elected to eat there.  It was an incredible deal, and we were all stuffed full of rice and chicken.  After dinner we watched some more television before cleaning up the house and getting to bed early to gear up for the next days ride.  We were very thankful for a warm place to stay, a day off the bikes, and some time to live a bit of regular life for a change.

2.8  miles 0 net miles, lots of relaxation

Day 17: Taking the Rocky Mountain High to Colorado Springs in One Day

After waking up in Gunnison, one of the coldest cities in the United States but were soon warmed up by some freshly brewed Coffee made by Rusty.  We hit the rode after completeognm ior breakfast at McDonalds and began the 32 easy miles before Monarch pass.  I think each one of us was a little nervous about the dreaded climb ahead.  We had spoken with many people had crossed the pass before us and assured us that it really wasn’t that bad, but the mountain still loomed in our path.  After stopping at the bottom for a brief pep talk and video session we began our 7 mile climb to the top of Monarch Pass and the 11,312 ft summit.  So we began to grind out the long miles in our lowest gear.  The slow journey up was a beautiful climb as we got to witness the snow dusted mountains, pristine forests, and crisp sky from new heights.  Upon reaching the top we posed for several pictures and celebrated the highest point of our trip.  After bundling up at the top we began our thirty mile descent to Salida. The descent was exhilarating as we flew down the mountain while trying to stave off the gusts of crosswinds.  I never thought it was possible to ride 30 miles with out even really pedaling but coming down the continental divide changed my perspective on  my  concept of elevation.  We pulled into Pizza Hut again but this time in time for the lunch buffet and filled ourselves to the brim, shocking the employees by how much we ate.  Rusty had told us their was another fifty miles of downhill so we decided to head out in an attempt to get to Colorado Springs where Steve’ Aunt and Uncle live.  So we wound down around through a canyon that followed the Arkansaw River.  One more little climb brought us up near the Royal Gorge and took us to Canon City.  It was around mile 120 that we realized maybe we had bitten more than we could chew but we decided to press on  the impending sunset.  We broke out our lights and pressed on in what seemed to be a never ending last 30 miles.  Our pace dropped substantially in the dark but we eventually crossed in the city limit, but were then faced with the process of finding their house.  We finally rolled in at 1:00 AM where we immediately began to feast on whatever we could find in the house, before going to bed and looking forward to our day off in the coming day.

175 miles, made it to Colorado Springs in the dark at 1am

Day 16: Montrose to Gunnison; Some more Rockies!

We started out this morning in Montrose. We were at Rob and Robin's house who we had met through Couch Surfing. We were served pancakes and home made coffee for breakfast which was a great way to start the day. We are all starting to get addicted to coffee because it seems to give the most bang for cost. We left and started right away with mountains. The first became a challenge because we had a 15 mile an hour headwind. When we got to the top we met Jim and Mike, two guys also crossing the country. They were from Chicago and they started in San Francisco and they were ending in Boston. They are independently raising money for Habitat for Humanity through their website bikeforhomes.com .  It was a really neat opportunity to ride and talk with some fellow cross country adventurers.  It was a lot of fun chatting about touring styles as they had chosen touring bikes and carried their things in panniers versus the trailers that we pulled.  While resting at the top of the second climb Mike told us about a great pie place he had heard of that was coming up in the town of Cimmaron.  Upon reaching the bottom we found Pleasant Valley and immediately pulled in to sample the famed pies.  We decided to get a whole pie for the three of us and were not disapointed with our purchase.  After one more short climb we flew twoards Gunnison propelled by a strong tailwind and relattive downhill grade.  This leg of our journey granted us beautiful skies and spectactular views of tghe Blue Mesa Lake.  The greenish water backed by snow capped mountains was definitely a feast for our eyes.  Gunnison turned out to be quite a town and we learned that it is home to Western State College.  Since we had arrived around 4 oclock we rode to Mcdonalds in hopes of finding wifi, but instead were entertained by the conversation of a few middle school boys who had just gotten out of school for the summer one day earlier.  We backed tracked about a mile to pizza hut where we were satisfied by the "best value" large pizza, while Steve insisted on getting the salad bar to make his sister proud.  Our search for wifi ended at Sonic where we were able to pick up the visitor centers wifi called Gunnison guest.  Lyle had made previous arrangements via couch surfing for a place to stay but they had fallen through and we were desperately trying to find a new contact on CS, but after much trying we decided to go back to the basics and began our usual door knocking.  This brought us to Rusty and Yvette's home where we were offered a place to tent in the softest grass we've ever had, showers, and good conversation.  Rusty, a former river guide and now hang glide pilot entertained us with many stories and detailed information about our ride to come.  We went to sleep in Gunnison, anticipating the continental divide and our much dreaded Monarch Pass.

65 miles, no flats, great day

Day 15: Our First Real Mountains

We got up early in Naturita in hopes of making a big day to Montrose Colorado.  We stopped in at the Ray Motel in town where we got breakfast in the form of biscuits and gravy and homemade cinnamon rolls.  We were on the road by 7:30 which felt great after such a slow start one day earlier.  We climbed out of Naturita into a beautiful farming area with snow capped mountains in front of us.  After stopping a few times to pump up Jody's tire we found ourselves moving through Norwood, and a few other small towns before dropping down a very very steep hill down to the river.  We then followed this river as it wound its way through the mountains.  This was what all of us had imagined Colorado to be, ice cold rivers and mountain views.  After being halted for a little by a road crew we evaded the fresh tar and chips and began what turned into a very very large climb out of the valley.  It was graded very well as we slowly trekked up the mountain which eased our passing.  When we neared the top we were blown away by the grandeur of the mountains.  We topped out at 9,740 feet at Dallas Divide(this could be wrong) and then dropped down into Ridgeway where we planned to enjoy our lunch.  Apparently Ralph Lauren owned much of the beautiful land enclosed by split-rail fence and framed by snow capped mountains that we passed.  We knocked out about 58 miles in the morning and were very ready to get off of our bikes and rest, for awhile.  While dining outside of Subway we met a man from West Virginia wearing a motorcycle shop shirt from Lancaster Pa.  After making a connection we arranged the possibility of us staying with him and his wife in a few weeks.  Lunch also brought the good news that one of the couch surfing requests Lyle had sent out that morning had been accepted and we would be sleeping inside tonight.  We rolled out the last 26 miles of the day to Montrose with relative ease since we had done most of our days work in the morning.  Before entering the town we finished our 1,000th mile of the trip which was quite an exciting landmark.  We were all ecstatic to meet Rob and Robyn who shared their home with us.  They exceeded all of our hopes by providing an amazing spaghetti dinner, showers, and opportunity to do wash for the first time since Las Vegas. 

Day 14: Timely Advice on the Way to Colorado

We woke up to the sound of rain outside of our cave and decided to sleep awhile longer to avoid getting drenched from the start.  After clammering down the hillside with all of our stuff we made it to McDonald's for breakfast were we found out the weather report for the day.  Once again we were going to hit isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon which didnt please us.  After another fine dining experience we tried to fix our ever leaking trailer tubes and make some adjustments outside of McDonald's.  Of course we created quite and attraction as many people offered their opinions about our prospective route and gave warnings of hills to come.  One man Larry, offered all kinds of knowledge, including how to live in peace and harmony with all living things, but in the end was very helpful in securing a new tire for our trailer tire that had gone nearly bald quite rapidly.  So all in all we got a relatively late start to our day leaving Moab around 10:15. We had hoped to make it to Arches National Park but in an effort not to backtrack and to save time we decided to forge on. The road out of Moab was full of rolling climbs and more beautiful red rock, canyons, and vistas.  On our way down the path we ran into Martin who was doing a solo bike tour around the west visiting many national parks.  We made a stop in La Sal for lunch where we ate our usual peanut butter ramen, and assorted goodness outside the post office of this very small town.  We again for the second day seemed to roll into town right before the big storm of the day and found ourselves camping out in the post office and store for several hours to avoid the hail and rain.  The post office couldn't have come at a better time and we seized the opportunity to mail home some extra unnecessary things that we had been carrying.  Surprisingly we were able to drop 15lbs which makes a hug difference when pulling the trailers.  From La Sal we had a little more climb before descending rapidly into a canyon that wound us down and around across the Colorado State Line.  There was something about crossing that line that fueled us onward. Maybe it was because the rockies had been so hyped up and were finally near, or maybe it was just a renewed sense of making progress.  Whatever the reason we set onward to Naturita Colorado where we found refuge in the front yard of a women named Pat.  We had pounded out the last 30 miles in an effort to make it into town before dark.  We arrived at 8:30 just in time to find a grocery store(where we found potato salad and discount pastries!) and a yard to sleep in.  Today marked the first day in a new effort to increase our mileage in hopes of returning in time for Dietrich Linde's wedding.  Maybe it was because we didnt have any coffee today but we were all very very ready for bed when the time came.
Miles 82 Sunny with thunderstorms, 2 flats but none on the trailers!