TA 2 - September 30

Another hot, windy Kansas day.....  Sue fixed us a lovely breakfast at the hotel and we were away from there shortly after 8. More of the same today. Agriculture, grain elevators, windmills.  It's been windmill country for a long time apparently; we saw plenty of both modern and old-style.

I didn’t notice very many oil wells today. We must be getting further east though. I saw my first possum roadkill of the trip this morning. We had a strong wind from the south again today. I think it was fairly consistent all day, and the winds in Larned as I type this are 37 kmph, gusting to 58 kmph.  At the 32 mile mark today we finally left Highway 96, which we’ve been on since we crossed the state line.

And, of course, we turned right/south; right into the wind. I was one of the last ones to get to that corner and by then the van was pretty much full.

A few of the stronger riders had tried it and turned back.  I knew it would be a long wait for the van to return so I figured I’d give it a go. Once you accept that you’re not going to set any land-speed records it wasn’t too bad. It’s actually easier on the upper body since you’re not constantly trying to counteract a side wind. Three of us gave it a shot. One was on an e-bike and made it. One called it when the shoulder deteriorated. So - that left me with my personal SAG support. Nice....  I didn’t have to share the chocolate milk supply with anyone else.  Anyway - 20 miles eventually passed and then it was an easy 12 miles in to Larned; even seemed to have a bit of a tailwind at times.

I made my first ever visit to a Sonic drive-in restaurant on the way into town for their version of a Blizzard. So good!  Wind and rain in the forecast for our last two days. I might finally crawl inside the van....

Stats for the day:
Ness City KS to Larned KS
105 km. 65 miles.
1596 feet up. 1898 feet down.
Temp:  19C to 34C. Windy!  Again!!

TA 2 - September 29

Well, I’m pooped!  The wind out there right now is 45 kmph gusting to 64 kmph from the south. I think it’s been pretty consistent all day. It’s mentally and physically draining to try to keep the bike upright and close to the shoulder. I think my arms are way more tired than my legs are.  And my brain is fried!  OK - enough whining......

Not much to say about today’s ride. We left shortly after 9 and headed east on 96 - again.....  straight and flat. Agriculture on both sides of the road. Grain elevators on a regular basis. Feedlots occasionally.  Oil wells started appearing in the second half of the ride. Gotta say, though - I didn’t lift my head up too often to look around. I even had a hard time taking my hands off the handlebars to take a drink from my water bottle.  Then there were the tumbleweeds blowing across the road and getting caught in our spokes.  Some of the women caught huge ones. I was lucky with my tiny ones. As we came into the SAG stops, Annette was commenting that everyone was covered in dirt on one side of their face and body.   Lots of blowing dirt all day, sometimes obscuring the road ahead. I finally had a tan line!!  Oh - it washed off in the shower. I do have a bit of a heat rash, though.

Our destination tonight is Ness City.  Ag and oil......   Our hotel tonight has just about the worst reviews I’ve ever read. So far it doesn’t look too bad; we’ll see. No other choices in town so we will make do.

Its claim to fame, apparently, is the Skyscraper of the Plains.  Upon its completion in 1890 it was called “the finest and most imposing structure west of Topeka”.

Just went out for a walk after dinner and it's still 84 out there!  Same weather forecast for tomorrow. Ugh!

Stats for the day:
Scott City KS to Ness City KS
91 km. 56 miles.
1145 feet up. 1852 feet down.
Temp:  20C TO 34C. Wind!  From the south probably  in excess of 30-40 kmph all day.

TA 2 - September 28

Yesterday was a rest day in Eads, CO and there really wasn’t much to do other than rest. I walked downtown in the morning and it sure didn’t take very long to see everything, although I did see this sign indicating that we are at the halfway point of the Trans Am route.

Oh - and here’s the stunning view outside our hotel window.

Our “free” days are usually days that we have to fend for ourselves for dinner but since there wasn’t much available in town Sue cooked for us. It was an early dinner and then a bunch of us walked over to the community-run theatre to see the movie Peanut Butter Falcon.  It was OK but not terribly memorable. However - the theatre is the one and only thing to appear on Trip Advisor’s list of things-to-do in Eads.

Early to bed to get ready for a big day today. Our only century ride of the trip and my first since last year’s trip. It was a straight-shot east on CO-96. Prevailing winds should be from the west, but that doesn’t seem to have been the case for us. Some say that it has to do with the hurricane activity further south and east. Oh well.....   We got an early start this morning - shortly after 7am. More of the same scenery. As they say in Saskatchewan - you can watch your dog run away for 6 days. It was a bit cooler this morning (about 9C), and then the temperature dropped a few degrees and it started to rain. Yes it was cool but the forecast was for it to clear around noon so I hung in there. A few of the riders called it a day at that point and jumped in the van. I think being Canadian is an advantage in those conditions. It was a bit of a surreal riding experience - low cloud cover, little visibility, and really nothing to see in any case. Traffic was light, my glasses were rain-splattered and it was a bit like riding in a bubble.  At about 41 miles we crossed the state line into Kansas.  Gotta say - the road surface did improve at that point.

We actually passed through some outposts of civilization today - Chivington, Brandon, Sheridan Lake, Towner, Tribune, Leoti - although only a few of them had “services”. On both sides of the highway as far as the eye can see are various forms of agriculture - mostly corn, sorghum/milo, wheat, cattle, some horses and some sunflowers. All the grain elevators in the towns seem to be operational and busy.

A very exciting milestone at mile 68. We left the mountain time zone and entered the central time zone.

Given the winds we’ve experienced the last few days, I’m not sure what prompted this sign....

Speaking of winds..... they did pick up the last 15 to 20 miles. Ugh!  Passed this memorial to a former Trans Am cyclist. Always a sobering reminder that we are very vulnerable as we cycle along. All of the drivers so far have been very good to us. Particularly the drivers of the big rigs on these quiet highways. They work hard to give us lots of room. Thank you!

Finally - past some huge feedlots and in to Scott City!  Yay!  And a Dairy Queen on the way to our hotel. A blizzard has never tasted so good!  A very long day, indeed. With the time change, 6pm dinner came up very quickly. Of course we had to have margaritas before dinner since we crossed another state line.

Not a terribly exciting day, but a feeling of accomplishment with the riding of another century.  I think I’ll sleep well tonight!  Forecast is for huge crosswinds  tomorrow :(

Stats for the day:
Eads CO to Scott City KS
167 km. 104 miles.
929 feet up. 2144 feet down.
Temp:  7C to 20C. Light rain for a few hours early in the day. Building headwinds for the last 15 to 20 miles.

TA 2 - September 26

Well, the homeless people of La Junta must have been happy to see us go!  It was a very bizarre hotel experience although I must say that I had a good night’s sleep.  It was interesting to hear all the stories this morning. Several people were moved to an alternate hotel when their rooms were found to be just not fit for us to stay in. Gotta say - you’d never know from the reviews on-line. Either it has suffered a steep and fast decline, or someone has been padding the reviews.

Anyway - on the road again.....   I no longer am concerned about total mileage in a day, or by how much elevation we have to climb, or by what the temperature is going to be. My only question these days seems to be about the wind - how strong and from what direction?  Today the forecast is for SSE winds and we’re going north, notheast and east. So - it will sometimes be our friend and sometimes not. Once the wind starts blowing out here, there’s just nothing to stand in its way.

We passed through the small town of Haswell at about 45 miles. We could see the trees and grain elevator from 10 miles away!

Same thing for coming in to Eads at the end of the day. Trees and grain elevator from 10 miles out.  I think the only change in scenery this afternoon was that the sky turned from overcast to blue at some point.

We haven’t had nearly as many grasshoppers on the road the last couple of days. Still a few giant specimens but few and far between. My wildlife sighting today was this big hairy fella - a tarantula!

Not much more I can say about the day - flat, windy, lots of agriculture, and wide open spaces. We have a rest day in Eads (population 600) tomorrow. So exciting!  I think we’ll need the rest in advance of our 104 mile ride into the wind on Saturday. Let’s hope for a reversal of the predicted wind direction!

Stats for the day:
La Junta CO to Eads CO
109 km. 67 miles.
1226 feet up. 1067 feet down.
Temp:  14C to 29C. Overcast early. Sunny later. Building winds from the SSE.

TA 2 - September 25

Well, well - what to say about today......  I believe Cy used the word “desolate” when describing the ride today. I would have to agree. I didn’t stop for many pictures, but I think this one sums it up.

We had a bit of an earlier start this morning due to the length of the ride and the anticipated heat. It took about 6 miles to get out of town. A bit of a convoluted route of bike paths and side streets.  A group of 5 followed me and luckily we didn’t miss any turns. We were then on a highway for about 10 miles. Anytime we’re on a highway we run the risk of bits of wire from shredded truck tires ending up in our tires and causing a flat. Sure enough, one of our group had a flat so four of us made pretty quick work of the repair.

At some point I thought I should stop and take a picture. I heard a train whistle, and thought one might be coming but no such luck. So - just a picture of our typical views this morning.

Up until about 40 miles we had favourable winds. The forecast had called for that to change around 11am, and at about 10:50 I noticed that indeed we had lost our tailwind. The SAG and van had stopped in the shade in the village of Olney Springs. Nice!  Time for lunch and mentally adjusting to the idea of riding into a building headwind for the next 40 miles.  Since Olney Springs is on the Trans Am route, they are very welcoming to cyclists.

One thing that there is in abundance in this part of Colorado is Correctional Facilities, aka prisons. We were in one town a few days ago (Cañon City, I think) that apparently has 13 prisons. We continue to see them regularly on our route. I guess land is cheap out here.

The day went on, the headwinds picked up, the pavement deteriorated into chip seal, and the temperature continued to rise. Oh - and a bunch of dogs gave chase shortly after lunch. Thankfully Annette found a nice shady spot (albeit with a strong aroma of cow manure) for SAG #3 at about 60 miles.

I couldn’t help but notice the huge number of beer cans and liquor bottles discarded by the side of the roads. I’m sure it’s just from passengers, though. You don’t think the drivers would be drinking, do you?  As we came into La Junta we passed this small shack. Great; let’s make it even easier for them.

Also - as we came into La Junta we crossed the Arkansas River once again. I don’t know what the story is, but it’s looking like it could use a bit more water.  It is the sixth-longest river in the US and a major tributary of the Mississippi.  

Finally - into our hotel for the night. Check-in was delayed for a bit as one of the motel tenants whom we displaced was removed from the premises. In addition, the motel desk clerk seemed overwhelmed with the prospect of housing us all. It’s not an “epic” unless you get one or two Bates Motels along the way but rumour has it that there are much better choices within a few miles. Some of the rooms were totally uninhabitable and those women were moved to a different hotel. All things considered my room wasn’t too bad, but we have been assured that WomanTours will not ever be staying there again.

Stats for the day:
Pueblo CO to La Junta CO
138 km. 85 miles.
970 feet up. 1751 feet down.
Temp:  14 C to 34C. Headwinds came up for the second half and gradually got worse as we went.