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.
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