Day 33 : Mountains!!!

From Eads, CO to Ordway, CO - 64.5 miles

Story [in numbers]:

Time on bike: 7:04:51
Average speed: 9.1 mph
Max speed: 18.6 mph


Story [in words]:

well, the good news is that when we got up this morning the wind wasn't as bad as we had thought it might be. the bad news is, it was still windy (from the south).

we got our stuff all loaded up and headed into the little restaurant in town to grab some breakfast before cycling out of town. we had our food and were out on the road by about 7:15. the first 12 or so miles actually went by quite easily...then the wind began to pick up a fair amount more. we rode about 23 miles into the only major town between our starting point and our ending point for the day. the towns out here are just so spread apart...it seems like things just get more and more desolate as we move west. one guy we talked to the other day said that he thought that the towns were spread out about the distance that a wagon could go in a day. i don't know if it is true, but it sounds like a decent proposal.

we got a little bit of food to take on the road at our stop and filled our waters up and quickly got back on the road. we figured that the wind wasn't going to get any more favorable and the word on the street was that where we were going we would be able to stay at a house where we could shower and do laundry, so we were pretty motivated.

the afternoon continued with more of the same...with the exception that a little while into our afternoon, the mountains finally began to appear in the distance. man was that exciting!! we both seemed to cycle a little bit faster knowing that they were in the distance. we are both super excited to be able to get into the mountains. we also saw more scenery today than i think we have seen on any other day. we saw a number of deer and we think that we also saw an antelope. those things are the things that really make this trip amazing.

one other pretty wild sight from today was that for probably the last 13 miles or so into ordway, there were empty railroad cars sitting on the railroad track that we have been cycling along for the last 3 days. it seemed like they went on and on...just a weird thing.

we had heard that when we got to ordway, we were simply supposed to ask for gillian and someone would be able to direct us to her house. we stopped at the grocery store to get a little food and asked someone if they could point us to gillian...and sure enough, the lady said, "go down main street and turn left on 9th and you will dead end into her house". while we were at the grocery, we ran into three other cyclists and we told them about gillian as well, so we all headed down to see what it was all about. and man, what we found is amazing. i won't be able to do it justice...but here is a little bit of it.

gillian is a woman originally from new zealand...she has a farm of sorts here. horses, goats, all kinds of different birds, etc. she also has an old 5th wheel on the property that has been gutted and she uses to house cyclists. she also allows cyclists to take a shower, do laundry, use the kitchen, and sit in the living room to watch tv or to use the internet. she is a really amazing woman...a very european sense of humor for sure. as it turns out, there are also two college age guys that are here working for gillian for three weeks on a work exchange program...and they have been an absolute blast to share conversation with as well. this has definitely been one of the most memorable stays on our trip for sure. the people are really just amazing...i wish i could fully and accurately put it into words.

i have been thinking over the last couple of days about the comparison between cycling here and back in virginia. when we were in virginia, the highest point that we reached was roughly 4200 feet...and the views were absolutely marvelous. and over the last couple of days, we have also been cycling at roughly 4200 feet...however, the views are much different. it has made me realize that what makes the mountain top amazing are the valleys that surround it. it certainly doesn't feel like we are on a mountain top right now...but it absolutely did when we were at the exact same height in virginia...and it was the valleys...the downs that made that reality.

along with that, i have been thinking about how in life, we would much rather just live on the mountain top, so to speak, all the time. we don't like the valleys...we despise the tough times...with would rather not face conflict and challenge. but the reality is...if we don't have those valleys and tough times and conflicts...the highs simply seize to be highs.

just something that i have been pondering on every now and again as i have cycled along for the last couple of days.

so, tomorrow morning it will be up and on the road early early...hopefully we will be into pueblo by a little after noon. we will plan to get some minor tune-ups done on our bikes, probably get a hotel for the night, and then we will be ready to make the push up into the mountains. i think we are both ready and excited to start climbing again. not necessarily for the cycling part, but for the scenery and the wildlife that we are excited to encounter.


sidenote: don - cailyn wanted me to point out that at one point this afternoon there was this massive open field out to our left, and out in the middle of it, all by himself, was a lone bull...all by himself. i guess she thought that would have significance.