Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

I was hoping for a new state of mind when we crossed into Nevada, and that's exactly what I got. Nevada rocked. Many of my cycling mates didn't care for the long stretches of road with not much to see all the way around. I, however, completely enjoyed the nothingness. The miles of road stretching out in front of me, the gentle climbs to 7500 feet, the long, gentle downhills that allowed me to pedal and keep the speed up around 35 mph all added up to each day being an enjoyable ride. Through Utah I felt like I was struggling and commented to a friend that I was getting weaker as a cyclist, but Nevada showed me I was simply fatigued through Utah. Through Nevada, I found my climbing legs again, my flats legs again, and my enjoyment of being on the bike every single day. Thank you, Nevada.

And now we're in Nevada. Just like that it seems, though I know it wasn't just like that. With Utah now in the rearview mirror, the ol' rose-colored glasses want to be put on and make me think Utah was a great leg of the trip. I keep brushing the glasses aside because Utah wasn't a great leg. Utah was an okay leg, and I'm more than ready to say goodbye to it. In the beginning Utah made me marvel at its beauty. The changing formations, the colors of the rocks, the whole so-different-than-all-the-other places we'd rolled through made me really look forward to rolling through Utah. By day four, biking to Escalante, the enthusiasm for Utah had worn thin. Every inch of the way, we were climbing. Some grades were such that I was barely pedaling 6 mph. And that's how Utah went. Even today, our last day in Utah, we had three climbs. The grades were gentle this time, but still, climbing mile after mile wears on a cyclist. I surprised myself today with how strong I ...

Ingredients for a rest day: Take sleeping in and add breakfast of whole wheat toast, honey nut o's, and orange juice. Mix in watching the Tour with Cavendish shooting across the line like he's been shot out of a cannon. Follow with a short walk to the coffeehouse for a veggie "everything" bagel and  a caramel macchiato. Stir in an hour nap. Add grocery shopping for a few days' supplies followed by a taco salad at the Mexican restaurant. Blend in laughter with good friends and a phone call from a big brother and Dad. Fold in a hot bubble bath. Top off with a stupid movie, say, something like Talladega Nights. Yep, now that's what I call a rest day.

Utah has been awesome. The varying terrain has certainly kept me entertained, but the climbing has diminished said entertainment at times. Coming into the ride, I knew there was going to be a lot of climbing, and being a flatland dweller, there wasn't much I could do to train for the hills. All I could do was go out for long, hard rides. That's what I did, and I got through Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri just fine. I even pulled the 14 miler and 11 miler in Colorado without trouble. Utah, though, has just about done me in. And tomorrow, during the trek to Cedar City where we will enjoy a rest day on Friday, we have a 30 mile climb. 30 freakin' miles! That's just wrong. I'll do the climb, just like all the previous, but I'll not enjoy it. We're at day 47, riding 50+ miles most days, and I for one am just plain tired. While I enjoy the camping, I haven't been sleeping for quite some time now. There always seems to be something going on that keeps me aw...

One thing this ride has taught me is how to be resourceful. Like right now--I'm sitting in the bathroom/shower at the RV park, using the wifi, and charging my phone. Since there are no electrical outlets at the tent sites, and there are no electrical outlets outside the main building, the bathroom/shower was the only option left. Thankfully, this RV park is very nice, well maintained, and clean, a nice change from the campsite we were at the last two nights in Telluride. Which is funny given how high end Telluride is, at least outside the campsite, I guess. So it's kind of nice to spend our last night in Colorado at a place that offers some decent amenities. The tent sites are flat and clear of debris. We have quite a few picnic tables instead of just one for twentysome people. And a river is running right alongside the campsite, offering soothing water sounds for a good night's sleep.  Tomorrow we'll enter Utah. For me, there's a mysterious quality surrounding U...

Another week has flown by. Hard to believe we were just in Pueblo for a rest day last Wednesday, and now we're in Telluride for a rest day tomorrow. Some of us were wondering why we were getting another rest day so soon, but after the climbs just about each day since we left, I for one no longer wonder why. A 12 mile climb, an 11 mile climb, and all the shorter climbs in between make for some lingering fatigue. Today's final climb, just before the last leg into Telluride, sucked all remaining energy out of me. The only redeeming aspect of that climb was the view from the top. Spectacular. So now, after setting up camp, after taking the coldest shower ever in my life (it cost $3.00 to have hot water for 5 minutes, and me being the cheapo that I am settled for the cold--hey, that $3.00 was just spent on a tea latte, a much better use of the money!), I'm sitting in Between the Covers, drinking said tea latte while eating a monster cookie. I also just bought Czeslaw Milosz...

When I settled onto the saddle this morning, I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable my hiney was feeling. After two weeks of hard cycling, I'd developed some sore spots, one on each buttock. They weren't so bothersome that I couldn't or didn't want to ride, but they let me know they were there. A little shifting on the saddle usually took care of the protests, so I was looking forward to an extended period of not being on the bike to see if the soreness would ease. It did, making today's ride very comfortable. We left out of Pueblo, heading west towards our goal of Westcliffe. Everyone had been murmuring about the 14 mile climb facing us, and a couple of people had let the looming climb get into their heads a bit too much. They just couldn't get into a good, solid rhythm and only talked about how difficult the 14 miles were going to be. I've reached the point where I don't look at the map for anything other than making sure I'm on the right ...

Left out of Haswell, CO this morning around 5:30 to make my way to Pueblo, the place we all were looking forward to because it promised a rest day. Most of the crew, though, had opted to move past Haswell yesterday, not wanting to camp in the town park, leaving only two of us to camp overnight. Some went 40 miles beyond, to Ordway, where they stayed in a hotel, and some were bolder, going the whole 89 beyond to Pueblo because then they'd have two rest days instead of one. Me, I opted to stay in Haswell. 79 miles for the day was plenty, and I wasn't scared of the outhouse. Around 8 pm, a storm began brewing to the southwest. We watched the lightning play across the sky and listened to the thunder rumble. I took out my camera and waited patiently for a bolt to cut the sky. After three failed attempts to capture lightning through the lens, I squealed in glee when my trigger finger was quick enough to actually make it happen. Not satisfied with just one picture of the lightning, ...

Because of the heat, I've figured out places I can go to stay cool once we've reached our destination. So far, the public library is my favorite place because it is usually quiet, cool, and comfy chairs are available to lounge in. Unfortunately, the public library in today's destination, Tribune, KS, closed at 2. I, along with a gaggle of kids who'd been watching movies in the community room, was kicked out promptly at 2. I slung my two backpacks onto my back, the one holding all my dirty laundry, and headed to the laundromat I was told could be found at the truck stop. Now the laundry is in and I'm chilling in the cool air of the truck stop. Thankfully wifi is available, so I'm connected and can catch up on what's happening in the world. Or at least my little world of Facebook, Blogger, hotmail, and Bike the US for MS. I've not read or watched any news, so as far as what's going on outside my little world, I have no idea. The news of my little w...

31 days are now in the book, putting us at the halfway mark by the calendar and by mileage already ridden. In just a couple of days we will be in Colorado. And climbing again. Kansas has been fun with its relatively flat terrain, so moving to the mountains is on my mind these days. I'm all at once excited and scared silly by the thought of cycling the Colorado mountains. Today we covered 94 miles. I had been dreading the day for nearly a week. With temps in the 100s, and our daily mileage anywhere from the 60s to the 90s, I was beginning to crumble physically and emotionally. Drinking hot water all day only adds to the misery. I'm pretty sure I can make sun tea with the water in my bottles; it gets that hot. Not fun to drink when the sun is beating against my shoulders at 105 degrees. Thankfully storms moved through last night and cooled things off. Being able to ride in 70 degrees gave me the shot in the arm I so needed. The 94 miles went by with lots of smiles instead of fro...