Day 48: Eads, CO to Pueblo, CO (115 miles, 2299 total)

Taaaaaiiiillllllwwwwwiiinnnnddddd!
Ayyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Blasting miles! Thats all I've got to say, just plain blasting. That's it, this journal entry is over; there is nothing more to say.

Just kidding, of course there are things to say. We killed it today! We slept poorly in the city park due to a wind storm in the middle of the night. Luckily, there was no lightening or tornados, but the tent took a beating.

We woke up groggy at 5:30, and were slow to motivate. After eating some oatmeal and packing up we were on the road just after 7AM.

A few miles out of Eads, I started feeling really good. My legs felt no strain as I hovered around 20mph. It was then that a I realized that not only was I feeling good, but we had a slight tailwind. Wooohoooo!

Seeing as though we had seen the wind change directions in a matter of hours, AK and I decided that it was no time to mess around. We were going to take advantage of this gift to the fullest extent.

I had planned to wait for AK at this dot-on-the-map of a town, but we were going so fast we never even saw the dot. Literally, before we knew it, we had gone 23 miles to Haswell.

The wind increased in strength and then we really started to jam. Zip, there goes the dot of Arlington and the previously booming town of Sugar City. By noon we had traveled 63 miles and already arrived in Ordway, which we had planned to be our final destination for the day.

While AK and I were eating lunch at the Bit and Spur, we decided that there was no way we were stopping yet. When Mother Nature serves you up a tasty slice of tailwind pie, you take it! You don't stop at noon, no way! You get on your bike and ride like it is your job because tomorrow she may be serving haggis.

When I first thought of mentioning the idea of pushing on to Pueblo (for another century and then some) to AK, I thought it would go over like a pregnant pole vaulter. I knew that as long as we had this tailwind, we had to ride it, so I searched for a way to sweeten the deal and lower the bar enough for the preggers pole vaulter to just trip over it, no vaulting required.

Well, we had planned to arrive in Pueblo tomorrow night and we were going to meet up with Matt and Alecia (who would drive from their home in Colorado Springs to meet us) for dinner. Originally, Matt and Alecia sugested that they pick us up, we stay the night at their place and drop us off back in Pueblo the next morning. We had decided against that idea because it seemed like it would be fun, but also a logistical nightmare. But, therein lies the deal "sweetener". I told AK that if we make it to Pueblo, we could stay the night with Matt and Alecia, and we could take the day off tomorrow. And that was it, AK was sold on the idea of going to Pueblo, tailwind or not, she was going. Since we have gained two days on our guidebook in three days of riding, I am totally fine with taking a day off (even though in total we are still 3 days behind the book).

Out of Ordway, our tailwind was waiting for us. We zurned through some town named Crowley so fast that I don't even remember it and then we were on to Olney Springs where we stopped for a Gatorade at a nice little shop. Not wanting to waste our wind, we got back on the road ASAP. In what seemed like nothing we were 20 miles down the road in the town of Boone for one more cold drink.

Five miles out of Boone we achieved our second century of the trip. This time, 100 miles felt like nothing. "We earned the last one," I told AK, "but it almost feels like we stole this one." It is amazing how easy this one was for us. AK's computer is still broken, but mine read 5 hours 40 minutes with an average speed of 17.9mph. That is unbelievable compared to the 8.5 hour trek we had completed two days before.

Less than an hour later we passed a bunch of roadside prarie dogs and pulled into Pueblo. With a population of 102K, Pueblo seems enormous as compared to any town we have seen in days. The roads were congested and the air smelled dirty. We chatted with a fellow traveling "bug-eater" (his words) and then we searched out a place for Alecia to meet us.

We found a Carl's Jr that offered a place to rest our stinky bodies while we waited. That ended our longest mileage day we both have ever done in our lives, but we both agreed that with the tailwind it was easy. We could have done another 50 if need be. The 115 mile day took me 6 hours and 27 minutes (AK was probably one hour longer) with an average of 17.9mph. Amazing.

So today was a huge day for us as far as milestones go. First, just out of Ordway, we got our first view of the looming Rockies. Second, we finished our 6th map of the trip. Third, we have officially reached the mid-point of our trip! Fourth, we both rode further than we ever have in one day. And finally, the Hardee's have now become the more familar Carl's Jr.

Among all the happy news of the day, we did get some sad news from an eastbound cyclist today. Apparently the Adventure Cycling tour group that has been about a week ahead of us all trip suffered a major tragedy. Apparently, one of their riders was struck and killed by a car. From what we were told, the rider was in the midle of the lane just after the crest of a hill. An oncoming car (incidentally, driven by an off-duty officer) quickly crested the hill and didn't see the cyclist until it was too late. We are very saddened to hear this as even though we have never met these people, we have heard enough about them from people along the route to feel like we know them.

That said, AK and I have worked very hard to be safe on this trip. Visability is key. We wear our screaming yellow vests everyday, no matter how hot it is. Each of our bikes has the reflective orange triangles plus various reflectors and reflective tape. We both have mirrors on our bikes which are extremely useful. Above all, we never ride side-by-side unless we are on a road where we can see clearly both in front and behind us a safe distance.

Anyway, we are now back at Alecia and Matt's place for the night and we are happy to be here. It is nice to be among friends in a comfortable place. It's been a great day.

Jeff