July 7, 2006
Day 36: Ordway, CO to Pueblo, CO
53.88 Miles, 4:05:58 Ride Time, 13.42 Average Speed, 25.2 Maximum Speed
I woke up fairly early, considering the painkillers I'd taken the night before. My arm felt better this morning, although it still hurt; at least I could lift my handlebar bag with it this morning, unlike last night.
After I got dressed, I walked down to the Bits & Spurs for breakfast with the group from yesterday evening. It was enjoyable listening to their stories, and it was obvious that I was (by far) the least experienced cyclist of the group. (This was not the first time on the trip that I had this realization; several times, others had expressed surprise that I was doing the TransAm, solo, as my first bicycle tour.)
I still hadn't gotten everything together, so I said goodbye to Johnny and Henny, who I probably woudn't see again, before they rode out - they were heading to San Francisco, while I was going to Oregon. It had been fun riding and hanging around with them the last few days.
The ride to Pubelo started out on State Route 96 - how many days in a row had I been riding on it? I took it slowly, careful because of my arm, riding one-handed at times. I saw the first glimpse of the Rockies in Olney Springs, but decided not to stop and take a break there. I did stop in Boone, about 20 miles before Pueblo, for a snack at a combination grocery/hardware store.
A few miles later, US 50 joined SR 96, and the route became a busy four lane highway, which fortunately had a nice, wide shoulder. I rode into Pueblo through an industrial-type area, with fairly heavy traffic. I rode around for a few minutes looking for the Great Divide bike shop. I stopped at a corner to look at my map, and glanced up to see I was standing almost in front of the store. I went in, found out what time they would open in the morning, and told them I would bring the bike down first thing tomorrow, having decided to take a rest day in Pueblo.
There was a Marriott downtown (too expensive), and a cheap motel downtown (no internet), so I rode 20+ blocks north into the nightmarish (on a bicycle) suburban sprawl. This was some of the worst traffic of the trip; I gave up at one point and started riding on the sidewalk, until the sidewalk disappeared. It's very difficult to get around places like this without a car.
I first stopped at a Motel 6, but they only had dial-up internet access (!). The Days Inn next door was only a little more expensive, and had what I needed. I checked in for two nights.
Later in the afternoon I was talking to my friends Peter and Cay Chamness, who told me they had friends in Pueblo, Paul and Karla Pumphrey, who were interested in my trip, and wanted to talk to me. Later I got a call from Karla, who invited me to dinner; Paul and Karla picked me up at the motel around 7:00, showed me some of the interesting things in Pueblo, then took me to dinner at a very good Mexican restaurant. This was very kind of them; even kinder was their offer to stay at their condo in Breckenridge, where I planned to be in a few days. I certainly appreciated their hospitality. Thanks, Paul and Karla.
After they drove me back to the motel, I did some laundry, worked on this journal, and rested. The arm was bothering me a little, but I felt good that I had reached Pueblo. The first few days in Colorado hadn't seemed much different than Kansas; very soon, though, the elevation would be increasing dramatically, and the scenery would be very different.
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Today's ride: 54 miles (87 km)
Total: 2,337 miles (3,761 km)
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