What's Up With Old People and Arby's?

July 10, 2013

Day 17: Sapinero, Colorado to "To Hell You Ride", Colorado

A long, long day, with some good times, some bad times, and some boring times.

I slept alright in the Luv Shack, once it cooled down. It got downright chilly in the middle of the night and I had to use the covers, which I suspect had been very, very infrequently washed. As on previous bike tours, my standards of cleanliness have plummeted.

The next morning I lubed the bike's chain, whose noise had been annoying me for days. Eventually the irritating rasping had overcome my inherent laziness regarding bicycle maintenance.

There was an immediate climb out of Sapinero, which I had somehow failed to notice on my map's elevation profile. Breakfast was not available for many miles this morning, so I dug into my food bag and found a few nearly paper-thin, squashed oatmeal creme pies I had been carrying since the beginning of the trip. They had chilled during the night and were delicious. I'm OK with the oatmeal creme pies again. For now.

After the climb there was a descent through an attractive canyon, then a climb back out of it, where I encountered road construction. Traffic was reduced to one lane for a while, so while the line of cars and trucks I was in was stopped, I rode up to the front and talked to the flagger, who asked where I was going, and, upon being told, commented "You'll make it." I have no idea upon what he based his opinion. Maybe it was the determined gleam in my eye that I affected, or something like that.

After the line of cars started moving, the road worker let me go, then held up the Stop sign so that no one was behind me for a long descent. That was nice.

The first "town" of the morning, Cimarron, was weird. One motel/restaurant was apparently defunct and totally decrepit. Some of the motel's doors where hanging open, revealing the rooms' depressing contents. A couple of cars were parked outside; could this place actually be occupied?! The only open business was an odd store whose inventory contained many more worms (for fishing) than food for humans. There was a vicious- looking dog tied up inside that stared at me the entire time I was in the place. I bought a cinnamon roll and a Pepsi and sat outside for a while. An old man who looked exactly like "Tio" from Breaking Bad was hanging around, further adding to the weird vibe of the place.

I had descended a few thousand feet since Sapinero, and it was hot now. I finished my snack and started the second climb of the day, to Cerro Summit. After a while I coasted down to the outskirts of a largeish (pop 19,000+) town, Montrose.

Weird Cimarron, the heat, and the uninspiring scenery of Montrose had inspired ennui, and I stopped in the parking lot of a U-Haul rental place and briefly contemplated renting one of the small trucks, and driving home. I didn't do that, and instead continued riding.

The first restaurant I saw was an Arby's. It was 11:15, and I was the first lunch customer. Ten minutes after I sat down with my food, a tour bus disgorged 30 senior citizens, who formed a long line in the restaurant. This was a rare example of good timing on my part.

What's up with old people and Arby's? Whenever I go there, it's full of senior citizens. Is there some secret discount they get? Will I get it in three years when I turn 50? Will it be part of my AARP benefits? This is the kind of thing I ponder while bike touring.

Riding through Montrose wasn't so bad, since, like many western towns, the streets are very wide. On the way out of town I stopped at a Target and bought several Payday bars, saving several dollars compared to their price in convenience stores.

I was off US 50, and on the even busier US 550. This was a very uninspring section. At one point I ran over some chewing gum. I believe it was the first time that had happened. I learned that it is hard to get chewing gum off a bicycle tire.

I pulled off the road at one point when I saw what appeared to be a fancy bar or restaurant. I parked the bike and walked in to find only one person, a guy sitting at the bar working on a computer. Turned out that the affable guy, Greg, had just finished renovating the place, and it wasn't even open yet. He was a builder/investor who was planning to lease the place to someone who actually knew how to run a restaurant. He asked what I was doing, and upong being told, told me to sit down, and gave me a succession of ice cold Cokes, for free.

Later, in Ridgeway, a low-key little tourist town, I stopped for some (very good) ice cream and soft drinks, then began yet another climb, this one to the "Dallas Divide." Riding in Colorado is by far the most physically demanding thing I've ever done. Every day is a succession of these climbs, followed by nerve-wracking descents. After this descent I got on a road that would eventually lead me to Telluride. About sixteen miles before that, I stopped at a little store and drank much Gatorade. A friendly young woman was behind the counter. Her friend was hanging around. They asked me what I was doing, expressed the usual sentiments, then continued their conversation, which I half listened to, and mostly seemed to be about a man they both liked, but who was married, but whose marriage might be an "open" marriage. Etc.

Before I left they urged me to stop for the day in Telluride, and not try to reach a campsite that was several miles up a mountain. I said I thought I could do it; they exchanged meaningful glances, my interpretation of which was: This guy will be lucky if he even makes it to Telluride.

They were right. The next miles were tough. After one more big climb, I coasted into fancy-but-funky tourist town Telluride on a bumpy bike path, to find that the city park campground was full. It was now after 8:00. Luckily, a person riding in the park, Rosie, befriended me, and led me to a site where a group of supported coast-to-coast riders were camping. They immediately agreed to let me set up my tent in their area, which I did in record time. Showers cost three dollars in quarters, which I didn't have, so I washed up in the sink, found my tent in the dark, and went to sleep immediately. I don't know if I've ever been so tired in my life.

Today's ride: 110 miles (177 km)
Total: 1,454 miles (2,340 km)

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