Introduction

September 3, 2022

On the Road Aagin

Ancient Echoes - Canyon of the Ancients.

Introduction to Stage 6 - 9/3/22

During this Labor Day Weekend, we're making last minute preparations to begin Stage 6 of our cross country ride. It's hard to believe we've kept this segmented tour together since 2016.

Six years ago, our group departed from Lewis, Delaware and were headed for the Pacific Ocean. Here in 2022, we're down to a core group of 4 riders and one driver who are committed to finishing this journey. Our "chauffeur" is Jack-O, a local friend and fellow rider, who will be providing support to us along the way. The riders of the group are Fred, Chuck, John-F, and Dino.

From the left, Fred, John-F, and Chuck, back again in 2022.

Yours truly, on an early Spring (2022) training ride.

Durango, Colorado was where we left off when we finished Stage 5, on July 21, 2021. On the next day, we were mere passengers on the narrow gauge railroad out of Durango to the little mining town of Silverton and back. If you have the time, this side trip gives a good look at some remote areas in the Rocky Mountains, by way of a historic train ride. It is possible to take bikes and ride back to Durango, from Silverton or vice-versa. For us, it was a day off of the bikes and a relaxing way to end our long tour from Kansas City.

(Stage 5 was Kansas City, Kansas to Durango, Colorado)

Riding (as Passengers) on the Durango to Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway.

This year (2022), we'll continue our quest to reach the Pacific. I'm still working. Everyone else is retired. By next year, I'll have likely joined the ranks of the retired... but one never knows for sure. Coming out of the Pandemic has made this a busy year at work for me. I'm looking forward to this break and to the time on the road, where I'll temporarily exchange the daily work grind for the cranking of the pedals.

We left Pittsburgh on September 7th. Our first stop was on the 8th, to see our friends Richard and Carl, who extended hospitality to us (during Stage 5, in 2021) in LaCrosse, Kansas. From there, we headed to Ordway, Colorado to spend the night at the Ordway Hotel. We stayed there last year and it was good to see it again. Then, we drove to Cortez, Colorado where we had two nights reserved in a rustic lodge between Mesa Verde and the Canyon of the Ancients.

On the way out, we caught up with some friends in LaCrosse, Kansas. "A bunch of old men," as a young lady described us, to our faces. She might be surprised at what some "old men" are capable of (and I'll leave it right there).

Our plan is to ride back to Durango on the first day, thereby completing that leg of the journey. Jack-O will shuttle us back to our lodging site. From there the ride will head west. There is a little trepidation regarding a peak altitude of approximately 8400 feet on the first day. We all ride in Pittsburgh, where the altitude ranges from 600-1200 feet. Fortunately, our training grounds are very hilly, which should help when we begin tackling the terrain in Western Colorado. Perhaps the bad air we breathe regularly will help with the lack of Oxygen at those higher altitudes.

In the Canyon of the Ancients area, Montezuma County, West of Cortez, Colorado.

We're excited but subdued. We've all been riding extensively this year. Chuck completed a century ride, among other long rides that he does routinely. Fred and John rode quite a bit and did rides to match their ages, which are getting longer than we like to think about. In August, I completed a successful weekend excursion to West Virginia, Ohio, and then back to Pittsburgh. It involved plenty of hills. I think we're all ready.

C'mon along for the ride!

The gravel road that led us to our lodging in the Canyon of the Ancients area.

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