Day Twenty-two

It was great seeing my brother Lee and niece Caitlin.

Everyone makes fun of my low-tech cue sheet holders....

...but they sure come in handy when riding by a feed lot!

The fastest post office in Colorado.

The Massachusetts boys are real happy we adopted Kiwi Rick today.

Our room at the Cow Palace overlooks the pool and atrium.

Water babies Lauren, Wild-thing Rob, and Lester.

Back in the Saddle

Probably wouldn’t have chosen a day-off in Pueblo but we understand that America By Bike has carefully tweaked this route over the years and trust that they know what’s best. There was a huge hotrod show going on at the state fairgrounds but we all passed on it because it was 95 degrees. I really appreciate my brother and niece coming all the way from Denver to join us for lunch (and ice cream of course…it’s a family tradition!). I’ll miss them when they’re back in Massachusetts for the annual family gathering in Westport.

Today’s virtual rider is my son, Adam, who turned 26 yesterday. These days he prefers to ride fixies without brakes and a helmet (clearly I failed as a parent) but I remember some great rides with him including a ride to Silver Lake with a rescue by mom when the thundershowers arrived, a long ride to Auntie Jan’s house in Northborough, and a great ride with the Nicholsons on the bike path along Narragansett Bay in RI. Hope your birthday was great!

One hundred and twenty-one miles (a new record for both of us) is a long way and the tenor of the trip can change quickly depending on lots of variables. The keys to success include:

• Get out early
• Get organized
• Get disciplined
• Have good weather (think reasonable temps and a tailwind)
• Hope there are no mechanicals (flat tires, etc.)

We did get out early (6am). We were well organized (everyone pulled for a mile). In my usually obnoxious way I made sure we were disciplined (no one gets dropped and the lead guy never jack rabbits). The weather was good with temps in the 80’s and no wind factor until the final 45 miles and even then it was a bearable head wind. So that leaves the mechanicals piece…not too bad…only two flats…one front and one rear for John Hurley and it struck me that’s where we went wrong. We asked him to join us for dinner last night instead of making sure he went to church! We won’t make that mistake again.

Not a real pretty ride but at one point I thought I’d somehow ridden into a Laura Ashley store. Robb pointed out that we were riding through fields of lavender. That contrasted with the feed lots we rode by earlier in the day…whew!

I was nervous when we approached our motel for the evening, Best Western Cow Palace, and noticed that “Best Western” was covered-up. It’s never a good sign when a motel can’t even keep the Best Western designation but this place is fine (for one night) with a decidedly early sixties flavor. Dinner tonight was interesting; pasta and green beans.

Today’s ratings: (higher is better or easier)

Scenery: 3

Road conditions: 8

Grunt factor: 6