06.26.10 Fairplay, Co- Breckenridge, Co Miles: 22 Hoosier Pass: 11,539 We woke up super excited to climb the mountain. It was only a 4 mile climb that we could feel. We had a fantastic group picture taken at the Hoosier pass sign. For those of you that don't know, my dad went from New York to California    in 1982. His stories and photos from his bike trip really inspired me to take my trip. I've attached the photo of him from his trip  at Hoosier pass, and my photograph from today at the same place. Although the sign has changed, I'm sure the same sense of accomplishment was there.     

06.25.10 Royal Gorge, Co - Fairplay, Co Miles: 66 Temp: 55 in the morning 90 in the afternoon Starting elevation: 9000 Ending elevation: 10,500 We were a little concerned about today because the notes said, "this is the hardest day of the trip" (it has said that about 15 times so far). There was a bit of a climb, so I suppose the forewarning was justified. Bryn and I left early because she had to cook and we didn't want to get there too late. The morning started off really well. There was a bit of a climb within the first 12 miles and then again around the 36th mile, where we were passing through the Current Creak Pass. As we approached the pass the road opened up to a beautiful view of snow capped mountans. It was truly breathtaking. Just as we rounded the corner to start the decent, we saw Ray flagging us down and Michelle sitting on the ground. We stopped, of course. Something looked really wrong. Turns out Michelle was having a really hard day and was not feeling very well. The elevation at this point was 10,000 ft and was effecting all of us differently. Thry also found themselves15-20 miles away from the next town with no water. I gave them my water reserve, but they were still a little nervous. The first car that drove by Ray flaged down but they were already planning on stopping. A family heading to Breckenridge, the same direction as us, saw them and decided to turn around to see if they needed help. The family was so generous. They had waters for all of us and even gave us some cold grapes. It was truly fantastic! They were headed for the Avon breas cancer walk. We continued on after talking with them and after being sure Michelle was alright.  The next 30 miles or so were very enjoyable with wonderful views. The last 4 miles, however, were pretty tough. The weather turned from bright and warm to cold, gray, and , rainny. We cought headwinds I would guess up to 30 mph andcwe struggled in at a whoping 4 miles an hour. I had my fleece on and my rain coat. That's how cold it turned, from a tanktop afternoon. We finally got to camp and just relaxed over a great dinner at the Brown Burrow.        

Update on the fire: rt 50 is now open with a pilot vehicle taking one car at a time at through

06.21.10 Eads, Co- Ordway, Co Miles 61 Temp 80-90s Weather sunny Sleep: hotel ordway Today I rode with Bryn, Lee, Robert and Olaf. We listened to music and went a little faster than normal. The wind was on our side for a change. Classic rock was on the play list: Zeppelin, Dylan, Allman Brothers, Skynyrs... all really great music to ride to. Bryn brought little speakers that she keeps in her handle bar bag. We usually jam til they die, and they usually work for the entire ride (about 6+ hours).   We met some nice guys headed west while on a break. Their website is: pedalsforhaiti.com <-- check it out   At the end of the ride today I had to change my back tire. I had about a three inch long bubble in the center of my tire. I used a spare tire Jack was carrying, that's one of the advantages of being in a group. We stayed at a little hotel called the Ordway Hotel. The owner, Tom, made us dinner at his restaurant next door. The restaurant was closed so we got major VIP treatment. It was great good food and our chef was good company as well. The next morning he made us breakfast and we were on our way down the road.      

06.20.10 Tribune, Ks- Eads, Co Miles: 58 Temp: 90-100 Weather hot, dry, and sunny Sleep: Inside the county fair grounds cafiteria First flat tire of the entire trip! We were super excited to get to Colorado that getting a flat really didn't bother me much at all. I patched it and was back rollin down the road in no time. When we got to the Colorado boarder, there was a big wonderful sign that we just had to climb up ! Only a few miles into the new state we started to see a different landscape, the grasses were more clumps of tall grass, the soil was sandy, and we saw cacti for the first time! I'm feeling great, really strong, I'm excited to start to see the mountans. I feel so grateful to be able to have such a wonderful adventure. It is truly amazing here. It is really indescribable, the feelings I get from experiencing this. It's as though all senses are being energized simultaneously. 

06.18.10 Ness city, Ks - Scott City, ks Miles:  57 sleep: Athletic club hostle Temp:90s  Weather sunny  Today was a better ride than yesterday. The wind wasnt working to hard against us. The townspeople were friendly and seemed like they were excited to see us and helped us get to where we were spending the night. One Nice old farmer told us to come in for some cold pop, but we were afraid the wind would change so we kept going. Overall, today wasn't that exciting but the mountians are coming soon!         

06.17.10 Larden, Ks- Ness City, Ks Miles: 65  Temp: 90+ weather: 25-30 mph cross winds all day... never ending wind We started out today with little motivation. After an unsuccessful pot of coffee from the percolator, there was a mad dash to the nearest coffee shop. We all seemed to congregate there, and Bryn, Joe, Will, Paul and I were the last to leave. They had a very inviting comfortable couch. Eventually we decided to relocate to a place with more food. Joe thought it would be fun to ride his bike through the drive-thru. We didn't actually start riding until 9:45 am... am unusually late start. As we began west, we first experienced the wind that would continue all day. We were graced with 25-30 mph cross winds for 45 of our 65 mile day. Luckily, there was one point that the wind was helping us out. With the tail wind, and a little down hill, Bryn and I were clocked at 35 mph for a bit. It was pretty awesome, but unfortunitly it didn't last very long. We found that western Kansas has towns few and far between, and the town might only have a grain elevator. No water, no Gatorade and no snacks. One stop, about 12 miles from camp, we were hoping to find a store to fill up water and get some food in our bellies. When we finally got there we saw the store was out of business! We noticed a bag of ice on the ground and quickly determined that the ice was safe to eat and cool our selves off with. It was a nice stop before we hit the wind again. After speaking with a few people, it turns out this was the hardest day of the trip for a lot of us. I think it was my second hardest day. The thing that makes wind a little scary is 1. It's hard to keep the bike on the road and 2. When trucks pass us, the wind blows us all over the road and sucks us twards the truck.  We were very glad to make it to camp. We got in late as anticipated so Jack found us an Inn to stay at. Right across the street from the inn was a ice cream shop that hit the spot. We had dinner and dessert there. Tomorow if there's wind we will be ready for it! We're on rt. 96 and we'll take this west for about 300 miles til Pueblo.    

06.16.10 Sterling Ks- Larnerd, Ks

06.16.10 Sterling Ks- Larnerd, Ks Miles 50 Temp 90+ weather sunny and beautiful Today was flat, very very flat. There was no stop to get water for the entire ride so I packed two large water bottles as back up. We had a fairly nice ride. I think it is becomming more arid, the temperature is not as noticeable, or I should say uncomfortable. The last 10 miles were a little draggy but we made it in. Right before getting to camp we found ourselves passing over the Arkansas river. It was muddy and not very large in the spot we saw. We did meet some guys going east: David, Lee, and Wes... Their blog is http://transamericancyclingadventure.blogspot.com/ Tomorrow I hope will hold more excitement.

06.15.10 Newton Ks- Sterling, Ks

06.15.10 Newton Ks- Sterling, Ks Miles: 68 Temp:93 Weather: wonderful sunny and clear sky Sleep: city park tent Again, today Kansas has shown me how beautiful it is. We passed by Buhler, Ks today and met some wonderful people. It is number one on my friendly towns list. They had a fantastic little resturaunt. Bryn and I saw some long horns as we continued to ride. We passed a Flooded road we had to ride through that had about 4-6 inches of water. It wasn't so bad but we got a little wet crossing. Tonight we are spending the night in a city park.

Bryn sneaking up to the long horn

Her Awesome picture of the long horn

Best pie and icecream of the trip so far!

where did the road go?

to the left

...and to the right