Mood:  a-ok

Being the expert map readers that we are, Greg Mikkelsen, Al Ogden and I decided that Limon, CO, would be my next stop.  It was only 50 miles east, a nice respite from a hard 72 miler yesterday.

Being the wonderful host and hostess that they were, Greg and Joan gave me a terrific send off.  Joan had laundered my clothing,  cooked a marvelous breakfast and prepared two PB &J's for snacking.  Greg mostly talked (One can see who does the most work in that household!).  Greg escorted me out to the exterior gate (I think he really wanted to make sure that he was rid of me), and then we gave our goodbyes.   The Mikkelsens really were fun and nice and generous and just good people.

The plan today was to get a reasonably early start, attend church on the way, ride a bit, eat lunch, then ride the rest of the way to Limon. 

But first a confession:  I had mentioned earlier about how much I eat.  I eat alot.  I eat almost anything and everything--in quantity.  So it proved to be interesting when I arrived in Estes Park earlier, to find a set of scales in the bathroom.  Since I am a calorie-burning machine, I thought it would be ironic if I ended up weighing more now than when I left Everett.  I stepped on the scales, and stared in disbelief:  I had lost 12 pounds!   I am not sure that I had 12 pounds to lose, but this means that I have to focus on consuming even more calories than I had, primarily during breaks and rest stops.  Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to implement this new strategy yesterday because I had to make my luncheon appointment with Waunita and Stan, and my dinner appointment with the Mikkelsens and Ogdens.  Today, however, was going to be different.   Today I was going to make better use of my breaks and start increasing my caloric input.

First things first.  I wanted to find a place to worship.  The first church that I found having their service would be the one I would stop at (assuming that they had no objections to my bicycling apparel).  The closest town was Castle Rock, and I had to go through it on the way to Limon.  Just inside the city limits, I came across a nice little church called Mt. Zion Lutheran Church, and they were wonderfully welcoming to this oddly-clad stranger.  The pastor, Rev. Zeigler, gave a good sermon. There were treats afterward, and then I was on my way.  

It seems that all towns in Colorado have steep hills on each side to climb.  Castle Rock is no exception (actually it makes sense that the towns were started where the ground was level, and where the streams ran through.  I'm just complaining).  It was a long climb out of town.  Cresting the top I saw another drop, followed by another climb.  Cresting it showed another, and another, forever and ever, seemingly.  It was very slow going.  At noon, I was only 15 miles out of Castle Rock, and I had lunch.  Pulling back onto the road, someone yelled something friendly to me, so I pulled over, and a car followed me to the side.  It was Pastor Zeigler from Mt. Zion Lutheran.  It seems he has not one, but two churches, and he was returning from the second.  We had a nice chat for 15 minutes.  Then back to the road.  

A road sign appeared:   52 miles to Limon, 45 miles to I-70.  So much for our ability to read maps.  Actually, maybe we can read them just fine--its the adding up the mileage that is beyond our abilities.  At any rate, my 50 mile easy day was now going to be somewhere in the low 70's.

As I promised earlier, I was turning a new leaf in terms of eating.  So the first break after lunch, I pulled out half of one of the PB&Js .  Looking eastward, the sky was dark and rainy, so I put rain covers over my ponchos and got my rain jacket and pants ready if needed.  As I rode further east, the dark clouds seemed to move away and it soon became apparent that I had dodged that bullet.

This was going to be a long day.  The climbing was taxing, and the mileage just was adding up very slowly.  After riding for some thirty miles, I noticed, in my bicycle mirrors, darkening clouds to the west.  They were coming my way.

After a while, I took another break.  It lasted two minutes.  Just as I put a handful of Trail Mix in my mouth, I heard the low rumble of thunder, so I jumped on the bike and took off.

The problem is that I had now entered a sort of "no man's land".  There would be no services until I got to I-70.  Therefore, I had to stay ahead of the storm if possible.  Understand, it was not the rain that concerned me.  It was the lightning.  

It became a sort of slow motion race between me and the dark clouds.  I was destined to lose somewhat, but the ground began to get more level, the hills not quite so difficult.  So I became able to bike a bit faster than earlier.  Even so the clouds caught up with me and I started to feel a light rain.  This went on for the next 25 miles.  I was just ahead of the heavy part of the rain.

I made an executive decision: when I got to I-70, I would get a room there instead of going the extra seven miles to Limon.  Besides, I was getting very tired. 

At last, I reached I-70!  It was empty.  There were no services at the interchange.  In fact, there were no roads connecting me to Limon except I-70.  It was only a little after 5 PM, but the dark clouds made it seem like it was night.  Onto I-70 I went.  And I was flying!  20-25 mph average! (I  discovered in the morning that there was an elevation drop as well as a nice tailwind).  Lightning started to dance across the sky.  Two miles from Limon, a side road, paralleling I-70, appeared, and there was no fence btween it and I-70.  I coasted down the grass slope, and onto the road, then lit out for the lights ahead.  It was raining harder, but this was no time to put on my rain jacket.

I took a motel room.  As I unpacked, the heavens opened up, and a deluge of water dropped, amidst lightning and thunderous applause.  Just in time, I made it.  Very tired.  Another 72-73 mile day with lots of climbing. 

Tomorrow, weather permitting, however, should be better.  I double checked the mileage on two maps, and it was 64 miles to a town called Kit Carson (yes, that Kit Carson).  (I found that map reading was more accurate without Greg and Al helping.  Hmm.)  The elevation was decreasing so maybe I could get lucky tomorrow and get there before the projected afternoon thunderstorms arrived.  It depends on how I feel, I guess.  I'll get up early and see how it goes.  For now, I was very tired.  By 9:30 PM, I was asleep.

Will McMahan