Did you know that the terrain and the weather change at state lines? I know that's not really true, but it seemed like it today. The wind this morning was much lighter than yesterday's, but it was still wind. About ten miles into Colorado the wind changed. It disappeared, then it came back for a bit but it seemed to be coming from different directions. And by the time I finished the day the wind was calm. That's the first time since I entered Kansas that the wind disappeared - and I'm not in Kansas anymore! The other thing I noticed at about the same point the wind changed, so did the vegetation and the terrain. I passed through flat Kansas farm country to some rolling hills with scrub vegetation that reminded me of high desert plants. It was amazing how different it looked. Then, just before I got to Eads, some farmland reappeared. I wonder what tomorrow will bring,
Today was a no services day, which means I didn't talk to too many people. There were supposed to be minimal services in Sheridan Lake, but nothing was open. The gas station was closed but very nicely left the rest rooms unlocked. I don't know what made me bring extra Gatorade with me today, but I was very glad I did. I always carry food, and if I know there aren't any services I bring extra Gatorade and water. I guess I doubted the existence of services today. And tomorrow will be more of the same.
Some of the towns my route passed through today were very tiny, with populations well under 100 people. Some of them looked mostly abandoned to me. There would be some buildings that were barely standing and were clearly abandoned, but there were also other buildings that looked pretty bad but that it looked like people were using. And then there would be one or two houses that looked reasonable, maybe with some ranch land attached to them. I really hate seeing these somewhat dead towns. I hope there aren't too many more coming.
Bob came out to talk for a little more this morning. He wasn't there when I checked in yesterday, so he didn't see my bike until this morning. It was his first view of a Bike Friday, and he seemed pretty interested in the trailer - and the fact that the bike folds. He must have a sailboat (or at least access to one) because he said he thought it would be a good bike for the boat. He said that his next bike purchase will probably be a recumbent. Bob is one of the daring airplane bike transport people. He told me that when he's taken his bike to Europe that he's removed the pedals, turned the handlebars, and put the fully assembled bike into a plastic bag supplied by the airline - and checked it like that. I've heard of people doing that, but I've always had a hard time believing that the bike will arrive in one piece - if the airline will even take it like that.
I saw one other cyclist today - heading west to east on the Transam, then heading up to Connecticut. He was from San Francisco. He quit his job, put everything in storage, and took off on his trip. We talked for quite a while. He told me that he sent 35 pounds worth of gear home from Denver. I asked him what he sent home - I'm planning on sending my cooking gear back once I get to Pueblo, and I'll go through everything else, but I don't think there's much else that will go back. He said he shipped his cooking gear, cold weather clothing, and other things like books and an atlas. We both laughed about the atlas - but I told him that I always have one or two books with me. I just leave them when I finish reading them.
He told me that he passed two groups ahead of me heading west. One was the Austrians - I knew about them yesterday. So they didn't make it to Eads yesterday, ended up camping on the side of the road or in a rancher's yard. There's also another group of 3. They must have passed me yesterday when I stopped for the day in Tribune. They also camped by the side of the road - didn't stop in Tribune because they wanted to get out of Kansas yesterday. They sounded a little crazy because they said they were going to try to get to Pueblo today. If they were just inside of Colorado this morning, that means a 150 or 160 mile day! That doesn't sound like much fun to me.
I saw a deer today just outside of Eads. It's the first one I've seen since I left Vermont. It was standing on the other side of the railroad tracks that parallel route 96. I stopped to try to get a picture, but the deer took off before I could get the camera turned on. What a beautiful animal - with a full rack. It was incredibly graceful as it ran off.
It will take me two more days to get to Pueblo. I'm planning to take at least one day off there, and there's a good possibility that I will take two because I think I may be close to the edge of exhaustion. I'm trying to get a good eight hours sleep each night, but that doesn't always happen. I'm still baffled by the days that I'm just not ready for sleep - it seems to me that I should just fall asleep as soon as I get off of the bike! That doesn't happen though.
I talked to my sister before I headed out for dinner tonight. She asked me what kind of restaurant I was going to, and I just laughed. This town has one motel, one restaurant, and one gas station / store. Not too many choices! Yesterday I had one choice for dinner, and this morning I had one choice for breakfast. Most of these no choice towns have diner-type restaurants which aren't bad. I've been eating quite a few fried fish sandwiches for dinner. I think I'm in a rut! That's another reason I wouldn't mind spending an extra day in Pueblo, a choice of food.
