Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Living the life’ Category

Rain for a flooded river

Posted in Living the life on June 20, 2011| 4 Comments »

No mileage due to weather

A buck in "velvet" spends the day in a front yard of a home in Saratoga

When we came off the mountain this morning it was apparent we were not going to be able to ride. The weather was cold, rainy and windy, and was not going to improve much during the day, so we called off the ride. Anticipating better weather tomorrow, we’ll resume. The dedication for Eric Robbins continues tomorrow.

The North Platte River is at record flood stage and this town has the berms and sandbags to prove it’s readiness. Cold rainy weather is welcomed here, as that slows the melting of the snow pack in the mountains that feeds the river.

Holding the water back

There's still room to float a boat under the golf course bridge...maybe.

Read Full Post »

Music stuck in my head

Posted in Living the life, The mental challenge on June 14, 2011| 9 Comments »

Guffey, CO to Fairplay, CO

Friendly horn taps:1

Miles: 46

Total so far: 2,781

This was taken looking northwest from Currant Creek Pass 9,404 feet. The biggies are ahead.

One more image of Guffey - this little buck was casually watching me as I brushed my teeth

This is really tragic.  For the last three days or so I’ve had Bon Jovi’s, “Livin on a Prayer” lyrics running through my brain.  My daughter used to describe it as, “a song stuck in your head”.

So true.

I know a lot of people are praying for me, so in a lot of ways,  I guess I am living on a prayer, but this could be a record.  It’s even staying around during the windy times of day when my brain turns reptilian and all I can do is grind out the miles.  I’ve tried replacing it with another song, but that could be dangerous.  I have to pick the right one, or I may end up on a therapy couch somewhere complaining about John Prine songs.  I’ve tried poetry, but that’s not even close.

Today we finished our miles to Fairplay, Colorado in winds coming from the north-west at speeds of 35 miles an hour and gusts to 43.  We were, of course, heading north-west all day, so it was a bit of a grind.  We treated ourselves to a fabulous dinner at Mason’s High Country BBQ.  They do fine St. Louis style ribs, complimented nicely with their German rope sausage, smoked baked beans, and stewed fresh greens.  That’s good stuff.

The South Platte River near it's headwaters. Through the willows you can see the snow capped peaks ahead, but they blend well with the sky.

The north winds are bringing cold temperatures with it too.  First, let me state that Fairplay is right at 10,000 feet.  The snow capped biggies are right in front of us (naturally, they are to the north, from which the wind blows today).  We’ll tackle them tomorrow easy enough from this altitude, but it’s forecast to be 36 degrees when we exit our tents in the morning.  I won’t complain though because there is little chance of precipitation, and that’s a good thing when we crest Hoosier Pass tomorrow.

These are route markers for the Trans-Am. The #76 is from the year 1976. We've only seen two in Colorado, though we've seen several in Virginia on another ride.

There is an ongoing debate about prevailing wind direction — there are people who will steadfastly say that we are going the wrong direction, that the prevailing winds come from the west and north.  Folks who live in this part of the country are particularly vocal about it.  While that is true for most of the year, the prevailing winds are generally from the south during the warm summer months. I am confident they will return, but I am also confident the debate will continue.

Tatunga!

_______________________________________________________________

Tomorrow’s ride is dedicated to Samuel Sandoval

Samuel Sandoval

Samuel Sandoval was from Colorado Springs.  On July 31, 2004 he was on his way to Pueblo, Colorado on his motorcycle when he was stuck and killed by a hit and run drunk driver.

Read Full Post »

The other side of the mountain

Posted in Friends made on the road, Living the life on June 13, 2011| 7 Comments »

Royal Gorge, CO to Guffey, CO

Miles: 23

Total so far: 2,735

Looking back over the climb we had today - we are at altitude

We climbed to 8,600 feet today to arrive at Guffey, Colorado, a must-stop spot on the Trans Am.  Guffey is a little difficult to explain.  It’s a small town of about 35 residents, and they are an active bunch.

Bill Soux

We met Bill Soux, the local proprietor of Guffey Garage, curator of the Guffey Museum, and the owner of  the Guffey Antique Shop.  Bill rents buildings for anything from honeymoons to storage.  Bill hosts Trans-Am cyclists at the Guffey Historical Hostels, no charge, but a donation is requested.

The Guffey Garage - Bill says nothing of his is for sale, so don't ask

The cyclist hostel, our quarters for the evening

The kitchen - no lights, no gas, no plumbing, no problem

The bunk area

Bill is the originator of the Fourth of July Chicken Fly and several other community events.   the Chicken Fly is a competition that involves children pushing chickens out of a mailbox with a toilet plunger from a tower and measuring for the longest flight.  The record is some 185 feet, and it must be noted, no birds are ever harmed during the competition.  Proceeds from the event have contributed to the building of a fire station and a charter school.

Images from the Guffey Museum:

Fourth of July Chicken Fly advocate

I'm not sure how to explain much of what's here...

__

Bill Soux's certificate of appreciation for hosting cyclists in the original 1976 Bikcentennial

_______________________________________________________________

Tomorrow’s ride is dedicated to Lisa Lyn Swisher

Lisa Lyn Swisher

Lisa Swisher was a veteran of 4 years in the United States Marine Corps.  Lisa, a native of Aurora, Colorado, was killed by a drunk driver going the wrong way on a freeway on January 20, 2007.


Read Full Post »

Rocky Mountain return

Posted in Living the life, The physical challenge on June 12, 2011| 3 Comments »

Pueblo, CO to Royal Gorge, CO

Friendly horn taps: 1

Miles: 56

Total so far: 2,712

Last year Sallie wanted me to join her in Colorado and do an event called Ride the Rockies.  When we were discussing this, I suggested that we also do a ride called the Triple Bypass.  Ride the Rockies is in June and the Triple Bypass takes place in July.  We entered both and were successful in a drawing slots for both rides.

The Rockies were not visible until we got almost all the way to Pueblo. There has been a lot of haze in the sky from wildfires in Colorado and Arizona.

As it turned out, 2010 was the 25th anniversary of Ride the Rockies and to commemorate the occasion, they put together a route through the southwest corner of the state that covered seven days of some of the toughest riding imaginable.  At the conclusion of the ride, the staff apologized, and made an announcement to everyone that they wanted everybody to come back again next year and, “…it will be a long time before we attempt anything like this again.”

Coming to the fence to talk...

Having a visit

The Triple Bypass is nothing to sneeze at either.  It’s a one day ride of 120 miles over three very tough mountain passes.  We began the ride at 4:30 in the morning outside of Evergreen, Colorado, and concluded our efforts in Avon, Colorado after riding some ten hours.  We are now proud owners of the jerseys from those rides (that’s the equivalent of a trophy in the cycling world).  After all of that mountain riding, we also concluded that grinding it out on steep inclines for hours on end really doesn’t excite us too much.

Smoke from a new fire on the other side of the ridge from our camp. The evening winds are up, and that is not a help.

I thought a lot about that today as we were again grinding it out on some steep ascents back into the Rockies.  The difference this time is we have a destination, a purpose, and we’ve already proven ourselves for the task.  Yes, we’ll grind out some inclines, but this  won’t be for some twisted reasons associated with entertainment and athletic achievement like last year…or will it?

Our camp for the evening. Welcome back to the Rocky Mountains!

________________________________________________________________

Tomorrow’s ride is dedicated to Susan Kay Allen

Susan Kay Allen

Susan Kay Allen died at the age of 25 returning from a trip to get a Christmas tree on December 5, 1984.  Susan’s hometown was Breckenridge, Colorado.


Read Full Post »

Stroking out some miles

Posted in Friends made on the road, Living the life on June 8, 2011| 1 Comment »

Bazine, KS to Leoti, KS

Rude horn honks: 1

Friendly horn taps: 1

Miles: 93

Total so far: 2,442

Navigating Kansas - it's not difficult. The horizontal red line on the map section is our route, going right to left. No turns for a couple of days. Just go.

We confidently arose at 4:30 this morning, despite strong southerly winds.  The forecast had good things to promise, so we were game for the day.  Elaine fixed us each a fortifying portion of hot ten grain cereal, we packed up our gear and said our goodbyes to Elaine and Dan and thanked them for their kind hospitality at the Biker’s Oasis.

As promised, the winds died and we started out of Bazine.  The winds eventually re-kindled themselves, this time from the north, but then to our highest expectation they turned northeast, and we pushed out some significant mileage with a quartering tail wind.  Most of the journals I’ve read from riders going through Kansas have complaints about the winds, but there always seems to be a day when they can kick out some miles — today was our day.  93 miles down the road, we stopped at Leoti, Kansas for the night.

Kansas today

Not only were the winds favorable for riding due to their direction, because of the northern influence, cooler temperatures prevailed, so we were free of the 100 degree heat for the day.  All of this combined with a day off thee bikes yesterday, and the great hospitality from Elaine and her husband Dan, made for another terrific chapter in the ride we are truly grateful for.

Speaking of gratitude:  We’ve encountered another individual on this ride who has been leap-frogging us some and so we’ve seen him intermittently for the last 10 days or so.  This gentleman is from another country that I will choose not to identify because he is, by all measures, a seriously negative fellow and I think it unfair to paint his countrymen in that light.  In our very brief encounters with him, we’ve heard him complain about the snakes, the lack of a good steak, poor lodging choices in towns of less than 1,000 people, the performance of his own very expensive bike, and how much he paid for it, the wind (of course), the roads, the trucks, the lack of amenities provided in the city parks (where we are permitted to camp for free)…the list goes on.  In short, this poor fellow is having a miserable time.

The first time we saw him he rode by us as we were stopped to stretch without so much as a “hello” (it is customary on the Trans-Am for riders to stop and exchange greetings and riding information every time one encounters another). I believe that is the heart of the matter with this gentleman.  If we were to forfeit the pleasure of greeting others on this trip, we would miss 90 percent or more of the beauty we have found.  Yes, this is a gorgeous country, but the people are the rarity that makes all this work for us.

On the other hand, we have found great pleasure in meeting others, have tried our best to be open to what others have to say about things, and have purposely sought out the beauty in places where it may be often overlooked.  That is not to say we are perfect by any means – journeys like this take people to their (sometimes) ragged edges – however we’ve found great beauty and benefit and that is what touring is all about.

_________________________________________________________________

Tomorrow’s ride is dedicated to Justin Daniel Fujibayashi

Justin Fujibayashi

On December 4, 2008, Justin Fujibayashi of Valley Falls, Kansas was killed in a motor vehicle collision involving a drunk driver.  Justin was a husband and father of two children.  He will always be missed by his family and friends and everyone who knew him as a smart, thoughtful, funny man.


Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »