Working for our Rest Day

The Arkansas River (yeah, I know...)

Day 14  -  Salida to Colorado Springs, CO  -  100

It seems that the TransAmerica caught wind of the generous accommodations we've been receiving from the kind host families we have met along the way.  In retaliation, today's ride seemed to say, "So you thought this was going to be easy, huh?  Let's see what you guys are really made of."  "Well, Mr. Trip Across America, you saw what we were made of today, when we conquered the 100 miles of sheer humiliation to our rest day destination of Colorado Springs.  You can take your headwinds and scorching sun and unexpected inclines and just consider them defeated."  For those folks back at home, don't let the TransAm hear this, but we will be spending the better part of Saturday and Sunday morning recovering from the broken state today's ride left us in.

Waking up comfortably at Zack & Robin's, we casually made some oatmeal, with yogurt and bananas, and jumped on the road.  The curvy, beautiful canyon did not have a large shoulder, but we were both careful to alert one another of passing cars and occasional wildebeest (just kidding.  No wildebeest today.)  It was not long before we found ourselves at a rest stop, and then unexpectedly careening down a huge decline into our mid-day stop of Canon City.  "Uh-oh," was the simultaneous exclamation, because we both well know that you have to earn your descents with an equally punishing incline.  We pushed the thought out of our minds, in order to enjoy our lunch break, and found a cool coffee shop where we devoured p.b. & banana sandwiches, cheese and grapes.  

left to right: Ethan (the future touring cyclist), Zack, Robin, Aaron, and Les

A fun descent into Canon City (pronounced "Canyon City"--the middle "n" has a spanish tilde adding the "y" sound)

After contacting our host in Colorado Springs, settling the arrangements for the night, we pressed on, fearing the next few miles, as we pulled ourselves out of the canyon we got ourselves into.  But first, we stopped at a DollarTree and picked up some essential road-food treats: honey (to sweeten up the peanut-butter), trail mix (to replenish our emergency food), and fig newtons (weighing in at a whopping 70 calories per cookie - we burn about 500 calories per hour; 8 fig newtons ought to do the trick), and pound cake (just for kicks!).  Then the punishing TransAm wielded its power over nature and opened up the cloud cover just in time for a 2-inch nail to lodge itself snugly in the back tire of Randy (the touring bike les rides).  We spent 30 minutes patching the thing, only to have the tube reject the glueless super-patch, when the air pressure reached its typical psi.  So, off with the tire and on with the patch-less spare tube.  Finally, we were on the road again.

$1 pound cake--(its 1,000 calories as a whole!)

les examines the problem

See the culprit? A NAIL!

At that time, John, our host for the night, called and asked when we might be expected in the area, as his wife was preparing taco salad.  "Taco salad!"  I don't think Aaron and I have ever cycled with such heart before (or, rather, riding with our appetite).  John, a touring cyclist himself, also mentioned that he wanted to ride out and meet us, to 'bring us on home,' if you will.  How cool!  He told us to call him when we pass the bug museum, which will be 'after the second hill.'  The bug museum seemed amusing; the hills did not.  And in fact, they were not.  We rode for quite some time, climbing multiple hills, while I (Les), felt extremely guilty for misunderstanding John's description of the exponentiating 'two hills,' and promising Aaron that, "It's just over this next one, I bet you."

Miles later, we are flying down a much needed backside of a hill, when we spot a cyclist coming up the other way.  We offer the usual wave and shout out, when the guy throws up his arm and calls out, "Les?!"  John had found us, which was good news.  The sad news, we still had 15 more miles to go...and a few more hills.  Ughh. The best news, John is not a small man, which means that he leaves quite a draft trail behind him.  Did we take advantage of that?  Yes.  John kept mentioning that we were pushing him so hard with our quick cycling.  Really, I don't think he realized how much edge he was taking off of this evil headwind that was out to attack poor little Aaron and les, who were just trying to get to their rest day destination.  

John leads our weary bodies home.  Les is doing the smart thing by drafting, while Aaron was too excited about the fact that there was someone else to block the wind!

A little under an hour later, with another century under our belt, we unloaded the gear from our bikes and loaded our stomachs with the tastiest taco salad this side of the Rockies.  After some cross-country tour-talk, a bowl of ice cream and a few cookies, we headed off to bed and didn't really plan on waking up until Sunday.  We earned tomorrow's rest day, and have the pain to prove it.

A classic shot