This was our first day starting in Colorado! Even though the landscape remained somewhat similar to what we had before, it feels good to say that we are really in a state of the West now. We got a warm welcome last night from mother nature when she was pouring rain, sending lightning, and large hail hit towns around our area. Luckily for us, the community center in Wray where we were staying had a cover for our van and we were not in one of the worst hit areas. We did bike through some of them though.
Ride Overview
Mileage: 88.8 miles
Elevation: +675 ft. / -574 ft.
Points of Interest:
Tales of the Trail
As we started off this morning, the question was whether or not to wear a rain jacket. Common sense would have said to take one because it was a little cooler and the chance of rain was saying that something could strike within the next hour, or well before we would hit the first rest stop. I will spoil the news right now that if you had stuck with the belief to wear or carry a rain jacket, you would have been rewarded; however, the rain did not come until just before the last rest stop of the day. Some of us gambled with the skirting rain and we were happy to not have the extra layer on. All that it meant was that we were a bit wet and muddy once we arrived in Fort Morgan at the end of the day.
Moving through this part of Colorado, we saw a ton of cattle farms and they stretched as far as the eye could see. There were hills in the distance that were grassy and some rock formations that were resembling something more out of the movie Cars. The roads stayed flat and the headwinds remained subdued which was very friendly to our bodies. Another friendly force acting on us was a strong brunch at a place called Mom’s Kitchen Cafe. We ate sandwiches, fries, tons of soda, pies (even their famous vinegar pie), and burgers. Honestly, a lot of us were feeling more lethargic after that stop, but a few miles into the next stretch, we were thankful to have full energy stores as we continued.
By the third rest stop, we were entering a town that had been hit hard last night from the storms. The roads had been flooded, trees were down or being taken down if they were on power lines, and the community looked to be out and supporting each other. These sights made us grateful for the place we had to stay and the position in life that we are all in right now. We would not want to be anywhere else and it feels good to be giving back to communities even if our rides each day don’t feel directly impactful.
The cafe there in Akron, Colorado was quaint and gave us all the remaining energy we would need for the last two stretches. This next one was where the rain finally hit. For a good 10 miles, we were in varied rain conditions and those who were at the back of the pack were not fond of all of the spray coming off of their forward teammates’ tires. For the last rest stop by the side of the road, the rain had just passed and we had the chance to dry off over our last 18.5 miles.
Tonight we are staying at the United Methodist Church here in Fort Morgan, Colorado and we were able to have showers donated by the church over at the Fort Morgan Fieldhouse. That is always a game changing realization to find out we have moved from not having showers to having them. It is nice to go to bed clean! We can feel the rest day coming tomorrow and are so excited to hopefully catch our first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains as we go to Boulder!
P.S.
Lauren has a very hard tire to get off and back on the rim when changing a flat. Also, Vedang made us do our best to take jumping photos which is why you will see a few.
