Halfway Across
On July 17th I crossed over the route's halfway mark for a total of 2,121 miles and 82,280' vertical gain.
Sunday July 16th
Destination: 10 miles west of Canon City, Colorado
I climbed a total of 4400’ today but descended 6400’ using some of the elevation I put in the bank over the past few days. The first 15 miles from Silverthorne to Breckenridge were on one of the finest bike trails I’ve ridden. It went around Dillon Reservoir then through pine and aspen forests. The trail didn’t stick to a straight line but was curvy and rolling making it a lot of fun. The climb over Hoosier Pass wasn’t that hard since it is only about 3000’ higher than Silverthorne. We’ve been gradually gaining elevation for several weeks so the high elevations didn’t bother me. I’d like to be able to ride at sea level and see what difference the altitude training would make.
Tailwinds helped make the descent down the pass a real screamer. After the steep downhill ended the grade was gradually downhill and I made good time through Alma, Fairplay, and Hartsel. As I kept getting lower I could feel the air heat up and we’re now back in hot country, soon to be hotter. It was also interesting to see the vegetation change from alpine forests, to pine, to juniper and oak woodlands.
I talked with 5 other Transam riders: 2 from New York City, and a group of three from New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. Since we’re about halfway across the route I expect the west bound riders will dwindle soon.
We’re camped a few miles from Royal Gorge and will see it in the morning then head on toward Pueblo or beyond.
Mileage: 107/2041 Transam Riders: 5/25
Hoosier Pass
South of Hartsel, Co
Monday July 17th
Destination: Fowler, Colorado
Royal Gorge is a bit of a tourist trap but worth walking over the bridge which is 1000’ above the Arkansas River. I didn’t start riding until 9:30 which put me into the heat of the day, 100 degrees. The ride started with a steep descent and strong tailwinds for ten miles to Canon City. As with all tailwinds I bounce between optimism that it will last all day and pessimism that it will change into headwinds. Today the pessimist won and I had tough riding into strong headwinds for the last 50 miles.
Halfway to Pueblo I was expecting to get water in Wetmore but there were no businesses. When I asked at the Post Office the woman told me that the only store was two miles uphill in the wrong direction. She also said that the water in the building was not drinkable. It was 25 miles to go with no water and she must have seen my disappointment because she ended up giving me two bottles of ice cold water. I won’t complain about the price of stamps for awhile.
Jani met me in Boone but the only place to camp was the city park so we drove to nearby Fowler and are in an inexpensive but nice (cool) motel. I hope an early start will alleviate the heat and headwinds.
When I rode through Pueblo today it marked the halfway point for the Transam. Its finally starting to feel like I’m riding cross country. From now on the route will go more or less east. I enjoyed the early part in Idaho and Montana but its hard to feel like you’re riding to the Atlantic when the route zigzags all over the place.
Mileage: 80/2121 Transam Riders: 0/25
Post Office in Wetmore, Co
Tuesday July 18th
Destination: Kansas stateline
I got a 6AM start. It was beautiful in the early morning, 68 degrees with light winds. Breakfast was 20 miles out at the Sugar City Café. The owner of the restaurant is the waitress, cook, and dishwasher. She served up a very good breakfast with coffee for just under $4. Its nice to know that there still are places where it you don’t have to pay $20 for a meal.
After breakfast the winds picked up and I was able to ride the 60 miles to Eads before noon. Jani met me in town and we decided it was too early to stop. The problem was that it was almost 60 miles to the next town so I asked her to wait 2 hours then come find me. I’m glad I had her come by since the wind changed direction and was coming from the side or slightly in front. It was over 100 degrees and once again felt like standing in front of a blow drier. By the time I reached the Kansas state line I’d ridden 122 miles and enough was enough. We drove to Tribune, Kansas and are camped out in an air conditioned motel.
Tomorrow is supposed to be the hottest day of the week at around 106 degrees. After that its supposed to cool down to the 90’s. I don’t usually think of 90 as cool but it will be an improvement. Jani will drop me off at the state line and I’ll start riding where I left off this afternoon.
Mileage: 122/2243 Transam Riders: 0/25
Wednesday July 19th
Destination: Scott City, Kansas
This morning was great with a strong quartering tailwind. It was the easiest riding I’ve had yet with the wind, and a gravity assist from the very gradual downhill. Yes, like everyone told us, Kansas is flat but we find it interesting. Of course with a strong tailwind I’d find riding on the moon interesting. It took less than 3 hours to ride to Scott City but once again the wind started to shift direction and it was already hot by late morning so I’m taking a partial rest day.
Tomorrow I’m going to try an even earlier start and see how many miles I can ride by noon. Its hard to push on in the afternoon when I think about how much nicer it would be to ride in the early morning. We talked to three west-bounders from Virginia who have actually taken to riding at night. I’m not willing to go to that extreme but I understand the motivation. I also talked to a woman from Wales who is riding to the Oregon coast then south to LA.
Mileage: 62/2305 Transam Riders: 6/31
Headed to Scott City, Kansas
Sunday July 16th
Destination: 10 miles west of Canon City, Colorado
I climbed a total of 4400’ today but descended 6400’ using some of the elevation I put in the bank over the past few days. The first 15 miles from Silverthorne to Breckenridge were on one of the finest bike trails I’ve ridden. It went around Dillon Reservoir then through pine and aspen forests. The trail didn’t stick to a straight line but was curvy and rolling making it a lot of fun. The climb over Hoosier Pass wasn’t that hard since it is only about 3000’ higher than Silverthorne. We’ve been gradually gaining elevation for several weeks so the high elevations didn’t bother me. I’d like to be able to ride at sea level and see what difference the altitude training would make.
Tailwinds helped make the descent down the pass a real screamer. After the steep downhill ended the grade was gradually downhill and I made good time through Alma, Fairplay, and Hartsel. As I kept getting lower I could feel the air heat up and we’re now back in hot country, soon to be hotter. It was also interesting to see the vegetation change from alpine forests, to pine, to juniper and oak woodlands.
I talked with 5 other Transam riders: 2 from New York City, and a group of three from New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. Since we’re about halfway across the route I expect the west bound riders will dwindle soon.
We’re camped a few miles from Royal Gorge and will see it in the morning then head on toward Pueblo or beyond.
Mileage: 107/2041 Transam Riders: 5/25
Hoosier Pass
South of Hartsel, Co
Monday July 17th
Destination: Fowler, Colorado
Royal Gorge is a bit of a tourist trap but worth walking over the bridge which is 1000’ above the Arkansas River. I didn’t start riding until 9:30 which put me into the heat of the day, 100 degrees. The ride started with a steep descent and strong tailwinds for ten miles to Canon City. As with all tailwinds I bounce between optimism that it will last all day and pessimism that it will change into headwinds. Today the pessimist won and I had tough riding into strong headwinds for the last 50 miles.
Halfway to Pueblo I was expecting to get water in Wetmore but there were no businesses. When I asked at the Post Office the woman told me that the only store was two miles uphill in the wrong direction. She also said that the water in the building was not drinkable. It was 25 miles to go with no water and she must have seen my disappointment because she ended up giving me two bottles of ice cold water. I won’t complain about the price of stamps for awhile.
Jani met me in Boone but the only place to camp was the city park so we drove to nearby Fowler and are in an inexpensive but nice (cool) motel. I hope an early start will alleviate the heat and headwinds.
When I rode through Pueblo today it marked the halfway point for the Transam. Its finally starting to feel like I’m riding cross country. From now on the route will go more or less east. I enjoyed the early part in Idaho and Montana but its hard to feel like you’re riding to the Atlantic when the route zigzags all over the place.
Mileage: 80/2121 Transam Riders: 0/25
Post Office in Wetmore, Co
Tuesday July 18th
Destination: Kansas stateline
I got a 6AM start. It was beautiful in the early morning, 68 degrees with light winds. Breakfast was 20 miles out at the Sugar City Café. The owner of the restaurant is the waitress, cook, and dishwasher. She served up a very good breakfast with coffee for just under $4. Its nice to know that there still are places where it you don’t have to pay $20 for a meal.
After breakfast the winds picked up and I was able to ride the 60 miles to Eads before noon. Jani met me in town and we decided it was too early to stop. The problem was that it was almost 60 miles to the next town so I asked her to wait 2 hours then come find me. I’m glad I had her come by since the wind changed direction and was coming from the side or slightly in front. It was over 100 degrees and once again felt like standing in front of a blow drier. By the time I reached the Kansas state line I’d ridden 122 miles and enough was enough. We drove to Tribune, Kansas and are camped out in an air conditioned motel.
Tomorrow is supposed to be the hottest day of the week at around 106 degrees. After that its supposed to cool down to the 90’s. I don’t usually think of 90 as cool but it will be an improvement. Jani will drop me off at the state line and I’ll start riding where I left off this afternoon.
Mileage: 122/2243 Transam Riders: 0/25
Wednesday July 19th
Destination: Scott City, Kansas
This morning was great with a strong quartering tailwind. It was the easiest riding I’ve had yet with the wind, and a gravity assist from the very gradual downhill. Yes, like everyone told us, Kansas is flat but we find it interesting. Of course with a strong tailwind I’d find riding on the moon interesting. It took less than 3 hours to ride to Scott City but once again the wind started to shift direction and it was already hot by late morning so I’m taking a partial rest day.
Tomorrow I’m going to try an even earlier start and see how many miles I can ride by noon. Its hard to push on in the afternoon when I think about how much nicer it would be to ride in the early morning. We talked to three west-bounders from Virginia who have actually taken to riding at night. I’m not willing to go to that extreme but I understand the motivation. I also talked to a woman from Wales who is riding to the Oregon coast then south to LA.
Mileage: 62/2305 Transam Riders: 6/31
Headed to Scott City, Kansas
posted by Gary and Jani at 12:59 PM
1 Comments:
Gary,
Great stuff, it's a great read and looks like a great journey. I always wonder with your mind for numbers if you have been adding up all the hill climbs so that you know how many feet in elevation that you climbed in total by the time you get to the other coast. Just ascents, not descents, as they should be equal right?
Daz
Fishermans Bend
Australia
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