High Plains

All day yesterday I had been scanning the horizon trying to get a glimpse of the Rockies, which are supposedly visible from over 100 miles away. It was a bit hazy, so I never saw anything. Then, walking to dinner (at the truck stop/conveience store, the only place open in Ordway on Sunday), we looked westward and voila! the Front Range was clearly visible. From Ordway, about 80 miles away, they did not look too imposing. I'm sure that will change.

Rockies barely visible in the distance. From just outside Ordway, ~80 miles away

Getting closer

This morning we ran into a couple of cyclists at the hotel. They were headed east from Grand Junction, headed for Ohio. They warned us of what is in store for us as we head up and over Monarch Pass (that will happen Wednesday). Tom tried to lift one of their bikes but gave up before he could get it off the ground! Hopefully our lighter load will make it a bit easier for us.

We did our usual routine when we are in a place with no free breakfast. That being: we shop the night before for breakfast food, as well as snacks for the next day's ride. Breakfast usually consists of oatmeal (using hot water from the coffee maker in the room), bananas, yogurt, OJ, and coffee. Our snacks are usually peanut butter sandwiches, and maybe some fruit, cheese, or crackers. We have found that we prefer eating real food over bars and gels.

Our ride today was pretty straightforward. We had about 55 miles of flat or gently rising terrain to Pueblo, into a moderate headwind. We hit US-50 about 10 miles east of Pueblo and it was a bit of a shock to be back among all the traffic and strip malls after the last week of emptiness.

The veterans' memorial in the park in the tiny town of Boone, CO

We wound our way through busy Pueblo, where we crossed I-25, our eighth major north-south interstate (I-95, I-85, ..., I-25). We stopped for lunch at a Safeway in Pueblo West, which was hot and busy (the town, not the store).

After that the traffic thinned out and we wound our way through moderate ups and downs to Florence, our destination for the day. We were doing 2-mile pulls, and it seemed that every time it was my turn we'd hit a downhill and every time it was Tom's turn we'd hit an uphill. My lucky day, I guess.

On US-50 we could see a huge plant in the distance. It turns out that CO-120, which is the road to Florence, goes right through the plant, which is a big Cemex cement plant. We had to navigate a few big trucks in the vicinity of the plant, but it all worked out.

Other than this giant plant, this was basically a country road

Florence is a cute little town, right in the foothills of the mountains, at 5180 feet. I'm elated because for the first time in days we have multiple options for dinner, some of which seem rather appealing. I think we are leaning toward the Thai Sushi.

The hotel is an eclectic little place called the Riviera Motel. When I checked in the owner gave me the key and all the usual instructions. And then she added: "if you want to use cannibis, please do it in the room, because there are lots of kids out and about." Yup, we're in Colorado.

Not exactly the French Riviera... but cannabis friendly

Today: 84 miles, from Ordway to Florence.