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Miles Ridden Today - 60.66 Average Miles per Hour - 15.15
Today was an historic moment in the Connor's Army Ride Across America annuls - Sarah rode solo with me for the very first time! However, before I get to that momentous occasion, I need to share with you a little of yesterday's foray into Pueblo.
We all survived the ordeal of the Night of the Black Scorpion and I'm hoping when we get the time to be able to post here the video of the kids screaming at decibels only discernable to our canine friends. And of course, this night of scorpions should not be confused with those nights back in my youth when I used to just hang in my room and LISTEN to Scorpions;
Ahhh, good times! But I digress.
We survived the night of sleeping with the scorpions and we headed out bright and early to explore the riverwalk area of Pueblo. Unfortunately, we were a bit too early and not much was open but since it was going to be a scorcher of a day that suited us fine. We walked along the river and then we came across dancing waters, which the kids just had to play in;
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| (Ahhhh, nothing like the feel of squishy underpants!!!!!) |
pedalled the dragon boat;
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| (H.R. Puffenstuff, where to turn when things get rough.....) |
Then we headed off to the sancity of the air-conditioned movie theatre (after first going to Walmart to get movie candy - its cheaper) to watch Brave. I have to admit, getting out of the heat and watching some quality animation was great. It also gave me a head start on research for the Scottish accent the kids will have to use for our fall show The 39 Steps. Especially in scenes like this;
I love the middle suitor - you can't understand a word he says. But the family and I had a great time at the movies and of course Amy and I cried at the end. This trip has really made us appreciate what wonderful children we have and while we are doing something wonderful for other people's children we are getting closer in so many ways to our own.
We also engaged in something that has become a summer ritual, one that we hope we can continue after we get home - we bough cupcakes and watched "Cupcake Wars". The kids have really gotten into the food channel and between this show, "Chopped", "Restaurant Impossible", and "Next Food Star" we've been keeping them watching good wholesome television all summer. Throw in the Summer Olympics which opens in eleven days and we've got a full plate of family entertainment.
Before we new it, it was time to go to sleep and dream of scorpion free environs. However, since we were all in our own little bunk beds (Amy slept with Sarah in the double and the boys and I each got a single bunk) we managed to get SOME sleep. Not as much for me but that was due to William moving around all night and shaking the bed.
I awoke bleary-eyed and tired but I also knew I would be riding on a relatively flat and short course today - only 60ish miles. I started out alone today because after Saturday's confusion in trying to navigate around Pueblo I didn't want to do that with Sarah in tow. But the big plan for today was for Sarah to join me as soon as the shoulders got wide enough so that she would be safe. I had made plans for Amy to join me about twenty miles outside of Ordway so Sarah and I could ride into town together. Since I was leaving at 7:00 and figuring on 15 miles an hour I knew Sarah would join me by 10:00 which would get us in around lunch time.
So after fumbling around in the dark for a while trying to be as quiet as I could be and stumbling over to the restroom (it's a campground so there are not facilities in the cabin) I got myself ready to go and headed out in the dark with the sun just beginning to peak up over the horizon. Part of why I waited until 7:00 was to make sure I could see what was going on around me. I traveled on the highway to the point where signage told me to exit and made it to a local McDonald's for breakfast (I needed coffee!). By the time I headed back out on the road it was after 8:00 but it was light, I was fed and the road would be flat.
And then I lost my way. I don't know how I missed the turn between my maps and GPS but I did so I went against the grain - I asked for directions. I have figured out that even though as a man I am genetically predisposed to not ask for directions, when you're riding a bike instead of driving that extra time can mean lots of extra distance so asking is better than pedaling extra miles! I asked a woman who was pulling into a convenience store (she probably thought I was going to mug her at 8:30 in the morning) and found I was only a few miles off course so I backtracked (I had missed the turn) and got back to the right place. After some moderate climbing to get out of Pueblo I was on the open road!
And it wasn't too far before I finally saw some fellow cross country cyclists! I've seen a lot of cyclists out commuting and training but very few that seemed as if they were loaded up and traveling. I chatted with one briefly and found the road was flat ahead and that Ordway was going to be an easy ride. At this point I was moving well and my average MPH was 18.65! Remember that number - we'll come back to it later.
I was having an euphoric experience enjoying the sights and sounds of the flora and fauna and even discovered wild melons!!!! I saw these softball sized green globes growing from vines on the roads and couldn't figure out what they were so at a bathroom break I opened one up. It wasn't ripe but I could tell it was a melon. Oh if it were only a few weeks later!!!!
A few miles further down I had the sight of a young coyote that was trailing me. I'm not sure if he was just curious or if he was stalking me (you know, less clothing, less to get caught in his teeth when he ate me) but after a while of keeping up with me he turned off and headed into the brush.
And then I looked back and saw the familiar sight of a black van with a blue tarp - Amy and the kids in Vannikan! It was time to do something that I have been looking forward to for a long time - ride with my daughter! Although you can see the photo of the two of us together, the most magic moment was this exchange I managed to record;
We also engaged in something that has become a summer ritual, one that we hope we can continue after we get home - we bough cupcakes and watched "Cupcake Wars". The kids have really gotten into the food channel and between this show, "Chopped", "Restaurant Impossible", and "Next Food Star" we've been keeping them watching good wholesome television all summer. Throw in the Summer Olympics which opens in eleven days and we've got a full plate of family entertainment.
Before we new it, it was time to go to sleep and dream of scorpion free environs. However, since we were all in our own little bunk beds (Amy slept with Sarah in the double and the boys and I each got a single bunk) we managed to get SOME sleep. Not as much for me but that was due to William moving around all night and shaking the bed.
I awoke bleary-eyed and tired but I also knew I would be riding on a relatively flat and short course today - only 60ish miles. I started out alone today because after Saturday's confusion in trying to navigate around Pueblo I didn't want to do that with Sarah in tow. But the big plan for today was for Sarah to join me as soon as the shoulders got wide enough so that she would be safe. I had made plans for Amy to join me about twenty miles outside of Ordway so Sarah and I could ride into town together. Since I was leaving at 7:00 and figuring on 15 miles an hour I knew Sarah would join me by 10:00 which would get us in around lunch time.
So after fumbling around in the dark for a while trying to be as quiet as I could be and stumbling over to the restroom (it's a campground so there are not facilities in the cabin) I got myself ready to go and headed out in the dark with the sun just beginning to peak up over the horizon. Part of why I waited until 7:00 was to make sure I could see what was going on around me. I traveled on the highway to the point where signage told me to exit and made it to a local McDonald's for breakfast (I needed coffee!). By the time I headed back out on the road it was after 8:00 but it was light, I was fed and the road would be flat.
And then I lost my way. I don't know how I missed the turn between my maps and GPS but I did so I went against the grain - I asked for directions. I have figured out that even though as a man I am genetically predisposed to not ask for directions, when you're riding a bike instead of driving that extra time can mean lots of extra distance so asking is better than pedaling extra miles! I asked a woman who was pulling into a convenience store (she probably thought I was going to mug her at 8:30 in the morning) and found I was only a few miles off course so I backtracked (I had missed the turn) and got back to the right place. After some moderate climbing to get out of Pueblo I was on the open road!
And it wasn't too far before I finally saw some fellow cross country cyclists! I've seen a lot of cyclists out commuting and training but very few that seemed as if they were loaded up and traveling. I chatted with one briefly and found the road was flat ahead and that Ordway was going to be an easy ride. At this point I was moving well and my average MPH was 18.65! Remember that number - we'll come back to it later.
I was having an euphoric experience enjoying the sights and sounds of the flora and fauna and even discovered wild melons!!!! I saw these softball sized green globes growing from vines on the roads and couldn't figure out what they were so at a bathroom break I opened one up. It wasn't ripe but I could tell it was a melon. Oh if it were only a few weeks later!!!!
 |
| (Yummmmmmm!) |
And then I looked back and saw the familiar sight of a black van with a blue tarp - Amy and the kids in Vannikan! It was time to do something that I have been looking forward to for a long time - ride with my daughter! Although you can see the photo of the two of us together, the most magic moment was this exchange I managed to record;
Before we knew it, we were in Ordway and pulling up to the Hotel Ordway, a lovely turn of the century hotel in the downtown area of Ordway, Colorado!
I won't say it was the speediest two and a half hours I had ever ridden but the rewards of rolling up to the van with my daughter leading the way was priceless. Remember that 18.65? Well, it was now down to 15.15! But, as I said - priceless!
We were both starving so we went to lunch at a great little place that had once been a Dairy Queen but was now relabelled as the Dairy King. It didn't matter, we chowed down on some great deep fried food and enjoyed every bit of it. It wasn't as good as the Navajo Tacos we enjoyed throughout Arizona but still pretty good. As we then checked into the hotel we went exploring and found a load of fun in the town park just across the street from the hotel - a mini water park with gushing fountains. Although I didn't partake, the kids had a blast;
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All of this frolicking was followed by spinning around on the swingsets (instigated by yours truly) which unfortunately caused William to lose his lunch - literally!!!! But being the mercurial one that he is he bounced back quickly and frolicked some more before lying back on the grass in total exuberant exhaustion;
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Well, time to hit the sack, Sarah and I have a lot of riding to do tomorrow!
And today's report;
FFL - 1 Deer, 4 Rabbits, 1 Skunk, 5 UFO’s
RRL - Toilet bowl, Complete Child’s Swingset
Stay well and I'll update more from the road!
For another perspective on our journey check out Amy's blog at http://www.crosscountrymama.blogspot.com//
To help us get the kids to Sunrise go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
Check out our website at http://www.connorsarmy.org/
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