DAY 15 -- FLAT is NICE
As soon as you are out of Pueblo things get real flat. So flat that the maps for the next 500 hundred miles do not even show elevation change anymore. That's fine with me, time to get some aero. I sent my wife the daily photo of the course I was going to attempt. Wasn't sure how far I would get today, there was wind on the forecast. Of course there is wind in the forecast, your in the prairies buddy. Peddling along the long straight roads the breeze was actually behind me this morning. I was making some good time despite the constant snot rockets and coughing. At least I didn't have a fever.
FORGOTTEN AMERICA
The ride would go through small towns that long ago had seen much better times. Even the miles of train track seemed unused with thousands of train cars/trucks parked on them rusting away. Nothing much happens out here it would seem. Up ahead was the happily called town of Sugar City and the map showed it as having a sandwich shop. That's good because there was nothing afterwards for at least 35 miles and it was hot and I mean stinking hot. And it wasn't even noon yet.
As I entered the dust bowl of Sugar City, I spotted a gathering of people all holding onto laundry hampers. There seemed to be a cheerfulness in the crowd. Maybe it's the town's BBQ and laundry day. I asked one of the ladies if they could tell me where the sandwich shop was. They both seemed puzzled and then eventually pointed to a derelict hut at the corner and said it had closed years ago. That's not good. I was dangerously low in provisions. I walked to the other side of the building and saw that everybody was coming out the other side with their laundry hampers filled with food. This was a Christian food hamper and these people were all getting free food. The preacher told me that once or twice a month he has enough donations to feed what seemed like at least half of Sugar City. That's when one of the ladies I was talking to earlier asked me if I liked raisins and gave me a package containing six boxes. What! I'm receiving charity from those that need it. I couldn't accept. She insisted and told me she wouldn't be eating them anyway. I accepted reluctantly and thank her profusely, and then the other lady gave me a pound of dried shredded dates.
These two angels had just given me the calories I needed to get out of town. This is the best photo I had of one of them as they pushed their walkers back to their little houses.
With about two pounds of dried fruit I headed out of town heading East. The sun was at high noon and it was hot and dry.
WATER WATER
Didn't get to far when I needed to top up my water and walked up to a house in a town of about five houses (Arlington) and knocked on the door. Young fellow in full cowboy regalia greeted me and called out to his mom and shouted "one of them biker people wants to use our hose". He then stepped out side with his lasso and started practising on a drum in the backyard. Long sleeve shirt and tight jeans with cowboy boots, I didn't understand why he wasn't busting a sweat. I looked on as I stood under the hose until the water got cool and I was drenched and salt free. With three bottles full, I decided to just rest in the shade for an hour or so and let that sun move on a little. I could see on dot tracker that several riders where pushing through the afternoon heat. They would pay for that later.
I found some shade, a picnic bench and an outhouse by the side of Highway 96 and called it my siesta haven. By the stickers on the outhouse and bench, I could see that I wasn't the only one to have stopped here. I had eaten one box of raisin and would soon finish two more. Found an old, liquified Snickers at the bottom of one of my bags and slurped that up with some water. Now I'm ready to nap the heat away.
The rest was good and I felt ready to push on. The next town of Haswell about 12 miles away promised a gas station. The wind was light and got there fairly quickly. But, the gas station was closed. Luckily the only vending machine in town was operational. As I am shoving bills into the machine, I notice cut out pieces of the same map that I am using on the bench near by. I would discover eventually that John was leaving these map pieces as he completed each section. There was no water taps around the gas station so I wondered into the few streets of this town in search of water. Finally found a spigot in somebodies yard and filled up, and then all of a sudden the wind turns 180 degrees and triples in strength.
The next 20 miles that just moments ago I could have been done in 90 minutes, now was going to take 3 hours or more. The grasses in the picture don't do the wind justice, but it's blowing.
It was a hard push to Eads, especially since I was looking at those grain towers very very slowly grow on the horizon for about an hour. Finally in Eads, I knew that this would have to be the stop for the day, especially since the map had a warning that stated that services over the next 58 miles were 'very' limited. 'Very limited', isn't that what the whole day has been about, and it's going to get worst. Yikes.
Eads had a restaurant named after me so of course I needed to stop there. And I was able to get a cheap room ($40 bucks) at the run down motel in the back. My door did not close, but I didn't care. A little undernourished, I ate two meals that night and the manager happily told me that she would open at 5 AM to serve bikers. There were about six east-west bikers eating away and chatting very cheerfully. I joined in some chatter with them to discover that they had just met here today as they cruised across the US. I wish I was as cheerful as them.
I had eaten all my raisin that afternoon. I never eat raisins. The dates hate turned to mush in the heat and didn't dare eat those. I wasn't sure how so many raisin in my gut would react -- luckily, I was able to process safely. The miles covered today was a disappointing 114.