When we last posted to the blog, we had just finished the Ozark mountain range in Missouri, looking forward to an extended spell of flat riding. Well, that's all finished now- we're now in Pueblo, Colorado, and can see the Rocky mountains from our window- a little bit daunting! Here's a rundown on what we've managed in the last week or so:
Day 22: Pittsburg, KS - Yates Center, KS (60 miles)
Day 23: Yates Center, KS - El Dorado, KS (65 miles)
Day 24: El Dorado, Ks - Hutchinson, KS (75 miles)
Day 25: Hutchinson, KS - Kinsley, KS (88 miles)
Day 26: Kinsley, KS - Garden City, KS (90 miles)
Day 27: Garden City, KS - Lamar, Colorado (107 miles)
Day 28: Lamar, CO - Pueblo, CO (122 miles)
Our first full day in Kansas was also our first full day of horrible weather- persistent rain all day, combined with strong winds meant we sacked off camping for the night, and only managed 60 miles into Yates Center. From there, we pedalled to El Dorado, where we stayed with the Monroe family, who we had met way back on day 6 in Wythville, Virginia- they kindly offered us a place to stay if we were ever passing through Kansas- an offer to kind to refuse! To tie this in to our trip, we decided to venture off the officical TransAmerica route, and followed Route 50 all the way from Newton, KS through to where we are now in Pueblo. This has made our route far more direct, and to be honest, it's not like we missed out on many sights in Kansas!
From El Dorado, we headed to Hutchinson, where we were planning on camping. However, as we were checking the map for directions to our campground, we were again offered a place to stay for the night- thanks to Jason and Kalene Nisly for confirming that people in Kansas win the most friendly people in America so far award!
Since Hutchinson, we have been gradually climbing uphill to Pueblo- we are now at just a shade under 5000 feet. However, the riding has not been especially tough- the main challenge has been just keeping going when there is really not much to distract you from the straight roads and flat farmland! The last couple of days have been our biggest two of the trip, as we tried to up our daily average- it's now up to 80 miles a day, meaning we have to hit 73 per day for the next three weeks to get to San Francisco on time in 50 days.
We've got the Rockies to start today, and there's no messing around- we have 25 miles of gradual uphill out of Pueblo before climbing up to 9000 feet today, followed by the highest point of the entire trip tomorrow- almost 12000 feet over Monarch pass! It's going to be a challenge, but we all feel in great condition to tackle it- a change of scenery will be nice at least!
Will post again soon- wish us luck! If you want to really show some support, don't forget this whole trip is for a very good cause: we are raising money for CLIC Sargent- a children's cancer and leukaemia charity back in the UK - donations to the cause can be made here
Hey, you're more than half way - it looks impressive. Hope you make it to San Francisco with days to spare. I have to admit to an alterior motive in following your blog - Daniel is in Arizona - David will know who I mean. I know you are going to try to hook up with him somewhere, but I don't know if it's feasible. On the map you are nearly due north of Arizona now. He is on an 8 day project, but will be back at Flagstaff around 02 Sept.
ReplyDeleteI had lunch with your mum today too, after walking the dogs on Sudley field.
Keep it up - Bring on the Rockies & hope the weather is kinder to you. Paddy
Congratulations Guys;
ReplyDeleteIt's been great to track your progress. Glad to have met you - enjoy San Fran before you depart for home, or come back to Westcliffe and ride here a bit - the weather has been ideal.
Paul Buckles
Westcliffe, Colorado
pvbuckles@juno.com