End of the Western Express

Today we made it to Pueblo, Colorado and finished the Western Express route. From here, we’ll get on the Transamerica route. Ideally, we would have taken the Transamerica route the whole way, from Oregon to Virginia. Unfortunately, based on the time of year we were starting our trip, we were unable to do the full Transamerica route. We would have crossed the Rockies farther North, and we were worried at this time of year that the weather would make the Rockies impassable. So instead, we started in San Francisco, on a MUCH more challenging route. But we finished it! With the help of Mike and his support vehicle. Without him, I don’t think we would have made it this far.

On paper, today was a miserable day. We rode the longest distance we’ve done in a day so far, we had a lot of climbing, and it was cold and raining for the first 50 miles. But actually, it didn’t really bother me at all. Today was a totally fine day, even with the terrible weather.

Most days I’m aware of the time, the distance I’ve traveled and the distance I still have to travel, and how much climbing I have left. Today, I decided not to think about any of that and just ride my bicycle. And it was nice.

Apart from the cold rain. That was very cold. And wet. My feet were so cold I’m confident if I took them out of my shoes and socks and put them in an ice bucket instead, I would be unable to perceive a difference.

My “waterproof” gloves are terrible. Mike’s “waterproof” gloves are terrible. So every hour or so I would swap the pair I was wearing and put the wet pair on the heater in the van.

Eventually it did stop raining and started to warm up. We had a very long descent into Pueblo. We’re staying at and AirBnB North of the downtown area. For dinner we biked to a brewery on the Riverwalk.

Highlights

• finished the Western Express
• good food and beer for dinner
• I saw a very chubby prairie dog. Or gopher. Either way, it made me happy to see.

Lowlights

• the first 50 miles were very cold and very wet
• I almost ran over a bird. And then the truck next to me almost ran over the same bird. Blessed with the gift of flight and this bird chooses to cross the road six inches above the ground

Julie’s food

• Breakfast: oatmeal and coffee
• First Snack: Clif bar
• Second Snack: Clif bar
• Lunch: almond butter on bread, Gatorade, potato chips
• Dinner: vegan huevos rancheros

Stats

• Total distance: 84.34 miles
• Elevation gain: 4,624 feet
• Weather: Cold and raining, high of 73 degrees Fahrenheit