September 9-12 Last Chance 1200 - Day 3

Ride Day 3:
Atwood KS to Byers CO - 179 Miles
Profile:
Climbing: 4,163 Feet
Descending: 1,857 Feet

Dennis was back up and on the road by midnight local time. I managed to get a little more sleep and was back on the road near 2:30 AM local time.

I felt much better having food in me. The weather was much better, with no fog. We were going to have a hard day ahead. Wind forecasts were 20-30 mile per hour winds out of the north, north-west and perhaps north-east.

I headed out alone, enjoying the solitude and the scenery. Many riders were complaining about how ugly the prairie was. I totally disagreed. No there are no snow capped mountains or ocean views. There are practically no trees anywhere. The prairie held its own beauty. I could look maybe seven to ten miles in any direction and see the vastness of the prairie, the rolling hills, some cattle, and on a clear night, ten thousand stars. It was beautiful, open and unspoiled.

I reached St. Francis mile 511 a bit before sunrise. The Sinclair gas station had just opened and Randy and Dave were there. I had my card signed, and asked what the woman behind the counter was making. Breakfast burritos was her reply. I bought one and a coffee. I think this was the first coffee I have ever bought. It was cold outside and I needed some caffeine. I inhaled the burrito and drank half the coffee when Tom Russell on his Ti-Aero recumbent rolled in.

I bought a second burrito for the road and Tom and I headed out together. I could not keep up on the slight hills and let Tom disappear into the distance. It was sad as I so rarely get to ride with other recumbents. I guess the answer is for me to get stronger so I can keep up.

The Colorado state line was at mile 525. I wished I had my camera with me as I missed both opportunities to take the state line picture. I pulled into Idalia’s little grocery store, mile 540 and had my brevet card signed. I ate the spare burrito I had been carrying and refilled bottles again. The wind had picked up to the point the tumbleweeds were flying across the road from north to south. There was no dodging the tumbleweeds, you kept pedaling through. Next came several dust storms. The wind had picked up the soil and was blowing it across the prairie. You could see the wall coming and had to squint your eyes for protection. Several of the brevets in St. Louis this year were exceptionally windy, so that ended up being good preparation. I was very glad it was a cross wind and not a full on headwind.

At Mile 575, I pulled back into the little town of Cope. I checked out the offerings and ended up eating a burrito and a bowl of chicken soup. I was refilling bottles when Mark Thomas and several other riders pulled in. I chatted for a few minutes then headed off.

It was mid afternoon when I pulled into Anton’s general store. Several other riders were there as were two people (a young man and woman) who where cycling from New Orleans, up through parts of Missouri, the KATY Trail then Highway 36 to Denver. They were covering the roughly 1,600 miles in five weeks. They were closing in on the last miles and hoped to finish the same day. I warned them that there was no water, no bathrooms, no vending machines for the next 55 miles to Byers and they needed to stock up before they left.

Randy and Dave took good care of my again and I was rolling after eating a turkey sandwich and drinking a 7-Up.

As this was the hilly leg, again, I just reminded myself that as I crested each hill, that was one more hill checked off, and one less hill I had left to climb. Riders were passing me on a downhill (42 mph) when I crossed a bridge and had my first and only flat tire. I pulled over and took my rear wheel off and quickly had a new tube installed and inflated. A passing rider asked if I needed any help and I said yes. I asked that he hold the bicycle up while I reattached the wheel. I then put my bags back on the bike and was off again. Several riders waited while this went on. They were gone quickly as their climbing ability was superior to mine.

I crested the final hill and could see the long downhill leading me to Byers. I stopped briefly to stretch my feet as I had another bout of hot foot. I turned my lights on and rolled down. I reached Byers around 7:40 PM. Dennis had decided to ride through the night and left around 6:20 PM. I sat in the group hotel room feeding my face with wonderful grilled sandwiches and fruit. Randy and Dennis had gotten me a room, on the second floor. How nice…. stairs. After a shower and more food, I was in bed and fast asleep.


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