TransAm Day #28 Scott City, KS - Eads, CO
TransAm Day #28
June 22, 2018
Scott City, KS - Eads, CO
104 Miles
Ride Time 7:13 Hours
Tour Total Miles 2151
I slept reasonably well on the gymnasium floor at the Scott County Fitness Center. I got up at 3:30am, and in the darkness, badly stubbed my right middle toe. It bled, and I was pissed off. I paid $15 to stay at this crappy place, and it was ghetto compared to the athletic centers Steve G and I had visited in Virginia. For example, the light switch for the gym where I was sleeping was located up above the exit sign over top the office door. Only a giraffe like myself could reach it. More to the point the stupid two inch threshold to the gym. WFT? It really hurt and could have jeopardized my trip. I cleaned my wound and smothered it in Bacitraycin. It remains badly bruised, but it didn’t effect my cycling.
All my laundry was dry, as moisture evaporates quickly here. I packed up and was out the door by 4:15am. It was raining, which I didn’t expect. I hadn’t put my saddle cover on. I was wearing my rain jacket and leg covers, which would serve me well, wet or dry. There was some lightning in the sky, and because it was pitch black I couldn’t gauge the conditions. I set off regardless. It was still out. There was no wind!
Eileen had arrived last night at the fitness center while I was asleep. Her bike was in the lobby. Presumably she slept upstairs. There was lightning in the south west. I rode through a roar of frogs chirping. There were a few stars in the sky, and the big dipper was visible to the northwest. I was pretty confident that I wouldn’t get hit by the storm.
I rode down highway 96 in the pitch black and could see lights from a western town far in the distance. It was completely dark and flat to either side of the road, and seemed like I was riding on some sort of causeway across the sea. The 'town' in the distance was actually some sort of agricultural plant that smelled like poo. There was a long series of red blinking lights that I later realized was a wind farm.
After about thirty miles I rode into Leoti and had breakfast at Laws Feed Store in the center of town. They were just opening and had a gallery with craft items for sale in the front. I had the breakfast burrito, a fantastic fruit smoothie, an orange juice, and a coffee. I that it was wheat harvesting time, hence the special hours and all of the equipment I’d been seeing out on the road. I was told that the cutting machines come from Texas and work their way all the way up to Montana.
The wind was extremely favorable. I was able to average fifteen miles an hour. There was a new road surface as Jeff had promised. I couldn’t believe the riding conditions! I crossed into mountain time at the Greene County line about a mile west of Selkirk. I had forgotten to take this extra hour into account when coordinating festivities at the Colorado border crossing. The time change plus the favorable winds put me well ahead of schedule. I was so excited to reach the Colorado border, and I recognized the large wooden sign far in the distance. I stopped for photos and sticker tagging, and was attacked by nasty flies.
I noticed nearby glass insulators from the old communications lines on the inactive train line that I had been paralleling for two days. I decided that I wanted one. I went over and unscrewed a clear unblemished one. Then I decided I wanted a brown ceramic one. Later I decided I wanted a blue one and had to climb up a pole to capture two different varieties. The whole idea with cycling is to travel light. I don’t know why I have a penchant for collecting heavy things along the way. I realize these insulators can be found at any knickknack store, but my four have a special meaning because I’ve been with this railroad line for two days. I actually untwisted the wire from around the insulators and unscrewed them from their wooden posts. It was a part of American history.
I stopped at a gas station in Tribune for some Gatorade where I met east bound cyclists Greg and Allen who are riding to Gettysburg for a high school reunion. By 9:30am mountain time it was still overcast. These were perfect conditions for making good time. I was averaging fifteen miles an hour. It’s amazing to me how many birds live in the grasses of the prairie. Their ubiquitous calls seem to come from all around me but I see so few birds. They remained hidden in the grass.
Eastern Colorado seemed even flatter than western Kansas, if that’s possible. It is absolutely flat. The fields had been recently harvested so they’re just dirt. The landscape is completely empty. I could see the town of Sheridan Lake from ten miles in the distance because of it’s cathedral-like grain elevator. It was a long gap without services and I was hoping I could get some Gatorade.
I’m now at 4000 feet elevation. These are indeed the high plains. I got word from my Denver team that a big storm was rolling in. The Colorado celebrations were almost put on hold.
The winds were out of the south east which meant that when I urinated on the side of the road it didn’t blow back onto me like yesterday. There was now sage brush as far as the eye could see. I also noticed dessert gourds. I saw tumbleweeds actually tumbling across the railroad tracks. There were cactus.
I had were several episodes of biting flies. They would land on me and even bite through my jersey. I past a bleached out deer skeleton and put the skull in the middle of the white line to prank Steve. I arrived at the Hotel in Eads well before my Colorado welcoming team and had plenty of time to do laundry and take a shower.
Knock, knock on my door. It was my college friend Don with a cooler full of beer. Let the festivities begin! We watched the storm through the window. There were hail stones the size of walnuts. Poor Steve was still out in it. I went on Facebook and sure enough- he was live reporting the storm from a culvert underneath the railroad tracks.
After the storm passed, Don and I went for a drive in his golden vintage Porsche. Along the way we passed Steve coming into Eads.
The three of us later grilled steak out back of the hotel. We ate our meal in the lobby, where we met an eastbound racer from France. It was great to see Don!
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