Rusty Crank Coast to Coast Bicycle Tour across the USA on the ACA TransAM Route

TransAm Day #28 June 22, 2018 Scott City, KS - Eads, CO 104 Miles Ride Time 7:13 Hours Tour Total  Miles 2151 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180622-0416-92501 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 pa...

TransAm Day #29 June 23, 2018 Eads, CO - Ordway, CO 65 Miles Ride Time 5:21 Hours Tour Total  Miles 2213 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180623-0723-62155 I slept great last night at the Cobblestone Inn after fourteen thousand beers. I only wish that Steve and Don hadn’t gotten up so early. Early meaning 6am mountain time which I guess was 7am central, and far from the 3:30am regimen. Still, I could have used more sleep. I stayed up really late with Don drinking beer and talking about old times. He’s got a really sharp memory and is able to remember the details of a lot of old stories, some of which it'd be better if he forgot. The three hungover boys had breakfast in the hotel lobby. I made myself a waffle. Afterwards we said our goodbyes and Steve and I were on the road. It felt appropriate to be wearing my Bouré cycling sweater from Durango Colorado. I bought it in 2009 to console myself after my father died. This is it’s fir...

TransAm Day #30 June 24, 2018 Ordway, CO - Pueblo, CO 51 Miles Ride Time 3:31 Hours Tour Total  Miles 2264 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180624-0657-57117 Steve and I went to the bar in Ordway last evening which was a genuine western saloon. The bartender reminded me of the cowboy in ‘The Big Lebowski’. The barstools were made out of 2 x 4’s and looked like squat lifeguard chairs. We asked the bartender if we could bring our bikes into the bar to weather out the storm. We leaned them against the wall near the pool table. He said that it wouldn’t rain and that they only got wind around here. Sure enough he was right. It never rained, but boy was it windy- all night long. There were water fountains for kids to play in at the park, but no showers or sinks to wash my clothes. I didn’t bathe, do laundry, or even change my outfit. We camped under the pavilion in the city park, where I strung up my hammock. It was extremely windy, and th...

TransAm Day #31 June 25, 2018 Pueblo, CO - Guffey, CO 84 Miles Ride Time 7:56 Hours Tour Total  Miles 2348 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180625-0618-39204 I slept really well last night at the Courtyard Marriott in Pueblo. I had an amazing shower, shave, and laundry, and then Steve and I decided to get something to eat. We went to Brues Alehouse, located in an old police station and jail. It was close to our hotel, and the area was really nice. It’s located on a canal (that locals refer to as a river) which featured boat rides. We enjoyed our lunch and then the #Transgang showed up, along with Eileen’s friend Rollie from Denver, and Scott’s parents from Philadelphia. Kyle had Instagram friends there as well. We drank beer and other libations and had ourselves a festive time. Steve was in a hurry to get to a dispensary so he ran ran his errand while I stayed behind with the others. When Steve got back we decided to go to the Shamrock...

TransAm Day #32 June 26, 2018 Guffey, CO - Alma,CO 55 Miles Ride Time 5:37 Hours Tour Total  Miles 2401 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180626-0638-44529 I slept well last night on the lower bunk in the back of Bill’s charming shack. I forgot the name he gave the place. Steve met me at the Blue Moose last night right before closing. He had cell phone service but I didn’t. Good thing for WiFi.  At 6am, when I got up, it was 48 degrees out. I was on the road shortly after 6:30. I took more pictures of Bill’s creations before leaving. I neglected to mention that Bill is featured in the book ‘Weird Colorado’. Apparently my friends Robin and Duke were recently in Guffey visiting Bill.  I had to dig out my long finger gloves and down vest. I waisted time stopping to put this stuff on and then later take it back off. My leg warmers, Bouré sweater, and rain jacket shell have now become standard in the morning.  I can ...

TransAm Day #33 June 27, 2018 Alma, CO - Breckenridge, CO 16 Miles Ride Time 1:20 Hours Tour Total  Miles 2416 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180627-0629-47333 I slept well last night in my tent under the pavilion in the city park in Alma. The river water was too cold, so I neither bathed nor washed my clothes. I woke up a little before 6am, and packed up my tent, air mattress, and gear. Thanks to my extension cord I had the luxury of electric power inside my tent last night. There was an email this morning from ATT about my having gone over my data limit. That’s confusing, because I have an unlimited data plan. I must not have read the small print.  First thing out of Alma, I began the climb up Hoosier Pass. It was about a six mile gradual uphill with a crappy two inch wide shoulder with a six inch drop off to the right. Cars wizzed by at fifty-five miles an hour. Come on Colorado- you could do better, really. Adding to the f...

TransAm Day #34 June 28, 2018 Breckenridge, CO - Kremmling, CO 63 Miles Ride Time 4:27 Hours Tour Total  Miles 2478 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180628-0924-35256 Yesterday after filing my report, I went to the Breckenridge Brewery, which had been highly recommended by my Denver team. After dinner and a couple of Avalanche Amber Ales, I got a text from TransAm Gangstas Eileeny Beanie and Scotty Potty. They had just arrived in Breck, and were looking for a place to stay. I offered a sleepover in my hotel room. They got calzones, I picked up beer, and we beelined it to my hotel’s hot tub.  I slept great in my king-sized bed. My friends slept on the floor, and I had to remember not to step on them in the middle of the night. Our bikes and gear were strewn about the room. Scott left his stinky shoes out in the hall.  I swapped my jerseys this morning. I had been wearing Brooklyn for a long time, and it needed a rest. I ...

TransAm Day #35 June 29, 2018 Kremmling, CO - Walden, CO 80 Miles Ride Time 6:13 Hours Tour Total  Miles 2558 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180629-0716-07146 I want to begin by apologizing to my traveling companions for the language I used last night when the lawn sprinklers went off. I have previously described in this journal how I sleep in my hammock, comparing it to a human sushi roll. Starting in my Merino wool boxers, I enclose myself within a silk bag liner, which is then enveloped by a down sleeping bag, all of which is carefully balanced on a narrow nylon hammock, which is then wrapped with insect netting cinched shut with draw strings on both ends.  Last night I was all comfy in my cocoon, and had been laying there for at least an hour. I was either in dream land or close. It was completely dark out. All of a sudden I’m being sprayed with water from lawn sprinklers. I was like a fish caught in a net. I couldn’t figu...