Distance: 30.6 mi, Climbed: 630 ft
Completed: 2,259.8 mi, 105,406 ft
With temperatures expected to approach 100 degrees—and even hotter out on the open road—Rich and I knew this was a day to get an early start. We were riding by 7:00 AM, hoping to stay ahead of the heat. Thirty miles was the plan, and with each hot day, I can feel us becoming a little more acclimated to riding in these conditions.
We headed due west on a long, straight highway with the rising sun directly behind us.
One thing I am going to miss about Kansas is their middle-of-the-road rumble strips. Drivers routinely move into the oncoming lane to give cyclists plenty of room, and the rumble strips let us hear them coming before they pass. It’s such a simple safety feature, but one we’ve really come to appreciate.
As we pedaled on, I found myself paying closer attention to the rhythm of farming. Some fields were still bare, with remnants of last year’s crop, while others were lush and green, depending on what had been planted and when.
Wheat dominates the landscape here in Kansas. The “amber waves of grain” really are as beautiful as the song suggests. The fields stretch so far in every direction that they almost seem to curve with the horizon.
Just eight miles into the ride, we passed another milestone, climbing above 4,000 feet in elevation. This slow climb through Kansas has been getting Rich and me ready for one of our biggest challenges for this entire trip—bike riding through the Rocky Mountains.
We did it! We made it to Colorado!!! This is our twelfth state! Woo hoo! Colorado knows how to welcome visitors. We were greeted with a large “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” sign as we crossed the border. Rich was particularly excited to reach Colorado as he loves the mountains. I can hardly believe that we are so far west on this trip. Amazing!!
Crossing the state line, I expected the scenery to change dramatically, but at first, it looked remarkably similar to western Kansas. There were still expansive fields, towering grain elevators, and long freight trains waiting to carry the harvest across the country.
One difference became apparent almost immediately. Colorado…you need to step up your road maintenance! The roads in Kansas were immaculate. Beautiful blacktop with wide shoulders. The roads in Colorado have tiny shoulders and are littered with cracks. Every ten feet or so, we would feel the thumpity thump of going over the divots in the road.
Near Plainview, Colorado, we passed an enormous Weskan Grain Company facility, where a mile-plus-long Burlington Northern Santa Fe train sat waiting to be loaded.
As we are not from the farm, we always enjoy watching enormous John Deere equipment making their way toward the fields.
The early start definitely helped us stay ahead of the worst of the heat. What we couldn’t escape, however, was the wind. Strong crosswinds buffeted us for much of the morning, and there were times when it took all my concentration just to keep my bicycle traveling in a straight line.
By late morning we reached Sheridan Lake, Colorado—a town of fewer than fifty residents.
Stuart, a bicycle tourist we met earlier in the trip, told us about Pastor Jim and the Sheridan Lake Bible Church. Jim and his wife, Pam, are avid cyclists who have welcomed TransAmerica riders for years by opening their church to weary travelers. After riding through the heat and wind, it felt like an oasis. There was a full fridge and pantry set aside for cyclists, with places to rest and even a pop-up shower outside that used a garden hose. Rich and I appreciated the thought behind it, although we decided to skip what would have been a very cold shower!
We also met Dale, a cyclist from Oregon riding the TransAmerica route from west to east. Unlike us, Dale is navigating with Adventure Cycling’s printed paper maps instead of the online version. His wife enjoys cycling too, just not quite this many miles. Since Dale is camping almost every night, she prepares homemade meals, freeze-dries them, and mails them ahead each week so he’ll have home-cooked dinners along his route. I thought that was such a thoughtful way for them to share in this adventure together.
Before settling in for the evening, Pastor Jim asked if we would all pray together. On a journey like this, where weather, traffic, and countless other unknowns are part of every day, prayers are always appreciated. Rich and I are so grateful to Jim and Pam for opening both their church and their hearts to the thousands of cyclists who have passed through Sheridan Lake over the years.
After making the microwave noodle dinners we had packed, Rich and I stepped outside to enjoy a beautiful sunset on one horizon and the moon rising on the other.
Then, we inflated our sleeping mats and unrolled our sleeping bags on the church floor. If I’m going to break out my camping gear, this is definitely my favorite way to do it—indoors!
