Week 3

Shiprock to the Wines of SanJuan Turley Blanco NM
We packed up and got going a little later this morning we stopped in Farmington NM to see if we could get new clips for Harv's shoes, the bike shop is closed on Mondays. We were a ways off hwy 64 and had wandered a bit, so were surprised to see Sea to Sea people when we got back to the route. We found out later that they had enjoyed a stop at McDonalds or Dairy Queen while we were cycling the busiest streets of Farmington. Tonight we are staying at The Wines Of San Juan. Beautiful huge cottonwood/poplar trees. Flowers planted in found objects. A lesson in wine making and a tasting. We went for a swim in the irrigation ditch. Water so cold it numbed you. Very refreshing. Our team the blue team is sweep team tonight till tomorrow night. Tonight we were responsible for setting up the tables for supper, helping put out the meal, serving the meal, washing up the pots and pans and making sure there is water in basins so others can wash their dishes. Tomorrow we have the same responsibilities for breakfast plus have to help clean the grounds and load the gear truck, we used to have the task of making sure all cyclists were in off the road ( hence the name "sweep team"), but now they have a vehicle on the road for that.

Tuesday. What made Tuesday so bad? I can remember the hills, the busy road with many, many white dually pickups with the name of some oil co. or oil pump service co. on the side, no shoulders, Harv telling me in subtle and not so subtle ways that I should go faster or we wouldn't get in till 4 pm. Hmm, I decided to SAG in (load up the bike and ride the van in). Harv got in at 5. Many people said it was the hardest day so far. We stayed in Chama NM at the Little Creel resort (more of a campground), the most memorable thing about it was my mat and sleeping bag.

On Wednesday we cycled from Chama to Alamosa CO. Well I should say most of the Sea to Sea riders did, I helped with the SAG till the 30 mile mark because of the 15 mile climb up and the 15 mile steep descent to get over the LaManga pass. The rest of the ride was downhill into Alamosa CO we spent the night at the Rec Center.

Thursday we rode to Poncha Springs CO. We traveled US 285N a straight road through a wide valley with tall rolling hills on either side, at the end of the day we climbed out of the valley with a 25 mile gradual climb over the 9,000 ft elevation Poncha pass then a steep 5 mile descent along a river into Poncha CO. Speeds of over 50 mph were reported, not by me, I reached the top speed of 21 mph. Harv said he waited for me for half an hr. at the bottom. In defence of slow descents - I noticed the river rushing over the rocks. It was either the Arkansas river or a tributary. We spent the night at the Chaffee County Fairgrounds, the toilets weren't too bad but the showers in the back of the horse barn had so much pressure they just about took your skin off. We visited the Poncha Springs sister town of Salida CO a town with many little shops and old brick architecture. Would like to visit this area again. We had our peloton meeting in the horse barn since we experienced an evening shower,which seems to be the weather pattern here.
We are now back on the original route, it has been changed twice, first because of the heat we jumped forward from Quartsite AZ to Payson. Then due to forest fires we didn't go through Wolfs Creek pass but went East to Alamosa first then North

Friday we had the best ride yet a slow descent along the Arkansas River valley, we had the river and majestic rock formations along the way, the best day yet. We stayed Friday night at the Abby in Canon City CO. It is a former monastery which now is privately owned and available for weddings, conferences and you can rent a room if just passing through.

Saturday, just one more day of riding, this is the third week of riding yet it is the first full 6 day week we've put in, it seemed like a long week. I was happy to see that we had only 48 miles to do, disappointed that it was a lot of up hill and a lot of very busy highways. I was very glad that toward the end of the day we were on a dedicated cycling trail, so much more peaceful than the busy highways.

We are spending the weekend at the Colorado Springs Christian School. No coasting into camp at this stop, the parking lot of CSCS has an 8% gradefrom the entrance to the back where our tents will be. They've nicely put porta potties at the top of the hill so we don't have to walk down the block distance to the gym bathrooms and back up to our tents which are pitched on the playground on "Colorado grass" in other words sand and weeds.

Now I'm doing the weekly wash, not by hand and the neat wringer this time but at a laundromat. We'll have to go exploring tomorrow to see what this town is all about.

We checked out the Garden of the Gods today, Sunday after having church and a lunch at a CRC Church. The garden is actually a rock formation, but very neat. We also explored the little town of Manitou Springs. It is a neat little tourist trap type town. Missed our afternoon nap though. We packed up the tent and will sleep in the school hallway tonight. It looks like rain again anyway.

Tomorrow we will start another week. It will be mostly downhill, but the wind could be a problem. Anything under 100 F is cool to us now, so the temp should be nice. It may be a bit more humid then we are used to.