Day 22 – Encampment, WY to Rand CO

Miles today – 70

Total miles to 1368

I knew today was going to be a challenge.  It had rained during the evening and more rain was predicted to.  Colorado has had drought conditions for many years and much has been said about how much rain they had been getting.  Of course, the 20 year drought ends the year I decide to ride my bike through the state.  The morning began under overcast skies but perfect weather for riding.  My friends Tom and Paul were having breakfast as I rolled out of town at 8:00 am.  Just over the bridge, I was startled by two deer standing next to the road.  About 50 yards down the road, a dead tree was the perch for about 15 huge buzzards.

The morning proceeded normally as I crossed the Border into Colorado. I thought I would catch lunch in Cowdrey, CO but when I got there at noon I discovered that there was no restaurant.  So, it was on to Walden.  Six miles from Walden, the skies opened and I just barely got on my rain gear before the cold rains came.  I rode the remainder of the way into Walden in a downpour.  Donna was waiting for me at the River Rock Café and we had a nice lunch but I couldn’t stop shivering.  I went into the men’s room and wrung out my socks and dried off with paper towels.

OK, here is the freaky story of the day.  My friend Mark Matje is meeting me tonight in Rand and will ride with me for the next 4 days.  Mark came out to Boulder, CO a few days early to work with a client.  Todd, the guy he was working with noticed that Mark had a bike on his rental car and asked about it.  Mark told him about my trip across America and Todd mentioned that his uncle Tom was also riding across America and it sounded like he would be in the same cities as I was in. Mark, remembering that I had met a “Tom” during my ride asked if Uncle Tom was from Cincinnati.  Todd said, “How did you know?”  Too weird.  I meet Tom from Cincinnati while riding.  My friend, Mark works with a guy in Boulder whose uncle is the same Tom.  This stuff happens to me all of the time.  Mark called me just before I was ready to depart Walden to tell me this story.

I have to say that it was very difficult to get back onto the bike knowing that I had 20 more miles of hilly road between me and a warm cabin.  About half way to Rand, the rain stopped.  I stopped to talk with David and his son Chris from Tennessee who are westbounders.   We talked about the wind (in my face, again) and the fact that Colorado roads have no shoulders.  Route 125 has a 65 mph speed limit and no shoulders for bikes.  This requires cyclists to ride the “white line” and hope they are visible to traffic.

I finally arrived in Rand and Donna met me at the base of the dirt road that went 4 miles into the valley to the Whispering Elk Ranch, our home for the night.

David

June 26, 2009