July 5, 2001.
Eads to Ordway, Colorado. (62 mi.) Mile 2265
Where
the deer and the antelope play
We got up at dawn and said goodbye
to the other cyclists sharing our camp as we each rolled out in our respective
directions; the Grant-Perzanowski family turned north,
Jill and Jen continued
east, and we headed west. We wished them all well on their journeys.
Today's ride was the most desolate
stretch so far. Other cyclists had told us, "There is nothing out
there. You bake like a lizard." We knew the temperature could reach 100
so we set out to cover as much territory as fast as possible. It's helpful to
start early and come up with some sort of rhythm or mantra to keep your knees
pumping up and down. As long as we kept moving, our own air movement helped
keep us cool, but we still pedaled hard to beat the heat. I don't think
we could have ridden as hard as we did without our conditioning from the
Ozarks and Appalachians.
The route between
Eads and Ordway
Home on the
range: much of today's landscape was overgrazed rangeland
We passed prairie dog
towns and prickly pear cactus. A mule deer buck ran across the road in front
of us and effortlessly bounded over the fence. Not long afterwards, a
pronghorn antelope buck ran across the road in front of us, and effortlessly
zipped under the fence. Mike saw it first, so now I owe him a
milkshake. We stopped at the Sugar City Cafe, but no milkshakes there. Sugar
City is another of the countless small towns once thriving but now consisting
of mainly abandoned stores and boarded up buildings. We met Winfield Nagle at
the cafe, who offered to let us camp at his place in Ordway. He explained to
his companion that, as a "rule of thumb, it's a safe bet to host a
bicycle tourist at your place. People who bicycle across the country aren't
looking for the easy way to do things." I can't argue with that.
We hear over and over
people telling us, "You're crazy!", then in the next breath,
trusting us completely as their guests. They know that we are too exhausted to
cause havoc, wouldn't take anything because we would have to carry it, and are
not armed with anything more dangerous than doggy pepper spray or a peanut
butter knife.
At the time of
Winfield's offer, we intended to put in many more miles, but this plan changed
after we rode a few more miles into the hot, afternoon wind. The temperature
in Ordway was 105 degrees, so we called it a day. Instead of camping, we
took advantage of the special TransAmerican Bicyclist rate ($10) at the
historic Hotel Ordway, where they have been hosting TransAm cyclists since
1976. After settling in, we went out to eat at the Saucer Block and there was
Winfield again, offering to buy us a beer, and introducing us to the
restaurant's owner, Mac Johnson. We had a much better evening socializing in
Ordway over a good meal than we would have had if we had suffered on in the
heat to another destination.
1) 
2) 
3) 
1) Black-eyed Susan's all along our
route added color
2) Ordway
3) Hotel Ordway
