Day 52: Tribune to Eads, CO

Joe had left ahead me at the convenience store since I was writing my blog post. But I caught up to him after 12 miles or so. The wind was blowing from the north at about 20 mph. I was able to make 11 mph on average. I rode to the border of Colorado and waited for Joe to catch up. We each took a photograph of the Colorado sign and continued on.

Welcome to Colorado!

There was nothing at the town of Towner, CO, so we pressed on to Sheridan Lake. I got to the only convenience store in town and bought an ice cream cone. Shortly after, a cyclist from England heading east stopped by. His name is Andrew and he’s doing the TransAmerica Trail. Then Joe caught up and the three of us sat in a booth inside the store and talked for a while. Me and Joe had some pizza and Andrew ate some trail mix for lunch.

Andrew, an Englishman going east on the TransAmerica Trail

Andrew was surprised that so many people in America don’t want socialized medicine. They’d rather get in debt, lose their car and house, than getting socialized medicine. I told him that’s because most Americans think socialism is a bad word and equate it with communism, when both are very different. Andrew thinks China is the dominant country in the world. I warned him that if China doesn’t change its government then most likely the society will revolt and collapse. Overall, we had a great conversation.

After lunch, Andrew headed east and we continued west. It’ll be another 30 miles to Eads. I noticed there were many grasshoppers and crickets on the road. I tried not to run over them.

Just a couple of miles before Eads I met another cyclist going east. He’s a Frenchman named Jern and he’s going from San Francisco to New York City. He warned me about some hills once I get to west of Pueblo.

Jern, going from San Francisco to New York City

I stopped at the first restaurant in Eads, JJ’s. I had a grilled chicken salad while waiting for Joe. When Joe arrived and ordered his meal I ordered another meal, cheeseburger with fries. After our second lunch, we rode to the city park in Eads a couple of blocks away. There are no shower houses this time. At least it wasn’t hot today, the high is only 79 degrees.

When Joe was setting up his tent, I rode to the grocery store in town. The prices were very high so I didn’t buy anything. Joe told me about an ice cream shop in town. I just had to get an ice cream cone.

The ice cream saga continues

After I set up my tent, adjusted my kickstand, and added more lubricant to the crankset since the noise is still there, Joe and I rode back to JJ’s for dinner. I had some chicken strips with fries. Since there is no internet I’m using Joe’s hotspot on his cell phone to write this post. After dinner, we’ll go back to the park and call it a night.