Respite

Picking up where I left in Leoti, KS after spoiling Ethel's sidewalk:

I limped the rest of the way to Tribune, KS, feeling absolutely weak, having eaten only two pieces of dry toast since breakfast. We arrived around dinner time and after an awful night's sleep the night before and after being sick during the day, a hotel seemed like the only way to fly.

We rolled up to the first place in town and I went inside to check for vacancies and haggle with the owner over the rate. It was an awful fleabaggy place and the innkeeper had a nasty little dog with immense ears and a cataract-clouded left eye. Just as I handed him my credit card, I said "I'm sorry, but I'll have to step outside. My friend will finish the transaction."

I burst out the door and didn't make it but five feet before defacing another sidewalk. Either way, I felt much better and we snagged 80 miles the next day to Kit Carson, Colorado. We got another motel room in preparation for a landmark day.

We woke up around 4:45 am on Sunday and rode all the way to Colorado Springs, Colorado, 113 miles from Kit Carson. And what a joy those 113 miles were! The looming front range of the Rocky Mountains gradually filled the horizon, 14,110-foot Pike's Peak dominating the landscape. I found it easy to fantasize about all the peaks and passes we had ahead of us. And once you get mountains on the brain, you just can't get enough of that Rocky Mountain air!

We rolled in to the Springs for dinner and stayed with one of my climbing buddies, John Doryk and his family. We were so thankful for their generosity and company; next up, my friend Mathew Thomas, a USAFA cadet, picked us up and we spent the afternoon getting our bikes in ship shape and having a grand time. I hadn't seen him face to face in year, so our reunion was joyous, as was my reunion with Nathan Hoobler last evening. We showed each other photos, caught up on expedition stories, the whole nine yards. So great to be back with these guys!

Cody and I are taking one more day in the Springs before our mad dash to Monarch Pass - 11,355 feet!

All the best,
John