1st June 2018 Friday – I had a terrible bout of wind

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Hello Everybody!
Route: Sheridan Lake  to  Sugar City

For the non-mathematicians out there:
Distance: 83 miles (Total 2,102)
Average speed: 16.4 mph
Calories: 1,956
Cycling time: 5h 10min
Average cadence: 69 rpm
Climb: 334ft, Descent: 197ft
Heart (yes I have one): Max 139 Aver 117
Aver Temp: 26C, Max temp 33C
Temperament: Mentally I was OK but physically I was a bit of a mess

I know I mentioned that things might be changing and I was not wrong. It started off with a 17mph cross wind which forgot what it was and ended up being a headwind for most of the day i.e. the wind stopped just before the sun was setting and I could not remember my name. The Colorado terrain is not as green as Kansas and is starting to look very sandy – not in a turkey sandwich type of way but more in a desert type of way. The distances between places are increasing and the number and quality of places are reducing. Planning is now becoming very important and lucky for me it is what I am very good at, yes I am, yes I AM, YESSSS I AMMMMMM!!!!!!

I stopped in EADS for as good a lunch as I could find and ended up having, OK let’s make a list.

Alan’s EADS lunch choices:
  1. banana and berry smoothie
  2. iced latte
  3. water and ice
  4. red ice lolly which dripped on my knee and made it look like a serious cut. I left it there to help with my James Bond look that I am developing and which is coming along quite badly if I say so myself
  5. a new battery charger – not very nice tasting but good in an emergency
  6. two bananas
  7. Vit-C vitamin drink
I left hoping the wind may have died down a little as it was supposed to reduce down to 14mph. Again it did not get the memo and was continuing as planned, Sargent Major.

I struggled on but the mind was coping but the body was getting a flipping bit “not very amused”. I met 2 guys travelling the other way in Arlington, where I also borrowed some water from a person who was not in but who did have a water pump in their front garden. Whoever you are, England thanks you and I do too.

After leaving the 2 gents things started to go a bit wobbly – I finished my last half vegetable sandwich and started to stop every 30 minutes or so just to get a rest from the wind, which was not letting up at all.

I then started to look for a place to wild camp with about 12 miles to go and although I saw a few good spots I tried to convince the legs to “Shut Up” and get on with it. 
Just stay still and I'll be right there
The big change was when I saw the silent cathedral in the distance which was Sugar City’s grain building. You see them all over the place but judging the distance is beyond me as they are always further than I think. Either way, I could now see the target and my legs started to talk to me again and with the wind relenting a little, we issued a truce and started to get flipping well going.

I arrived in Sugar City around 8.50pm and given I had lost an hour yesterday, it was fairly dark. 

Mr Blue Sky - no not Mr Blue Sky


 I knocked on a door to get some water (by the way anytime I had water today it would warm up to 35C within 30 minutes and water that warm tastes terrible but you just have to gulp it down) and then found the community park. As I put down my bike and bits I noticed a man in his drive so I went over and said that I had permission to sleep in the park and was letting him know so there would be no problem. We ended up talking for about 20 minutes about our lives – he retired from Banking at 45 and worked with Unisys for some time in India and he ambition was to now live in a cave. He was brough up in Sugar City and can remember when it was a thriving community of people each of whom had at two jobs.

So when we said adios, the light had gone but luckily I had hidden my head torch in one of the 4 pannier bags, 10 minutes later said head torch was on my head and tent was put up in no time at all.

I entered the tent, fell asleep and then possibly woke up sometime later but this is all hazy to me as I try to recall the events of this, not very nice, day. But I still bagged 83 miles so there!
Bird on a wire

I thank you, Alan & Frankie xxx

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