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June30, 2017

Yesterday was one of the most difficult days I have experienced so far.  I left the motel a little after 5:15 a.m.  Sheryl had called the night before and said she and her sister Dorothy, would be flying out to spend a few days with me.  I had 95 miles to cover in order to stay on track.  I love riding during the morning hours.  Most towns are dead and you don't see any vehicles for miles.  Yesterday morning was no different.   I soon realized that I would be facing a pretty stiff wind from the east.  By 8:00 a.m. The wind was in my face at 20 miles an hour.  At about 40 miles into the ride, which was 10:00 a.m., I stopped in the town of Great Bend, Kansas.  All morning long, the skies were ominous to the north.  When I stopped the attendant ask where I was riding to, and I told him to Lyons, and then to South Hutchison. He looked puzzled and asked me if I realize heavy rain is coming in the next hour? I thought all the rain was to ...
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June 28, 2017

I left my hotel this morning at 5:30. It was still dark and the air was heavy.  During the night a tremendous thunderstorm went through the  area. The harvesters were not happy with the rain. They have been stuck in the area, unable to harvest wheat due to rain.   When I started out, I had a 15 mile an hour south wind.  I was wondering if that would be the case all day.  At about 8:00 I ran into another biker heading west.  He used some colorful language to describe the wind and flatness of the terrain, and then headed west.  Laterin the day, I ran into another biker heading west.  He was from Greenville, South Carolina.  He too complained about the wind and the heat.   As I made my way to the east, I soon realized that things were greening up.  I started to see corn feilds that I suspect rival any feilds back home.  I also saw a beautiful feild of soybeans.  Alfalfa hay feilds seemed more plentiful as well.   About m...
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June 27, 2017

Today was about the fight of will.  Although will won, it is badly bruised and battered.   I left Eads at about 5:40 a.m.  I was on 287 for 3 miles and then 96 turned off and headed east.  96 in Colorado was a chip and sealed road.  That slows you down considerably, in comparison to a smooth asphalt road.  I rode on chip and seal for a little under 40 miles in Colorado. The road change to asphalt in Kansas.  In Kansas there was only a one foot shoulder.  Traffic was not heavy till about noon, when all the grain haulers started hauling the harvested wheat to the elevators.  Every town has a massive grain storage system.   Throughout the day I met some interesting people.  About 25 miles in I came across an older couple riding their bikes together.  I stopped and talked with them.  They were from Netherland, and they were riding across the country.  This is the second time they have done this.  He was 75 and she wa...
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June 26, 2017

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I spent last evening with John and Kathy Fox.  John is Pat Dunn's brother.  That was life giving!  They gave up their evening to come to the hotel and pick me up and take me out for dinner.  We had a wonderful conversation about their lives in the west.  John is a physician at a small hospital, in the town of Hugo, 15 miles south of Limon.  John told me the radious they cover is similar to one of the New England.  I think he said Connecticut.  Together, John and Kathy are making a difference in their community and the surrounding communities.   I left this morning at 6:30.  287, the road that I rode on today, was a beautiful road.  In many ways it was similar to interstate 70, in the fact that is was smooth concrete and the shoulder was clean.  287 has primarily truck traffic on it.  287 is called the port to plains highway.  The road runs from Fort Worth and Amarillo, Texas, to north of Yellowstone.   The ter...
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June 25, 2017

I woke up this morning from a wonderful nights sleep.  I was out of the hotel by 6:30.  The first 24 miles were as peaceful as could possibly be.  In those 24 miles I met 7 cars.  I had the road to myself.  As was the case yesterday, I was surprised by the climbing I needed to do.  In fact, at one point I was riding in 6000 feet of elevation.  Currently, I am in Limon, Colorado and the elevation is around 5400.  The temperature stayed in the 60's all the time I was riding.  You can see wheat fields changing the further south you go.  You can also see that much of the ground is not suitable for farming.   The scenery today never changed.  I am in the middle of wide open feilds with few trees.  As is said, the first 24 miles was really peaceful.  I road on route 40, which runs parallel to interstate 70.  However, 40 ended and joined interstate 70.  In the town of Agate, I stopped trying to figure out what to d...
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June 24, 2017

Saying good bye has never been easy!   Yesterday Sheryl and I spent the day in Denver.  We walked up and down 16th street, which a pedestrian street.  Although it was cold, it was a great day for shopping, something we don't do much of, something Sheryl loves to do on special occasions.  It was a great way to celebrate Sheryl's birthday.   We stayed in a motel last evening, and mom stayed up at Herm and Cindy's. This morning Cindy brought mom and my bike down the canyon, to the intersection of Diagonal Road and 52 East, just north of Boulder.  Herm and Cindy went above and beyond to help us the last four days.  I loaded my bike and hesitantly said good bye, and road off.  Sheryl and mom soon passed me and I watched their car for several miles until I could no longer see it.  Hello world, it is me and you again.   Sheryl and mom made it to the airport to discover that their plane was delayed.  At the point of time when I was straight...
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June, 22, 2017

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This is just a short update on today and the next couple days.  I will not post another blog till Saturday evening.   Today Sheryl and I took mom to a store called Rare Finds.  The store is owned by my sister in law, Cindy's sister, Mary and her husband Tony.  It really is a rare store.   This evening we went to my niece and nephew, Hope and Dillon's softball game.  We literally froze.  We looked like hoodlums all bundled up.  Yesterday it was nearly 100 degrees in Boulder, and tonight it was in the 40's with a cold wind.  Rain eventually sent us to Herm and Cindy's home, where we started a fire to warm up.  \outl0\strokewidth0 \strokec2 } \outl0\strokewidth0 \strokec2 } Tonight Sheryl and I will sleep in the tree house.  With no heat it is likely to get pretty cold.  Tomorrow is Sheryl's birthday and we will celebrate by spending the day in Denver.   It is good to be alive!   June 21, 2017 Today was a great recove...
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