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 east of the airport, Sheryl texted saying they were ready to take off.  About that time a plane roared overhead.  I have no idea if they were in that plane, but again, I watched the plane until I could not longer see it.  

Today I road through some amazing farming country.  Most of the corn is only a foot tall, some is just now sprouting.  They have a very short growing season here.  The wheat is fully developed, yet still very green. I hope to run into the wheat harvest sometime soon.  If I do, I want to park my bike and take a ride on a combine with a 30 foot head.  I noticed their beans are only a few inches tall.  

For the most part I had good riding conditions.  For about 40 miles I did not have a shoulder to ride on.  Although I didn't have a shoulder, I was fortunate in the fact that I had little traffic.  I have said it before, I am riding in the middle of nowhere.  This feels a little different though, due to all the ground around me being farming ground, so every mile or so I see a new set of building with grain bins.  

Today I covered 77 miles.  I am staying in the small town of Byers, Colorado.  My miles over the next few days will vary due to lodging availability.  Tomorrow I will have a little less than 60 miles to Limon, Colorado.  In Limon, I will meet Patt Dunn's brother for dinner.  I look forward to meeting him.  This town is so small and the only person I talked to was a nice lady at the grocery store.  It is nice to connect with people.  I am discovering I need that human contact.  

Tonight I spoke with our granddaughter, Kennedy, whose birthday is today.  She is 7 years old.  Seems like it was just yesterday that we received a phone call while in Nicaragua, saying she was born.  FaceTime is an amzing invention.  Kennedy has been such a gift to Adam and Kim and to our family.  I miss her and Shane in a major way!  

I have no pictures tonight.  I simply focused on riding.  I will try and post some pictures tomorrow.  They will look the same as the scenery today; FLAT!  

It is good to be alive!  

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