Denver to Omaha recap

The past week was rather long and hot – our average distance bumped up to 90-some miles per day, and the humidity slowly became a factor… needless to say, leaving the mountains was a little difficult for me. The possibility for additional excursions is diminishing as rapidly as the scenic photo opportunities – unless you’re into horticulture!

I began the week riding solo: listening to music, collecting my thoughts and spending some time in an introspective state. It was really refreshing to start my days this way, and it really gave me a renewed perspective on why I am doing this tour, and what it means to be a part of an initiative like the Sea to Sea. However, the long straight roads of eastern Colorado and Western Nebraska started to wear on my patience, and after a while I would find some friends to ride with on the route. Thankfully, we were fortunate enough to have several pools to cool off in along the route this past week – that definitely rejuvenates the body after the long days!

Here's a shot of me riding solo... oh wait, this was actually from Denver's celebration rally - the plaid sports coat has become a sunday tradition now!


This week was also spent trying to convince our friends who left us in Denver (Carrie and Kincso in particular) to rejoin us on the tour. Things are looking positive, and that gives a number of us some additional motivation to make it through the Midwest humidity. Carrie actually paid us a visit in Minden as she drove back from Denver to Minneapolis. Thanks again to Mrs. Groen for the ice-cream that afternoon!

The last day of this week I was on sweep duty, and it ended up being alright – the day, while quite hot and humid was rather enjoyable. The regular group of 7 riders (plus another this day) took our time and stopped soon into the route for coffee/lunch to make sure we wouldn’t catch up to any riders too quickly. We did catch up to the infamous Gayle Harrison – one of our ‘long day riders’ that is incredibly motivated and has a wild sense of humour – and I enjoyed riding with her, sharing laughs carrying on. For Gayle's take on this lovely day, see this link: http://gayleharrison.blogspot.com/2008/08/saturday-august-2-riding-with-reuben.html

Next week looks to be much of the same: long days with high heat and humidity… now I remember why I left the Mid-West for the cool climate of the Northwest!