Day 27: Karma

Course: Fort Morgan, CO to Wray, CO
Distance: 86 miles
Terrain: Mostly flat
Conditions: Slight tailwind

Today was the second day of the fearsome foursome, as we've been calling it. Yesterday was a 95-miler, today is 85, tomorrow is 95, and the day after that is 95. The worst part is that it's even more grueling than it sounds. I mean, I've only finished two of the four days, and I'm already feeling like I'm going to start losing extremities.

I rode with Collin and Jeremy. Jeremy is the last cyclist that I needed to ride with in order to have ridden with everyone. We started off as the second pace line and quickly passed the first. We absolutely flew, too. Averaging about 23 mph, we were beating rack point by hours. We were even telling stories and cracking jokes the whole time. Somehow we just managed to soar through the day. Well, that was all true until about mile 76. As soon as we hit 76, Jeremy got a flat tire. We were riding like the wind, and then psssssssssssst went Jeremy's tire. It wasn't a big deal, though. He had a spare tube and we were quickly on our way. About 2 miles later - pssssssssssst. Great, flat number two. And then came the second pace line to pass us from about 5 miles back. I loaned Jeremy a tube and he changed it, then we began to pick up the pace again. Finally, we were going to finish. Maybe not in first place, but still ahead of the game. We made it to mile 81, and all of the sudden - psssssssst. Followed by a few choice words, we all stopped to look at the tire. Without hesitation, Jeremy just decided to call a crew van and rack.

Collin and I only had 6 miles to go, but after having stopped so much, our mental game was off. The heat set in and the wind had died down. It was the longest 6 miles I've ever ridden. We struggled to get to lodging, but then finally made it. We soon found that our lodging was a recreation center. They had a giant pool with water slides, a steam room, a hot tub, and a sauna. We took advantage of all of these. It was a little slice of relief and heaven all in one.

After our free time, a bunch of boy scouts and girl scouts came to help with dinner. After a huge feast, we put on a Kids on the Block puppet show. I'm beginning to think puppeteering could be a possible career path.