A lil' R&R

Right now I'm just chilling in Denver, CO, staying with Christi Newton, a friend from JBU. I got here on Friday, and I'm so glad to have a little rest for a few days, after riding hard to get here. Drew Thomason came down from Fort Collins, and we hung downtown yesterday. And today I'm just chilling, planning out where I'm going from here. I'm thinking about heading towards Albuquerque, and then heading across Texas from there, but we'll see, like always. Tomorrow, I'm going to Fort Collins for a couple days, and then head back south.

The Rockies, at last

After the previous night, I slept in, and carefully some pancake mash for breakfast. I still don't know what was up with my stomach, but it never resurfaced in full force. Just kinda reminded me every now and then that it was there. I headed towards the Rockies, hoping I would see them, but to no avail. The desert started to get more hilly, and I started to see some pine trees on the way. So, I can't complain, by any means. There's something in the remoteness that is serenely breathtaking. I couldn't see the Rockies, that day, but I could FEEL them getting closer.
After stopping numerous times that day to catch my breath and wonder where all the oxygen went, I rolled in Elizabeth, and the guys at the local fire station directed me to a really nice parked where I hid out for the night. It was a great, quiet place to camp, secluded from the highway, with a well-maintained soccer field to sleep on. Until the sprinklers went off in the middle of the night. I woke up when I heard a loud crashing come down on the top of my tent. Oh, man, you'd think I'd learn. Oh well.
I left Elizabeth in the morning, and after about 8 miles of climbing hills, I finally caught my first full view of the Rockies. Incredibly captivating. I came to the top of a hill, and through a break in the pine trees, I could see row after row of mountains, and spots of clouds hanging out above them. Mmmmmmm. Nothing like it. I went on into Parker, CO for errands, and headed into Denver for the weekend. I'm so glad to have a chance to relax, and hopefully get used to breathing without any air.

Where did the oxygen go?

Greg and I parted ways in the morning, and I had a long day ahead of me, since I spent the night in Eads. I was dead set to get to Limon, which I realized later was over 1000 ft higher than Eads. And 80+ miles away. Yeah, that was interesting.
At Kit Carson, CO, I ran into a guy named David who was biking across the US, and this guy was intense! He was from Malaysia, 59 years old with a wife and 8 children (all grown) back in Asia! Crazy! He had retired from his job several years ago, and has taken something like 4 bike tours since then, all over Asia and Europe, and now the USA. Super cool guy. Check out his website: www.bicycletouringmalaysia.com
I pedaled on through Hugo, some crazy road construction, miles without anything, and finally made it to Limon. I got there after sundown, and I couldn't find a place to stay. No one in town suggested staying at the park, as the police would certainly accost me. I went to several stores and gas stations, and no one had any suggestions, except the KOA in town. I called them, and they charged 30 bucks for a tent camper. I mean, c'mon. Thirty bucks? And all I use is the bathroom. So I sat outside the gas station for several hours, trying to figure something out. 9 PM rolled around, and I had nothing, and I was starting to get really worried, not really sure where the heck I was going to stay. Too late to go knocking on peoples doors, to see if they would let me stay there, and the police and fire stations where shut down for the night, and I was running out of options pretty quick. Thankfully, though, a police officer pulled up after a while, and he was totally sympathetic to a travelling cyclist. He calls up a coworker, and finds out that there's a fishing pond a couple blocks away to stay at where I wouldn't be bothered. Huge relief! And only a few blocks away, as opposed to biking for another 5 miles! Thanks God!
After I set up camp, and right as I finished eating dinner, right when I though things were going pretty well, something attacked my stomach. Horrible feeling! I'm thinking that it was altitude sickness, or maybe that I didn't cook my corned beef hash well enough, or something. But until I passed out in my tent at around midnight that night, I was rolling around on the ground, half-conscious, wondering what was going on. Thankfully, I slept it off, but I still don't know what it was. Worst night of the trip, hands down.

Like minds

I left in the morning from Lamar. It was a frustrating morning, as nothing was going as smoothly as I wanted. It's kinda funny, I'm finding myself fighting frustration a lot. Probably something I should work on, being okay with life not working out seamlessly. Chill out a litte more. Yeah....
I started going through the desert of Colorado. So, for the record, many people say that western Kansas is rather desolate. Okay, it doesn't hold a candle to eastern Colorado. There's acutally crops, grain elevators, town, cows, something on the road in Kansas. At least I was never worried about water in Kansas. In Colorado, there might be nothing for 50 miles. And by nothing, I mean no towns, no gas stations, no crops, no cows, just 18-wheelers flying by at 70 mph. And you can't even see the Rockies!
Anyway, I made it to Eads in the afternoon (slower than hoped), but I met a guy named Greg who had been cycling around the country, coming from North Carolina. Real cool guy, and we just started chatting at the gas station in Eads, and decided to hang out in town for the night. It was cool that we were both at a similar place in life, looking for purpose and direction for the next phase in life. We definitely had different spiritual foundations for taking our respective trips, but I think it was great that he was looking for spiritual meaning in life, and we both acknowledged the existence of greater purpose than just the material. Blessings on your trip, Greg, and I hope you find that Bible valuable!

Something to live for

Rode a good long way today, from Lakin, KS to Lamar, CO, a solid 80 miles. I was really blessed to stay at the Methodist church in Lakin. I want to say a big thanks to Michelle at the church for her generosity , who allowed me to do that.
I stopped in Syracuse at around 11 to grab something to eat, and I ran in to a couple from the area who chatted for a while. Great people! I talked with them about some of the thing they were going through, trying to make ends meet. He had his foot injured in accident some years ago, which disables him from engaging in almost any job available to him, and yet he cannot get any assistance from the government due to some legal loophole. And she tries to bring in enough money to pay the bills. And they live day to day, month to month, check to check. And yet they have hope. They have joy. Frustrations, sure. But that doesn't seem to penetrate any deeper than the surface, and that blows me away. Even just their attitudes in how they talked was a testimony to me.
Later that night, I talked with a man who was middle aged, and had a chronic medical problem with blood clots. And that day, a young girl he knew had just died from the same condition. Scared him to the core, and he apparently had narrowly dodged death several times already. Talking with him, he seemed very unsure and scared of the future, of his job, his family, death. And he didn't seem to have a lot of hope, something to live for. I can't even imagine that. It was saddening, to say the least. I pray that he finds The Truth, and that The Truth gets a hold of him.
And that's what makes this difference, in any and every circumstance. Hope in something more, something more real and true than this broken world. That's something to live for. That's the only thing to live for.

Last Stretch of Kansas

After Dodge, I headed west, going through Garden City to Lakin. Definitely a more uplifting day, with a slight tailwind in the afternoon, letting me cruise into Lakin. In Garden, I went to a tortilleria, and got some amazing, fresh, corn tortillas. Ah! Nothing like it. I went back later because I accidentally ate my first pound of tortillas in one sitting.
But, even cooler than that, I met a Honduran woman at the tortilleria who works at one of the meat packing plants in  Garden City. I had read some about the horrendous conditions and strenuous demands on the laborers in those plants, actually right before I left for this trip. But, talking with her, I got to hear her perspective, optimistic and encouraging about working at a meat packing plant. She was happy to have the opportunity and felt great about how she was treated, as opposed to the horrible news that you hear on muck-racking exposes. It was refreshing to talk to her, that certain sides of our society are functioning well, and she was so encouraging to me going on this trek.
After Garden, I made it to Lakin, and camped in the park for the night. The next day, I went fishing south of town, trying to catch my dinner, with a ghetto fishing pole, made out of a wooden stick I found on the side of the road. No dice this time. But, it was  good day to rest and pray. Getting ready for a long week, uphill, to get to Denver. Woo!

Get the heck into Dodge....

The next day, I made it to Dodge. Man, that sounds awesome just saying that. I'll say it again.  I made it into Dodge the next day, which was a very frustrating day, until the end. I woke up that morning with high expectations of making at least 70 miles, hoping to get to Colorado before the snow came in. But, I woke up that morning in Kinsley and wasted half an hour looking for my spices (which are super important when you're living off bread and canned goods). Then, I realized that my bread and tortillas, which I had been saving for breakfast, were gone. And seeing how I didn't see any torn up bags or messy signs of an animal, I decided that someone had taken them. Aka, someone had robbed me, while I was sleeping. Creepy, frustrating, demoralizing, yes. My valuables hadn't been taken, but even so, it was kinda disconcerting that someone had been walking around my campground, and frustrating at the same time. I suppose that I hope whoever took them really was hungry, and needed them. Who knows?
After that, I fought a headwind and some light drizzles to get to Dodge way behind schedule. Then, getting groceries took forever (so, Dodge has some tough hills. Go figure). So, by the time 6 PM rolled around, I was still in Dodge, trying find internet access.
But, thanks to God, I met a man name Ken Campbell at the library who let me spend the night at his house, which was a great encouragement to end the day on. I had dinner with him, his wife Elsie, and their renter, John. We had a great, relaxing evening, chatting with some quality people, and I got to sleep under a roof! Sweet end to a frustrating day. Thanks a bunch to the Campbells!