Day 46: Ordway, CO

Day 46

July 1, 2015

Miles: 51

Pueblo to Ordway

As you can see by the expression on Steve's face it was tough getting started this morning.  Despite our slow start, we made it to Ordway in record time.  We left Pueblo at 8:30a and arrived in Ordway by 2:30p.  Averaging 12.6 mph for the day riding on flat terrain all the way to Ordway.   If it wasn't for a headwind, we would have arrived sooner.  

Steve it's time to wake up!

It was hot and windy today, but worst of all, we left the gorgeous scenery behind.  We rode through, what seemed like the same picture the entire day.  Rather than riding parallel to the Colorado River or Arkansas River, we rode parallel to an old railroad track that essentially is abandoned and not in use.

Flat in more ways than one

Steve and tracks

This picture below was taken in the town of Boone - population 339.  We stopped at the only place in town, a hardware/convenience store to buy gatorade.  We hung out for about 15 minutes to rest; we were at the 20 mile mark. We didn't want to stay too long because the weather forecast reported 97 degree high in the afternoon. We wanted to be in Ordway as early as possible.

The next town we stopped at was Olney Springs (pop. 345); we were now at the 40 mile mark.  We originally thought to stop for lunch in this town, but as we rode up, we realized this was not going to happen.  It was a deserted town.  It did have a gazebo in the center of town with a cover, so we stopped to rest and hydrate and snack.  It was about 12:30p at this point with 11 miles to go.  Steve and I realized at this point that we were halfway through with our tour - day 45.5.

Notice Steve's new favorite shirt. Jen and Andy bought it for him for father's day.  He just loves it.  Fits perfect. I am not sure we will ever see his blue shirt again.  Thank goodness! 

Resting position

Eyes closed with a face

About 5 miles later was another little town.  This town had a convenience store and an antique shop.  We decided to stop to get cold beverages.  At this time in our ride, all the water we were carrying was as hot as the temperature - 97.

Tooling around town

We rolled into Ordway (pop. 1,080) in due time.  We immediately checked into the only hotel in town, Hotel Ordway.  It had great reviews on Yelp, and for good reason.  This little hotel in newly renovated with antiques and live plants; the room and bathroom are completely updated, and the AC and WiFi is great.  This picture below is of the only cafe in town.  We sat outside on the bench for 30 minutes before we realized it closed at 2:00p on Wednesday's without reopening at 5:00p for dinner, as it did on other days.  Luckily there was a market across the street, so we were able to buy turkey sandwiches, which we both had for dinner.

So we had some first's to celebrate today.  We started a new month - July 1st of course.    The first time we hit the halfway point 45.5 in our tour, as stated above; and we started a new Map - the first Map on the Trans America trail.  It is actually Map 7 of the TransAm trail, but our first because of the route we choose.

Now you might be thinking, why did Diane post this picture of the Red Sox's logo below. Well Michelle and Brian know why :). Michelle and Brian love to go to Red Sox games. Big fans! This year, they plan to travel to see the Houston Astros and the Red Sox series on July 21st - 23rd in Houston, but first they have decided to fly to St. Louis to spend a couple of days with us first. It was a special surprise when they emailed us. So our new and immediate riding target date is July 17th to meet our dear friends Michelle and Brian in St. Louis! We can't wait to see them!  

Tomorrow we are off to Eads - 61 miles.