dasz.uw: Fighting the Wind, Bowing to Rain

Sunday 06 May 2012 ~ Pueblo to Eads, Colorado

The beauty of eastern Colorado was immediately lost on us riders as we encountered a stiff headwind from the very first pedal. I feel like the topic of wind has become like a broken record on this blog. Little did we know that this was turning out to be a long LONG day...

Lunch Stop

Dying from the head wind...it's amazing how demoralizing a headwind is to those of us on bicycles. The constant resistance, a sense of pushing through molasses, like trying to run in three feet of water :(

First in R4WH history: pace line behind the van.

A headwind makes biking on a flat surface feel like climbing a hill. The muscle groups I utilize in climbing are the same ones I rely on when fighting wind. Thus, my (our) legs performed the equivalent of climbing a mountain for 106 straight miles. When I reached the high school in Eads, I let out a guttural groan, stood up on my bike and roared at the ceaseless wind.

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Monday 07 May 2012 ~ Eads, CO to Leoti, Kansas

I will charge mountains till I summit, and I will battle winds till I drop, but I will not bike in cold rain ever again. When I woke up today, I had every intention to ride. But one look out the smudged gym windows and I knew I was going to be racking. It was unfortunate that I was sick on the day we rode into Colorado, and regrettable that I'm a baby when it comes to cold rain...which means I missed biking through both borders :(

Nicole and Brad are such a sweet couple and overall great people to be around.

Don't let the fair skies fool you. You'll notice all the riders are heavily bundled from head to toe.

The Great Plains of Kansas

Our stopping point for the day: Leoti, KS

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Tuesday 08 May 2012 ~ Leoti to Ness City, Kansas

Crew day today. Wasn't particularly moved to take many pictures. 'Twas an 85 mile day of monotony, although listening to the riders at the various rest stops, the wind wasn't adversarial today.