Out of the Hobbit Hole: Celebration in Pueblo, CO!!!

Hey, everyone! Wes here! I've been in Pueblo, CO since Tuesday afternoon. I'm taking some time off just to celebrate how far I've come. More than 7 weeks on the road have brought me through Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. I've ridden more than 2,325 miles atop Fledge and am well past the halfway point of my trek. I have a very bad tendency to downplay my personal achievements and felt that I needed to recognize the monumental accomplishment I've achieved. Tomorrow I'll be starting the Rocky Mountains and some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. I don't have many details to share since Dodge City but thought I'd take a small slot of time to share what has gone down the last few days.

After leaving Dodge I rode about 70 miles to Lakin, KS. Got another flat tire on this ride but other than that it was great to be back on the road. The only public service building I could find open in Lakin was the hospital so I inquired if I could contact the police department using their phone (Mine had no reception.) The police referred me to a place about 2 miles south of town called Beymer Park. I ate dinner at the Subway sandwich place and then pedaled off to set up camp. That evening I listened to a podcast from my church back home, did some reading and then went to sleep. The park was far enough from town that I got my first glimpse of western stars that night. Had I not been so tired I'd have spent some time drinking in the night sky but after a 70 mile day I just needed rest.

From Lakin, I set off for Lamar, CO and Mountain Daylight Time! I was in a great mood by the time I reached my destination for the day. I pulled into Lamar's Walmart Supercenter, took a nice hour long cool down period, topped off my tires with a pump in the store (or at least I thought I'd topped them off, more on this later), and pedaled off to an RV park about 3 miles west of town. The RV park was miserable. There was standing water all over the ground, hordes of mosquitoes and deer flies, grossly overpriced soda in a vending machine, and no running water next to my tent so I had to use a hose in front of the office (The water tasted like rubber). Like I said, miserable. They did, however, give me a $5 discount since I was riding for the ALS Association, although I'm of the opinion that charging me $10 was about $10 overpriced.

The following morning I set off for Fowler. Glad to put that RV park behind me, I was in a pretty decent mood. That's when *another* flat tire happened. That pump at the Walmart was apparently a piece of garbage they'd mistaken for merchandise. It read that I had put a good amount of air into my tire but I must have actually lost some as it was a pinch flat that did me in that morning (A pinch flat happens when the slightly deflated inner tube gets pinched between the tire and the rim of the wheel.). Anyway, I changed the tire out on the side of the highway and just as I was finishing a friendly lady in a big van stopped to offer Fledge and me transportation if I needed it. As the tire was already patched up I thanked her then simply continued on my way. Made it to Fowler without any further complications. Fowler was nice! I caught my very first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains about 15 minutes before reaching my destination and was pumped to get into Pueblo the following day. For dinner, the lady recommended I order an eastern Colorado specialty at the nearby grill restaurant. The dish is called a Slopper and consists of fried beef patties topped with green chilies. Good stuff! After dinner I picked up a couple things at the Dollar General and headed back to the campsite. As the sun set, I drank a cold one and quieted myself for sleep.

The 35-ish miles to Pueblo the next day seemed long and drawn out. Time seemed to pass more slowly than it had on previous rides. After what felt like 2 hours I found I'd only been riding about an hour. After passing the Pueblo City Limits sign it felt like another hour before I actually started getting into town. I stopped at the Barnes and Noble on the north side of town and drank down a Starbucks S'mores Frappuccino. I contacted a guy on the Warm Showers cycling network. He lived towards the west side of town but was working until the next morning. He gave me instructions on how to get into his house so I pedaled over there and took a nice break before heading out for dinner. Mi Ranchito Mexican Restaurant. Best. Mexican. Food. Ever! Had a cold Dos Equis and hands down some of the best food I've eaten in my life! Came back to the house and crashed on the recliner.

Yesterday morning, Eric came home, we had some inspirational conversation together, ate eggs for breakfast and took some time to relax. Eric is an inspirational person to meet! He runs an organization that gets blind and visually impaired persons on tandem bicycles. Later on, Eric, his son Garrett, and I went kayaking at San Isabel Lake in the foothills of the Rockies. On the way home we stopped at Bishop Castle, pretty much the largest building built by a single person in the world. Great day!

So here I am laying low today in Pueblo, giving my muscles one more day to recover before tackling the Rockies. The most visually striking part of my trip still lies ahead! In other news, I've made the decision to cut the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas out of my route. Money is simply too tight and it's just going to tack on too many more miles and take too much time to justify the southern dip. My slated arrival in San Francisco is still the middle of July. It's going to be hard enough dealing with the heat in Utah and Nevada as it is. So that's where we stand now. Take care, everyone! Don't forget to take a gander at the pictures below!

Bishop's Castle; This place is amazing! Constructed by one single (very eccentric) individual! Not a team, no help from friends. Alone. He built this place!