Colorado- it begins

Once again, its been a long time since a proper blog update. I've many stories to tell from the road in Oklahoma and Kansas, but they will have to wait. Why? Because I am in Colorado, and I'm more fascinated by and excited about mountains than anything else so far on this trip.

It begins- 7/24/12

I'm taking hwy 50 pretty much all the way across CO, and it follows the Arkansas river closely, especially as it gets closer to the mountains. In wetter times, the river is apparently prone to flooding, so the little towns along the plains have levees to keep the river off main street.

Levees at 5000 feet. As for the spiky things, I have no idea

The river is almost entirely dry near the Kansas border, so I slept one night in the riverbed between the highway and the train tracks.

The river has so little flow at this point that it couldn't float a kayak

As I neared the mountains, I began to see cumulus clouds again. For most of my ride through Oklahoma and Kansas, the skies were clear.

Weather! These storms put on a good lightning show one night

I'd originally intended to stay in the Pueblo area for a day to rest up, but upon examining a topo map, I saw that major climbs would not occur until after Salida, almost 100 miles further along the road. So I passed through Pueblo in 30 minutes and didn't look back.

This is what I saw of Pueblo

And this is what I saw leaving Pueblo

The mountains rise abruptly from the plains

There aren't many good places to camp on the plains, so I ended up riding a little farther than I'd intended that day- 111 miles took me all the way to Canon city, where I camped in a creek bottom on the edge of town.

This wasn't nearly as secluded as the picture suggests- I had a clear view of 50 from my hammock

Canon City is pretty much the gateway to the mountains- I left town and immediately began climbing.

Downtown Canon City

Unlike most rivers, the Arkansas gets bigger as one goes upstream. All through the mountains the river is large enough to support a whitewater rafting industry- I lost count of the vendors I passed as I rode West on 50.

Following the Arkansas River into the mountains

I encountered my first rainstorm in over 1000 miles as I rode up 50. It was cold- I rapidly became chilled and my knees began to hurt, so I pulled over and rested at a little country store in Cotopaxi. The girls who ran the place let me warm up over the grill and rest there while waiting for the rain to let up. Two cups of coffee and a hamburger later, the rain was mostly done and I resumed my journey.

Rain at 6000 feet

Safe haven from the storm

Some miles later, I encountered a first on my journey: I was refused water! I stopped at a little general store and asked if I could fill my water bottles, only to be told that there were no taps I could use. I asked if I could fill them in the bathroom and was told "we don't have a public bathroom". At some point it became clear that the lady wasn't going to let me have water no matter how nicely I asked, so I rode a couple of miles on to the next store to get my water. Anyway, if you are ever driving along 50, be sure to give this place my regards.

Here be the inconsiderate

I didn't quite make it from Canon City to Salida in one day- my knees were hurting and I was tired, so I camped on BLM land about six miles outside of town.

About 200 yards upslope from 50

I know that slope doesn't translate well into photos, but that was STEEP

Today I rode into Salida, and I might be a little bit in love with the place. Half the downtown is closed off for a bike race, everyone is either riding bikes, walking, or roller blading, and the downtown park is gorgeous.

I agree with the sign

Possibly my new favorite town

I stood on the riverbank to take this photo

Beer and pizza for lunch with a bike race for entertainment

I finally picked up some hiking shoes

I'm writing this post from the Salida public library. I met a lady named Bobi at the local bike shop who invited me to join her friends and family for diner up in the mountains later on. I was planning to relax around town, but if I can motivate myself to ride up into the mountains and over a 9000+ foot pass, I may go join them this evening.