Through the Wind and Wheat We Go!
Leaving Denver was a bit sad for the team. It was where many of our loved ones were and where it all started for us. As we got on the bike and headed south via the Cherry Creek bike trail we talked about it.
It feels like we are kind of starting over. Feels like this is the first leg of a new journey.
We had re-equipped, dropped off Tim in Denver and had a new perspective after getting back on our bikes and heading southward once again. We used Denver as a transition to move from what hadn’t been working to what had been working. We WERE starting fresh again. Denver was a benchmark for us. Sometimes we didn’t think we’d make it back there with the troubles we encountered. But we did, and now we were leaving it again. We had only knocked out roughly a 1/4 of our trip thus far. We have a LOOONG way to go. We missed you Denver! We’ll see you again in a few months!
Right out of town we passed by the PrimalWear cycling jersey shop, coincidentally. We hopped off of our bikes for a few minutes and said hello to Alvin and Dave of Primal to show them our custom cycling kits and give them a big thank you for helping us design such an awesome jersey.
Our goal for the day was to arrive in Colorado Springs by nightfall. What an idea. We’ve lived in Denver for a while, and we won’t even DRIVE to Colorado Springs cause it’s SOOO far away. And now, we are riding our bicycles there… in one day. Cool!
We lacked in energy probably due to the over rest that we got while sleeping in our own beds in Denver. But we were still able to make it to a KOA by 6 PM just south of Colorado Springs. Met a couple of bicyclists that were biking from Flagstaff to our old college stomping grounds in Fort Collins, CO. They carried all of their equipment via a B.O.B. Great storage container for the long haul.
Heading out of Colorado Springs the next morning, we faced a steady 20-30 mph easterly wind as we headed right into it across the plains of eastern Colorado. Instantly we felt like we were already in Kansas. It was plain-y. It was incredibly straight and well, we were bored of it. Classic Kansas. As we were finishing up into the fine town of Kit Carson, that really isn’t so fine, there was a tornado warning going on just behind us. A tornado warning is pretty intense and definitely worth paying attention to.
Our driver Steve had met some locals at THE restaurant of Kit Carson and they were extremely helpful. Dave, was a wonderful gentleman who had been called by God to move out to Kit Carson and start serving the Lord. So he did it! He bought a condemned motel with some other guys in Kit Carson and they were working on reviving it. He allowed us to park our sag vehicle and trailer in the parking lot of the condemned motel and even set up our tents there. Except, we had no business setting up our tents when there was a tornado warning in the area. Dave’s wife was even kind enough to offer us to sleep in their house, but we had a lot of miles to cover the next day and needed to be speedy in the morning, so we respectfully declined. For the first time, we slept in the trailer (2 of us) and (2 of us) in the vehicle. It was quite uncomfortable. But it stormed nearly the whole night, so it was necessary. After a night of never really reaching our REM cycle, we got up early and set out towards Kansas!
This one was a great ride. It felt all downhill and with the wind. We made great time. Our bodies and our minds needed it. The boost helped. We were getting excited for Kansas. Adam and Chase realized, on the ride, that they had actually never been on their road bike while in the state of Kansas, even after living in the state for 18 years. Pretty crazy considering how big of road cyclists we were. But, we were getting all antsy as we were about to see the flowing wheat of Kansas once again. Once we reached the state, we were stoked!
Biking through the end of Colorado and the beginning of Kansas we began to see a lot of cow feedlots. LOTS of them. Is this where KC Strip steak comes from? I’m guessing yes, because there were a ton of bulls and cows that smelled terrible and looked like they were eating to be eaten. Shoved a bit of reality in our faces and up our noses, but we’re meat eaters, and we need our protein, so it did not sway us from our carnivore-styles. It was just a bit off-putting as you rode by.
The whole day, the Kansas boys, Mother Huckleberry and The Meatgrinder, were talking up the Kansas sunsets, the pretty landscapes and just the Midwest in general. We left it for greener pastures in Colorado and Minnesota, but we’ll always be from Kansas. We love the Midwest.
We pulled into Syracuse that night expecting to find Jim Boeheim and Madison Square Garden. Instead we found a lake that actually wasn’t a lake and a great campsite. Just as we were arriving the sun began to set. Whoa did that sun set! Hot diggity dog we love Midwest sunsets!
We slept through a windstorm that night, not a lot of sleep again as we prepared to head towards Liberal, KS.
What’s with the back-to-back non-Kansas names? Yeah, we don’t know either. I’m pretty sure there are no liberals in Liberal, KS and nothing New York about Syracuse, KS
On the way, rider Chase found that his Aunt Sarah was going to be in town visiting her father-in-law in Hugoton, KS. Hugoton is just west of Liberal. We hadn’t had a shower and a good sleep since we had been in Denver so we jumped at the opportunity. Thing was, we had to cover a lot of miles to get there. So we got cranking!
On the way, a car shotputted a rock right into Rex’s spoke on his wheel, broke it clean off. Dang. He was out for the day. Nearest bike shop was 100 miles away in Garden City. So we had to take a little detour and pick up a new spoke for Rex. You can’t ride without a spoke cause the wheel isn’t true. And if the wheel isn’t true, well then a wheel isn’t a wheel and you just have a half of a bike. So we did that, then persevered through the hot part of the day to Hugoton.
Sarah and Brent were great hosts and provided a fantastic place for a night’s stay. One thing I love about mid-westerners is the stories they tell. They are story-tellers and they’re darn good at it. It was great to listen to stories about growing up on the farm around Hugoton from Sarah and Brent. They made us some fantastic breakfast in the morning and then we were off again! This time to Oklahoma! Our 8th state by bicycle!
Oklahoma’s welcoming was not kind. What was windy before was now considered a breeze. 30-40 mph constant wind with 50-60 mph gusts from the south. We had to head south, that’s where Texas was. But, we tried our best to shift which way the wind hit us, and took roads heading straight east instead. We turned a headwind into a cross wind. It was quite shaky battling a 35 mph crosswind but the road was WIDE OPEN, so we could afford it. It was very peaceful listening to the sound of the wheat rustle in the wind. It’s too bad that the wind was never ending that it made us focus on the road more than we would have liked. Horses ran with us, cows ran away from us and Oklahoma, I think, puts Kansas on the ropes for the wheat capital of country. Everywhere we looked there was wheat and wheat and wheat. Golden wheat.
When we found out that we would be able to make it to a reservoir for the night, we got pretty excited. On the map and within reach was Fort Supply Reservoir. Love that name. Fort Supply. Say it with a southern tone. Tons of fun. We had no idea what we were getting into.
It was Memorial Day weekend and Fort Supply was apparently where a lot of people who lived in and around the panhandle of Oklahoma, went for vacation. They brought their boats, RV’s, trucks and Busch Light out to the reservoir for the weekend to drink and be merry. We pulled in and instantly realized there was not a chance that we would be able to get a campsite, so we did what any person would do after they had just finished a 140 mile ride in the sweltering heat; we jumped in the lake! It felt great! And then even better news, we found out that someone had purchased two campsites, but only needed one and that they would “sell” us one of the sites for the night. We took it! $15 for a night of camping on Memorial Day weekend = win.
We pulled up and instantly all of the campsites around us came up and asked us what we were about and wanted to see our bikes and talk to us about the trip. Love the friendliness of mid-westerners!
Then the tent site next to us came up to us. It was four gentleman about our age. All four were wearing flannel shirts and had cut off the sleeves. They wore hats with fish hooks, hooked through them. They brought a case of Coors Light over as they came joyfully over to our campsite. These guys were incredibly generous. Just warm humans with a good heart. Very nice and genuinely inquisitive about what we were up to and what Biking for Baseball was about.
As we started to go through the introductions and first questions, they had one of those conversations that I’ve always wanted to hear:
How far are you riding tomorrow? – said Brett
Well we are riding to Oklahoma City – I replied.
Hey, Jimmy, how long does it take to drive to OKC? – asked Brett
I don’t know. 2 hours? – answered Jimmy.
But, how long does that take in a semi? – he continued.
A semi? Well that depends on what load you are carrying and what time of day it is – replied John shaking his head.
Well, what if you are carrying a dozer? – asked Jimmy
Well you can’t carry anything bigger than a C6. Semi can’t carry no C7 – answered John.
We stood there, us four in one line, listening to this whole conversation go on. We had no idea how to respond or contribute, we just kept marveling at the rawness of it. We were talking about a bicycle ride to OKC and we ended up listening to the maximum load capacity of a semi carrying a dozer. Fantastic. We knew we were in for a treat.
John and Brett left at some point to look for some firewood. They ended up coming back with a tree dragging from the back of their truck. We feel asleep to a bonfire.
Jimmy stayed behind and hung out with us. I think he was nervous because his friends took so long to get firewood. He had a lot to say about guns and oil. Guns are common around these parts, so that makes sense. And oil is HUGE in Oklahoma, so that, once again makes sense. He talked a lot about “if a man comes into your house, and you fire off a warning shot, and then he keeps coming at you, you better make sure you kill him.” As to which we responded, “Are there a lot of break-ins around here?”
No. I leave my door unlocked.
It was incredibly captivating to listen to someone else who has a different perspective on everything. We grew up in the Midwest and of course were able to share and converse with Jimmy about politics and the like, but I think it ratchets it up another notch the further you go into the country. We soaked it all in. We listened and felt a little bit of what it was like to live in the panhandle of Oklahoma and grow up working on an oil rig. This was exactly what we wanted. We didn’t get a chance to thank the guys in the morning when we left at 6 AM, but we gave them a salute as we drove away from Fort Supply as the sun rose over the lake. Thanks guys for a great time at Fort Supply!
We had a 100 mile ride into Oklahoma City the next day that we cruised. A lot of wind at our back and we were feeling good. We hadn’t planned on coming through OKC, but Adam realized that it was on their route to Arlington and he had his brother, Kyle, who lived in OKC. Perfect! So the B4B team was lucky enough to join up with Kyle and Kaitlyn in OKC for an evening. We made hot dogs and shared family stories before heading out to Louie’s to catch Game 1 of the OKC Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs Western Conference Finals in the NBA. What an opportunity! So thankful to be able to see Kyle on this trip. Thanks Kyle and Kaitlyn!
We had three days of riding left to get to Arlington. Straight south we go and into the wind! It actually wasn’t that bad. And surprisingly, the roads were quite comfortable and well-suited for a cyclist. We made good time as we continued through Oklahoma and closer towards Texas. It was getting hotter and muggier by the day, but after living in Colorado for so long, we missed the humidity. Something tells me we won’t be saying that later, but for now, bring on the sweat!
We made such good time we were able to make it to our stopping point, Comanche, by a great time… Sonic happy hour. We loaded up on Route 44 Cherry Limeades and hung out at the picnic tables outside the Sonic, working until the sun set. The people at Sonic were actually quite friendly and even allowed us to make our own food in their parking lot. We committed the double happy hour and grabbed a large shake at half price as well before we headed off to our campsite, 3 miles east at Comanche Lake. We found another diamond in the rough. We had no idea that we would be able to find so many incredible campsites on our way down to Texas! Seriously thought the best we would have had would have been in Colorado, but Oklahoma and Texas were making us think otherwise. We hung out with the lone horse next to our campsite and watched a thunderstorm in the distance as we prepared our campsite for the night.
We prepared the next day to enter our 9th state by bicycle… Texas!
The road was smooth and the bike lanes were wide as we pommeled through the first part of Texas heat. We ended at the LBJ-National Grasslands; another national treasure. We jumped in the lake, did flips from a rope swing into the lake and Steve did something he’s never done before. We even saw a gator! And we swam in the same lake as that gator! Yikes! Here’s to entering gator country.
With only 60 miles left into Arlington we thought we’d be fast. But then we ran into a headwind. Then we had three flats. Then we ran into city traffic. Then we ran into a pizza buffet. We still made good enough time, but no thanks to the unfriendly cyclist roads of Arlington. I think we just had a bad route, but the shoulders were non-existent, the cars were fast and the stoplights were a plenty. Didn’t matter… we were in Arlington and ready to see the Rangers!
Thanks for reading… on to Houston!