We had planned to go to Cheyenne but were warned by people in Medicine Bow that the winds are horrible going there.
Instead, we left Laramie and headed South on 287. The road was probably as you’d expect, bordered by ranch grazing land. Even though we were at 7000 feet and going to Fort Collins (5000 feet), we did have to climb to 8031 feet but it wasn’t anything too difficult. Rt 287 roughly follows the Overland Trail and as we entered Colorado, we passed the stage coach stop building that has been preserved but is now fenced off.
One thing the great state of Colorado chose to do is to use the shoulder to install their guard wires. We’d be riding down the shoulder and then they just installed posts and cable right in the shoulder. To say the least it was a little worrisome as semi’s are expecting to have the lane to themselves and all of a sudden they have 2 Catrikes in their lane. Luckily, as we got closer to Fort Collins, that ended.
Fort Collins started off well enough. It’s a pretty cute town with lots of good places to eat and a college. As we rode though, the traffic got much more congested. We eventually got to roads where there were no bikes allowed. As we snaked our way through, we finally hit a bike lane which was able to get us down to a westbound road. Dad thought we should take this out to Rt85 which is what he’d originally planned to take from Cheyenne. By this time, it was late in the day and we were tired. (Read between the lines here, we were frustrated- I was cranky). We headed West and first, there was construction on the road and no shoulder so we immediately became the least favorite people on the road. About 25 miles later and totally exhausted, we pulled into a fleabag hotel.
The next day we continued down Rt 85 and started snaking through Denver. Dad had done some research but even that proved not enough and it took forever riding through Denver. Finally, we found ourselves on a road we were not supposed to be on and it nearing 8PM (dusk). Both of us were again exhausted and things were looking grim. I pulled up all the hotels but they were all booked. I finally found one and paid way more than I would for 4 nights but at this point we had to get off the road. That night we ordered room service and collapsed into beds.
So, the story here is you can do all the research you think necessary, and still end up with problems. I would suggest that especially when faced with larger cities, that local bike clubs/groups should be contacted to get their suggestions on how to cross their area.
We had planned to leave Denver the next morning, taking Rt 25 South to Colorado Springs. We knew there was construction on the road so we planned to leave it at Castle Rock, follow a frontage road, then head to Palmer Lake and then back to Monument where we’d get back on 25 and follow it into the Springs.
Leaving Denver, we were pulled over by a DOT truck who said we were not allowed on the road. This turned out to be incorrect but it caused us enough concern that we pulled off the highway and called the State Police. The corporal I spoke to did not seem to know but he thought we should head out to Rt 83 as it was much better. So we headed out there and started following it down to the Springs. What the corporal failed to say is that it goes over some real large hills which made it the third day of frustration. We had made an appointment to drop the Catrikes off at AngleTech to be serviced. As we approached that time, we realized the extra miles and climbs were not going to allow us to reach there in time. Luckily, my wife was planning on meeting us there so she headed up to where we were. You have no idea how wonderful it was to see that beautiful woman. We ran over to AngleTech and drop them off and discussed what we wanted done.
I need to digress here and say AngleTech is one of those truly uncommon businesses. When we pulled in, they’d just finished a trike for a gentleman without arms. They seem to do this sort of thing a lot. When we left they were working with a man who’d had a stroke and needed a special harness for one of his hands. They also had one inside that was ready for a person who needed to use their arms to pedal. And of course, there are all the other people that they’re serving. I definitely recommend them if you are in Colorado Springs or need a special setup.
One really neat opportunity we got while at AngleTech was the chance to meet Dave Cornthwaite (davecornthwaite.com). He’s riding across the US from Palo Alto to Memphis. Check out his site and google his name with Tedx Talks.
After dropping off the trikes, we headed down to Pueblo. My daughter Sarah had flown in from Mexico where she now lives and Saturday my mom flew in. My brother-in-law, sister-in-law and their daughter and my son Caleb also live in Colorado, so it was a nice reunion and time of rest. (7/31 – 8/11)
On Aug. 12th we got back on the trail following Rt 50 to La Junta where were spent the first night and then to Lamar the second night. It may be Colorado but it starts looking a lot more like Kansas as you go away from the Rockies.
