Travelog Menno

Colorado and New Mexico

Eads, Zac Holford and I were cycling together as we entered our first “town” in Colorado. Even though the city park had no shower or pool, it was the only place for us to camp. So there we were. If not a shower, why not a haircut? As our delightful hairdresser, Lorrie Lynn Chase, was making us look beautiful, we shared our sad showerless predicament with her. Of course, she invited us to use her shower.
Trusting with her home, she went on working. It had been a very warm ride that day and we knew we were in heaven after this shower.

After leaving town we realized that, while we had met many wonderful people in Kansas and were hoping to meet more wonderful people in Colorado (such as the lovely Ms. Chase), there are simply not that many people living in his part of the state.

We thought these stretches were lonely, but later we discovered that it could be even lonelier.
Be patient!

In Ordway I encountered the lost road family member, Dan Guffy. He was staying with Gillian Hoggard, who extended an invitation to all of us. Around this time our group was composed of Tjoan, Dianne, Wayne, Zac and myself.
I rode with Zac that day and we were making good progress. Zac had some trouble with his bike and wanted to go to Pueblo because it had a good bike shop.
After we had a nice ice cream and some fries, we split and he went to Pueblo.
I called Tjoan and asked for directions. After meeting at the grocery store, we cycled to the house of Gilian. She was not there because she had to work.

The area where she lived had been blackened by a fire. The whole area was burned.
She had lost her house and more than 1000 trees.
With the help of her employer, she was getting her life back together, although her forest paradise was gone. It will be many years before this will look like a tree-filled paradise again.

She just had a new home.
Homes in the US are mostly build in wood.
This one was built in a factory and assembled at the home site.
During building, a falcon built a nest inside the walls. Gillian removed the young birds and was raising them in her new bathroom.
Everyone had a sleeping space in her new house. It was carpeted and we had a soft cool spot to sleep that night.

The next morning I thanked Gillian for her hospitality. We said, “Goodbye” to Dan, as well, since he was staying at her place to help her with all kinds of jobs round the house.

That day Tjoan and I split from Wayne and Dianne again because we wanted to go to New Mexico by car.
We headed for the airport to rent a car.
Because there were so many bush fires in the region, a lot of the economy cars were rented to the visiting firefighters.
In the end, we rented a Ford Edge (an SUV) for almost the same price as the economy car. And we had GPS without extra charge!

That evening we stayed at a hotel and shared a nice dinner together with Dianne, Wayne and Zac at a very nice Italian restaurant.
Early the next day we went to Taos, New Mexico.

I wanted to see the Earth Ships.
Earth Ships are environmentally friendly dwellings that blend into the surroundings where they are built. They don't need power or water from the city. All water and power is supplied on the site by rainwater and solar-cells. After the water is collected in a cistern, they use it 4 times before it is used as grey water! Even in New Mexico, a desert area, they have enough water the whole year.
We were at the world headquarters of Earth Ships. They had a very interesting tour leaving from the Visitor Center. I bought several books to expand my knowledge about building in an earth friendly way.

They are saying: There is enough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed!

The American way of building is different than in Europe. In Europe buildings are built to last a long time.
In the US the buildings sometimes appear to be disposable. When the building is worn out or out of style, tear it down and build a new one.

Maybe it is embedded in the way of life of the US people. Like in the old times when the people were on the move to the West and never long in one spot. They were always moving on to a better future…

This was a day well spent.

We ended our day at Great Sand Dunes National Park.
The atmosphere between Tjoan and I got worse.
After another sleepless night I told Tjoan that I would continue my trip on my own.
It was hard to say but I couldn't go on like this.
We drove back to Pueblo and I said goodbye to Tjoan, who cycled on.
I returned the car at the airport and cycled to Cañon City.

It was a sad chapter of my trip to say goodbye to my friend Tjoan!

When I left Pueblo, I met Brian, a lawyer who had quit his job and started cycling the Trans-Am.
He stayed in Pueblo one more day. I wanted to cycle a part of the Trans-Am route, so I headed to Cañon City where I had a $10.10 dinner at the Chinese restaurant and stayed for one night in a hotel.

The next day was a late one, too. I sent some items home and did some grocery shopping.
Then I pointed myself towards Guffy, a small “town” 2 miles off route and uphill even more.
This day was very hard. The climb from Cañon City (5300 feet) to Guffy (8489 feet) involved numerous steep pitches of 10% grade (and more).

Although the climbing was brutal, it was worth the effort.
The “city” was very small but rare in its kind. Nice houses and even a cafe / restaurant.
The mayor was not a person, but a cat!!! I even took a picture of him (or her).
The person I had to find, according to Wayne's phone call, was Bill at the Garage.
This place was a memorable place, with a lot of old cars and antiques. Thrifty would be a good adjective in this regard.
Bill was a remarkable person. He let me stay in a cabin for cyclists filled with antiques and nice things. It was warm in the cabin and I had a great time.
The toilet was a dry one. But was very good. The shower had to be started again because the days of freezing were just over!

Bill was an artist, making remarkable sculptures with skeletons of horses, and men (Real? I don't know!).

In one of those special moments on my trip, I got my first close-up glimpse of Hummingbirds! So small, and so strong!!

The next day was a long one, as it included the climb to Fairplay at 9850 feet of elevation! The mighty headwinds did not stifle the immense beauty of the surroundings.
The towns were very scarce. Between Guffy (a very small “town”) and Fairplay, there was only Hartsel.

Hartsel, a small “town” (perhaps just a gathering of a few buildings) in the middle of vast plains, showed me very very strange hospitality. The restaurant would not provide water to cyclists. This is outrageous!!
You could have a meal, have free refills of the water in your glass, but water in the bottle, “No, no. No!”
I first thought the waitress was making a joke. No, she meant what she said, “No water for cyclists!”

Russ, whom I had just met in this strange place, heard this bizarre exchange. He and his wife gave me several bottles of cool water.

This place must be put on a blacklist so that no other cyclists stop here and are mistreated over lunch.
Because there is nothing between Guffy and Fairplay, this will be difficult!

Russ, another member of my road family now because we cycled some stretches together, was a cyclist without bags. But he cycled every meter of the Trans American Bicycle trail!
His wife Amanda, and 4 children, Nutt, McKenzie, Mary Boven and Anne Teer, were in a van with him. His wife drove the van with all the supplies and 2 extra bicycles for the oldest two sons. They accompanied their father crossing several state-lines.
Those children were having a great time traveling through the US on this way. They were seeing much more of the country than children of their age. Great.
Russ had a very light bike (titanium and Carbon) and was, of course, much faster than I was. We met each other during the parts of our routes that overlapped. He had some long stops and did the original route. Wayne, Dianne and I took part of the Lewis and Clark trail. So, it is pretty magical that we finished practically together in Astoria!

In Fairplay, I was reunited with Wayne and Dianne. They were having a rest day. Resuming their travel with me, we climbed the Hoosier pass together. The highest pass we cycled on the Trans America Trail, it was more than 11.000 feet!
During the climbing of these last days I increasingly had trouble breathing. I had “attacks” of hyperventilation. Always short in duration, annoying but not really troublesome. At home, I never had any such problems before.
In the days that followed, the hyperventilation faded until it stopped altogether.

When I descended I lost my rear fender. It broke.
My rear fender had very few attachment points. This made it too flexible and subject to excessive stress, leading to its eventual demise.

In Kremmling, Brian and I had dinner together and talked about the differences between the US and Europe. The dinner was my first Mexican meal. I liked it very much.

One little event I have to tell you.
It was a Friday when we were in Kremling, and I had a package I wished to receive in Walden, a town further up the road. As I did the math, it became clear that I could not reach Walden post office before it closed.
So, on Saturday we made an early departure for Walden, hoping to get there before the post office closed at noon. At the low pass we had to climb it was obvious that I would not get there in time. I attempted to call the post office, but none of us had cell phone reception. If I could not get to the post office before noon I would have to wait until Monday to get my package. That would mean a forced rest day on Sunday. That was not desirable! Wayne suggested taking a lift.
My first attempt to hail a pickup truck worked!
This was Eric Gundlach, on his way to a hunters course, heading through Walden.
What extraordinary good fortune!
He appeared to be a Para medic by profession, working on the ambulance team. We had great fun talking about the similarity between our jobs!

Because of Eric’s generosity, I was in time to collect my package. Instead of cooling my heels in Walden, I cycled back towards Wayne and Dianne. We enjoyed riding into town together.

That night Brain turned up, and the four of us had a nice pizza dinner in the City park of Walden. Russ was also in town, but he didn’t join us for dinner.

The distances in Colorado

Thursday June 12th 8 km Eads
Friday June 13th 103 km Ordway
Saturday June 14th 75 km Pueblo
Sunday June 15th 0 km New Mexico by car
Monday June 16th 72 km Canon City
Tuesday June 17th 60 km Guffey
Wednesday June 18th 74 km Fairplay
Thursday June 19th 63 km Dillon
Friday June 20th 70 km Kremling
Saturday June 21st 58 km Walden
Sunday June 22nd 55 km Border state Wyoming
Total in Colorado 538 km

Revised by Alex, October 17, 2008