We’ve camped in some pretty unusual places on the trail so far, but this evening’s spot feels rather special. We’ve pitched our tents right next to the Colorado River in the Rocky Mountains and all I can hear as I lie in my sleeping bag is the rush of the water as it races past…
Posts by: Paul
Ain’t no Mountain Higher – Hartsel to Frisco
Well, we’ve climbed the Appalachians and the Ozarks, but today we topped them all by crossing the Continental Divide and reaching the highest point on the entire TransAmerican Trail – the Hoosier Pass through the Rocky Mountains. Our campsite at Hartsell was already at around 9,000 feet but the Pass took us much higher still…
No Country for Old Men – Royal Gorge Bridge to Hartsel
By Terry Some people are better organised than others … having brought Paul a much appreciated early morning cuppa, Warren and Esther were already up, fed, packed and off before we even got to the diner at 7am. Today was our first full day of cycling at any sort of altitude … and in the…
Gonna Fly Now – Pueblo to Royal Gorge Bridge and Park
Well they’ve been on the horizon for days now, their presence looming ever closer, but today we finally reached the spectacular Rocky Mountains. It feels like a key moment. We are now more than halfway across the US and it would take longer to go back east than carry on west. But we’ve still got…
Brokeback Cyclists – Ordnay to Pueblo
By Terry It had to happen really, didn’t it? Well, we have been spending a lot of time together … 24/7 really, but it still just sort of crept up on us. A first for us, but it turns out afterwards that we’d both been thinking about it for some time. We got all emotional. Not…
High Plains Drifters – Sheridan Lake to Ordney
It’s hard to believe but we are now cycling at around 4,500ft, higher than any peak we have in England and on a par with the top of Ben Nevis in Scotland. We have to keep reminding ourselves of this because the landscape we are cycling across is almost completely flat – but they don’t…
Storm Clouds Gather – Scott City to Sheridan Lake
We are huddled in the porch of a church in Sheridan Lake, Colorado and a storm is howling outside. The sky has gone black, the trees are being whipped into a frenzy and tumble weeds are hurtling past the door quitting the town like they know something really bad is about to happen. I’m standing…
A Tale of two Cities – Ness City to Scott City
After our late arrival in Ness City last night, Terry and I were rather groggy this morning. But with the delights of the Derrick Inn to look forward to we eased our tired legs out of bed, walked past the mock oil derrick in the atrium (this such a weird concept for a hotel –…
Caught Out Right and Bloody Proper – Larned to Ness City
We really should pay more attention to the weather forecasts. It said rain early and late. That’s what it did. So we left late in the lessening downpour after our free room and breakfast and immediately stopped across the road to chat to some Ride Across Kansas cyclists. They’re only doing 600 miles. Pah! (We’re…
Ton up on the Plains – Newton to Larned
A major landmark – we hit our first 100 miles day crossing Kansas with (at last!!!) a favourable tailwind. It had been in the offing for a while, but today the gods smiled on us, as they did last night finding us a superb place to stay at the Newton Bike Shop. James’s wife, Heather,…