Day Thirty-three (52.3 miles, 1543.03 total): A Quick Ride To A Great Day!

RING! RING! RI--. I slap my hand hand around on the dresser until it finds my phone. Ella crawls onto my face then jumps onto my chest like it was a diving board. Joel is already up and making coffee. I slump out of bed with Ella in tow and head for the door. Ella jumps out the door like a jack rabbit and sprints for the side of the building where our bikes are chained up. I go check to make sure our bikes are fine while Ella runs around, then head back inside. Once I've packed up the majority of my gear, I pull out my blueberry bagels and strawberry jelly for breakfast. Simple, but enough to get me through to lunch. After enjoying a morning roast and some tasty bagels, we bring our bags outside and load them onto to our bikes.

It's 5:25AM and the sun hasn't even begun to crest the horizon. We test out our lights and head out into the dark. It's a nice morning, a wind to our backs but not too chilly. Joel and I are flying down the road, an empty track to Pueblo. By 5:45, the sun begins to peak out beyond the plains and cars slowly begin filing down the road. We stay on the same road all the way to Pueblo, so there is no need for stopping to check our maps or GPS's. Minus a few quick hills, the road stays straight and flat. As we move away from the farmlands and closer to urbanized areas, the roads become wider and more trash lines the roads. I have to say I am very impressed by how clear most of the roads have been in Colorado. Every once in awhile we would run across a pile of broken glass where some numb-nuts decided to throw his beer bottle or two. Paying attention to the asphalt usually pays off and we can swerve out of the way of a flat tire, saving us time and energy.

Joel and I continued to lead and follow as we raced along to the halfway point of the TransAm. It was a big victory to get this far and we knew we had a nice cushy hotel waiting for us when we got there. The sun creeps higher into the sky, a wake up call to the citizens of sleepy Colorado. Just a few miles outside of town, we merge with a major highway and zoom along with early morning travelers rushing to work. It isn't long before we cruise on past the Pueblo City Limits sign.

When we first merge off the exit into Pueblo, Joel and I are confused. It is nothing like what we had been picturing or hearing. Houses with bars over the windows, fences around every yard filled with junk, graffiti decorating the unkempt streets, low rider cars with wheels meant for a monster truck, a liquor store on every corner. We pushed on through the broken streets, getting strange glances in every direction. Broken down cars, abandoned auto shops, and stacked up rims line the streets heading into downtown. Before we reach downtown, we have to cross a bridge of a waterway. It makes so much sense, we were on the wrong side of the bridge. As soon as we cross over, Pueblo is exactly as we imagined, a fun little city with cool shops, restaurants, a river trail, hotels, parks, everything that we originally pictured.

It's only 9:30AM and we had already ridden over 50 miles from Ordway. We walk into the Marriott to check in, but they won't have our room available until 11:30AM at the earliest. It is early, so we head downtown to find some breakfast. Joel and I find a little coffee shop called The Daily Grind and have the best coffee and best breakfast we have had since we left Virginia! Not joking in the slightest, this coffee shop had absolutely amazing coffee and if you are ever in the area, you should definitely stop by!

By 10:45AM, the hotel called to let us know our room was ready. I tuck Ella into my backpack to sneak her in. She doesn't move or even make a sound as we carry her in. The hotel has an absolute no pets allowed policy, so I have to sneak her in and out every time I come and go. Our room is huge and we have plenty of space for our gear and our bikes. After getting settled, we head out to get a haircut. I haven't had a haircut since before I left for this trip and desperately need one. We end up at this small salon facing the river downtown.

This is how I sneak her around! #thecyclesherpa #thecycleshepherd #adventurecycle @aussiepups1

A photo posted by Xander Grove (@thecyclesherpa) on Jul 2, 2015 at 8:25pm PDT

The owner, Tirena, ends up cutting my hair. Joel got his hair cut first and ran back to the hotel. He wasn't able to handle the chemicals used in pretty much every salon. Tirena is extremely nice and lets Ella sit right at my feet while she works. She asks me all about my trip, Ella, my family, and we talk about all sorts of other things as well. It's nice to have my hair shorter and she starts to work on the back of my neck. Before I know whats going on, she is using a straight razor and hot shaving cream to shave the back of my neck. It was one of the best feelings in the world and my neck felt so neat and clean afterwards. I gave her a hug and a generous tip before heading out to explore local Colorado life.

I walked around with Ella for a bit before heading back to the hotel. I tuck Ella into the backpack just before we get there and head straight for the elevator. Back in the room, Joel is chilling and talking on the phone. I realize that the week has finally caught up with me and I am actually pretty tired. Bob calls us to hang out and Joel wants to go to dinner but I just want to relax. We make plans to "party" with Bob and two new friends tomorrow.

After Joel gets off the phone, we pop open a few victory beers and enjoy the fact that we made it halfway across the country. Joel and I hang out for awhile before he decides to go out to dinner and I order myself a pizza. Buffalo Chicken Pizza is my jam and I ate the entire large pizza by myself while binging on Netflix. A good start to my rest day tomorrow. Joel is back and getting ready for bed, so I am wrapping up my writing and getting ready to catch up on some much needed sleep. I hope you are enjoying our adventures and continue to follow and share our journey across the US! Ella appreciates all of her fans and wants me to let you know she loves the attention!