Day Thirty-two (60.8 miles, 1490.73 total): Have we left Kansas yet?

5:30AM. A soft tune plays from Joel's side of the room. It's a comforting melody the doesn't launch me out of bed like a nuke siren. Ella yawns and stretches out across the bed as I get up. It's still dark outside, but I feel refreshed from a good nights sleep in a comfortable bed. A good night's rest is exactly what I needed. Ella is jumping on the bed like its a trampoline and dragging the sheets back and forth. I sneak the little fur ball outside and she hops around like a little deer. Sneaking Ella into hotels is so easy because she never barks and can practically fit in one hand! Back inside, I get dressed into my freshly washed cycling clothes and put on my socks. Oh the feeling of clean socks! Having clean socks is one of the best feeling on the road!

Joel comes back from the lobby with oatmeal and eggs, so I naturally head right out the door toward the smell of food. Free breakfast, why not take advantage? I load my plate high with eggs and sausage. In my free hand, I grab a few mini muffins and a glass of OJ. It's a good start to a new day! While chowing down on my mountain of food, Joel and I go over the map one last time before we hit the road.

It's a crisp morning out and we have the wind to our backs. The sun is barely cresting over the horizon, casting a burning sheen of light across the clouds. We ride into a short hill before hitting the flatland's of eastern Colorado. Miles and miles of barren land lay on either side of the endless highway. Out on the plains, you feel a strange sense of loneliness as you cut your way through the grey of morning. It makes you feel small, a grain of sand in a sea of dunes. Joel and I fly down the highway as the wind pushes us along. We stop every now and then to take pictures of the empty plains and the bulging clouds of the western skies.

At one stop, Joel starts freaking out and a meteor comes crashing through the atmosphere bursting into a million little pieces. We had never seen anything like it before, it was unreal. To see a meteor plummet through the skies into the horizon during the day was bewildering. After our excitement wore off, we pedaled on down the road.

The first town we reach, Hazwell, has absolutely nothing in it. The Adventure Cycling map said there was a convenient store, but it was no where to be found. Hazwell had a surprisingly nice park, so we stopped and had a snack before we moved on. Once we left, the road turned into a roller coaster, rolling up and down the plains. Joel and I sped on cutting through the hills like butter. The sun burst through the clouds and heated up the asphalt below us. We still had a breeze to our backs but the day was definitely getting toasty. About the same time the sun came out to greet us, the flies came too. Swarms of little biting annoyances followed us as we jammed on. There was no stopping them, no matter how much spray you used or how fast you pedaled, the flies were right behind you.

As we pressed on, the landscape began to change to a more desert like environment. Cactus and desert shrubs filled the vast emptiness moving west. The sun was beating down on us now and there wasn't a cloud for miles to provide moments of sweet relief. To our right, an abandoned railroad kept us company all day long. It's overgrown tracks moved along each curve like a metal serpent hunting its prey through the tall grass. The winds moved to our side and slowed us down a little bit, but not enough to make it difficult. Resting down the line, old loading cars lined the lonely track. They would have been a great place for pictures and lunch, but we were being bombarded by the little black kamakazi flies. One after another, they were relentless. We looked like crazy people as we waved our arms around our faces to keep them from biting us. Even Ella was snapping at them as they revolved around the bike.

The highway turned and so did the winds. Right into our faces. Fortunately, they were intermittent and only slowed us a little bit. The hills continued to climb as we moved west. By early afternoon, we had reached the next town, Sugar City. Again, the maps were wrong and all of the diners and stores were closed and boarded up. This was getting ridiculous and we were running low on water after the winds and climbing. A sign shines like a golden beacon telling us our final destination is only 5 more miles ahead. The roads are becoming more crowded and we have to move into the shoulder to avoid traffic. A lake hides over a hill to our left. A big blue pool of water stretching across the desert plains.

We pass a feed lot and make the final push into Ordway. We make an immediate stop at the first gas station and guzzle some ice cold Gatorade. The woman at the counter tells us we are not in Ordway quite yet, but points us in the right direction. A few minutes later, we are greeted by a plump woman with hair that would set you on fire if you stood to close at The Hotel Ordway. Her name is Carol and she comes out with two big glasses of ice water. She takes us to our room, which is immaculately clean, and shows us where to lock up our bikes.

After relaxing in the ice cold room for awhile, Joel and I head to a diner right down the street. This diner made one of the best French Dips I have ever had and made fantastic homemade fries as well. It was a lunch fit for kings. Back at the hotel room, Joel brings in some beer and we hang out for awhile before he has to make a business call.

Later in the evening, we walk into downtown were we meet up with Laurie. Back at the same diner again for dinner we also meet another cyclist named Jack. He had ridden from San Luis Obispo to Mexico to Death Valley and all over everywhere else before heading back east. Jack was a pretty cool dude and had ridden a long way for someone in his 60's. I had a burger for dinner and it hit the spot. Leaving the diner, Laurie got a flat but wanted to fix it on her own, so Joel and I headed back for the hotel. We plan on getting up before the sun rises so we can make it to Pueblo fairly early. On that note, I still have a few things to get packed tonight! Ella and I hope you are enjoying our adventures and continue to follow us as we make our way toward the good ol' Rocky Mountains!