Day Thirty-one (103.02 miles, 1429.93 total): Welcome Colorado

RING! RING! RING! Ella starts sprinting across the concrete floor like her paws are on fire. She slides around like something you'd see in a Scooby-Doo episode. Little paws moving faster than lightning but moving absolutely nowhere! I get out of my sleeping bag and open the door into the dark morning. It's 5:00AM. Ella jumps about like a little gazelle then sprints like a cheetah back for the door. So much energy for such a small little fur ball! My bags are mostly packed so I quickly get dressed, roll my pad up, stuff my sleeping bag and get ready to walk out. Its about 5:55AM by this point and the owner walks in. She is very friendly but likes to talk. And talk. And talk. It's about 6:20AM by the time I am able to leave. I grab a quick breakfast and hit the road.

It's an overcast morning but it is cool and I have a slight tailwind to work with. I set off to finish Kansas for good! With great biking conditions, I was flying down the road like there was an engine propelling me along. The scenery was more of the same never ending fields of green and brown, swaying gently in the wind. It almost feels like you're in the same place you started by the time you finish the day. I rolled along enjoying the wind at my back as I sped along. Ella leaned out like a hood ornament at the helm of the bike. She was having a great day, no brutal heat to hide from.

We cruised along until we reached Leoti where we stopped to fill up my bottles. A quick break and I'm bolting down the road again. The clouds remain over my head and the breeze continues to stay at my back. It's a relief from the brutal beating I got yesterday. I receive a text from Joel to get anything I need in Tribune because there is nothing after that all the way to Sheridan Lake. Before I long, I reach the small town of tribune. It's a neat little town with loud speakers on every corner. Not many people walking around, but hits of the seventies seemed to play endlessly in the streets.

I find the grocery store in the middle of the main strip. It is a well stocked grocery store and I get all the stuff I want. When I check out, I realize the name of the grocery store is quite unfortunate,  Gooch's. I couldn't help but start cracking up. The woman at the register looked at me weird and I grabbed my things and left. I parked under a tree at the local library and let Ella out for awhile. While I snacked, the golden oldies continued to play over the loud speakers. I hopped back on the bike and headed off for the Colorado border.

I could see a storm cloud off to my left and finally sunlight peaking through up ahead. A rain drop hit my nose and I kicked it into a whole new gear. It was like my legs were on fire as I sprinted down the highway. I didn't want to get rained on because my rain gear wasn't on my guitar or my back   panniers and Ella's rain cover was buried in my top bag. For the sake of laziness, I shot down the road like a bullet. Wind decided to flip on me as I pushed on. It was an inconsistent wind from my right side and it wasn't to difficult to fight. At last, I burst from the gloomy shade of the storm into the warm glow of late morning. The sun felt good against my back and the wind from my side kept me cool. Unfortunately, with the sun and warmth, comes the flies and other such devilish creatures. As I pedaled, I slapped away the annoyances as they circled my head and legs.

FINALLY YES! I had arrived at WELCOME TO COLORFUL COLORADO! A quick picture of my bike and the sign, then I hopped back on to finish the final 15 miles of my ride. Flies were killer and bug spray didn't stop them at all no matter how much you put on. I pedaled like a wild man to out run the nipping gnats. The green fields of corn and the golden rows of wheat had disappeared only to be replaced by unkempt desert landscape. An overwhelming vastness of dirt and dead grass sprawled out before me. So much for leaving Kansas! I left the fertile fields to arrive in a dried up land of nothing. I passed through two more blink towns and continued for Sheridan Lake. I knew I was getting closer, so I was constantly looking for a huge blue pool of water standing on its own in this desert wasteland.

At last, I arrived in a small town that resembled a temporary military base from the 1970s. Everything was made of old corrugated steel or just falling down anyway. The town was in shambles despite having a very nice looking post office in the very center. Sheridan Lake has 57 residents total. These midwest towns seem to be dying out slowly one at a time. I couldn't see a church so I send Joel a text to see where he is. No answer but I found it on my own. Joel arrived about 30 minutes before I did. He was happy to see me and we both went down to the convenient store for some sub sandwiches.

Once back at the church, we plan on our next move to reach Pueblo. It's a long stretch but we plan on an 84 mile day to keep us on track. After some gourmet Kraft Mac and Cheese, we start filling our water bottles and packing up for our early leave. Around the same time Laurie arrived at the church as well! She finally decided to leave Newton! It's good to see her and Ella was even more excited! We catch up for awhile, then three more cyclists show up as well. A boy walks in and tells Joel and I that Ella is not allowed in the church. Vance is a very peculiar kid and seems to be easily confused. We immediately play the service dog card, just like we do to get her in restaurants across the country!

He turns out to be the pastor's son, but doesn't know what to do if there is a service dog. Instead of waiting for him to call, Joel convinces him to drive us to Eads so we wont have such a long ride the next day and we would have a place for Ella to stay without issue. Vance drives Joel and I in his gold van with no AC and broken windows. We got a great history lesson about the area from Vance, but sweated out half my body weight in the process. I thought I was going to turn into a puddle right in the back seat. Vance drops us off at The Cobblestone Inn, completely soaked from the hot ride out of Sheridan Lake. The Cobblestone Inn has to be one of the nicest hotels I have been to in quite awhile. It puts some big city Marriott's and Hilton's to shame. Oddly enough, it is located in a town with only 200 people and one restaurant. Joel leaves the room and comes back with Rebel IPA and some cookies. Couldn't ask for a better riding partner! Who doesn't love beer and cookies after a long haul??

After a much needed shower, we head on over to the local diner. I devoured my Bacon BBQ Burger and an entire plate of fries, thought about eating the plate too! Back in the hotel, we plan our next day out and pack our gear up. Around 9:00PM we had the most spectacular lightning storm just outside our windows. The plains lit up with brilliant flashes of purple, blue and white. The sky became a light show as bolts of pure energy danced across the black veil of night. It was an amazing way to end an exhausting day. A new state and a new start! Tomorrow we head for Ordway and the day after to Pueblo. It's amazing to think I have come so far and will be hitting the half way mark in two short days! Thank you for sticking by me and Ella as we have traversed the country and hope you continue to do so as we head for the Rocky's!