TransAm 2017 – Page 3 – Ramblin' Dan: Bike Touring Adventures

Day 51: 42 Miles

Saratoga, WY to Rawlins, WY

Today was such a quick ride I would almost write it off as a rest day. I woke up early and was on the road by 6:45. The first 21 miles of the day headed directly north and I knew wind wouldn’t be a problem. I needed to get on the road early because the following 21 miles were directly west into a potentially windy area. The wind picks up as it gets later in the day, so the plan was to get through the first 21 miles as quickly as possible to make the rest of the day easier. The only problem with getting an early start to beat the wind is that the day starts out cold. It was in the low 40s when I left town this morning. Today was the first time I’ve worn long tights under my bike shorts since Pennsylvania.

Day 50: 67 Miles

Walden, CO to Saratoga, WY

I started today with only 22 miles to the Wyoming border. Those 22 miles were the easiest of the day. There wasn’t any real wind and I was able to average almost 14 mph to the sign welcoming me to Wyoming. After stopping for a quick picture, I got back on the bike and it felt like the weather had completely changed. Suddenly there was a lot of wind to deal with. I started at 7:30 this morning, which is later than I would have liked. The winds tend to pick up later in the day, so it would have been smarter to get up early.

Day 49: 61 Miles

Kremmling, CO to Walden, CO

After going back and forth for the last couple of days, I woke up this morning and had to choose a route from Kremmling to Walden. I had heard good things about each route from a few cyclists and the locals at the bar were split on which route was better. Another cyclists who was staying at the same hotel as me had come from the shorter route and said it was great. Since there was no consensus, I opted for the shorter route and it did not disappoint. I’m sure the longer route would have been good as well, but this is a long trip and I’ll take a shortcut when it presents itself. I don’t really mind going off route because the first 1,000+ miles of my trip were not on the actual route. There are some purist who need to start in Virginia and end in Oregon and not deviate in any way. I am not one of those people.

Day 48: 41 Miles

Silverthorne, CO to Kremmling, CO

Drinking beers on a bicycle all day yesterday was exhausting. By the time I got to the last brewery in Silverthorne I was only good for a sandwich and 1 more beer. By 9:30 I was passed out in my hotel room. I woke up around 5:30 AM, but it was still cold out and I had a short mileage day planned. I decided to go back to sleep and aimed to instead get on the road by 8:00 AM.

Day 47: 18 Miles

Breckenridge, CO to Silverthorne, CO

Finally a rest day! I haven’t taken a rest day since Louisville on May 24th. Today is a much deserved break after all the climbing I’ve done since Pueblo. The hostel I stayed at last night was amazing and when I woke up there was a great breakfast ready in the common area.

Day 46: 40 Miles

Hartsel, CO to Breckenridge, CO

Today started out waking up wet and cold at 5:30 AM behind some junk cars in an open field. Last night’s sleeping arrangements were not the most ideal. By 6:30 AM I was packed up and headed to the gas station in town to pick up breakfast and use their bathroom. The field of course did not have bathrooms or showers so I wasn’t looking my finest this morning. I was excited to get on the road though as today would involve climbing to the highest point on the Trans Am route.

Day 45: 49 Miles

Canon City, CO to Hartsel, CO

I guess I’m in the mountains now. Today was all about climbing. I started around 6,400 feet, climbed up to over 9,000 feet and finished the day around 8,400 feet. The climbing was tough, but the scenery was great.

Day 44: 56 Miles

Pueblo, CO to Cañon City, CO

Today was the first real day of elevation gain in Colorado. I started out the day at 4,600 feet elevation and ended at 6,400 feet. The first 40 miles were relatively easy as I only gained 800 feet of elevation. The remaining 1,000 feet were climbed over an 8 mile stretch.

Day 43: 37 Miles

Fowler, CO to Pueblo, CO

I got up this morning with the best intentions of making it past Pueblo to Cañon City. It was only 37 miles to Pueblo and starting before 7:00 AM meant I’d get to Pueblo very early. A few miles into the ride I changed my mind and decided I’d make it a short day. I have a lot of climbing ahead of me and taking some short days leading up to the climbing should help me out. Yesterday’s long ride gave me the option for a short day today and I decided to take advantage of that.

Day 42: 79 Miles

Eads, CO to Fowler, CO

Today was probably the best day I’ve had on the bike so far. I couldn’t have asked for nicer weather and the road was flat for most of the day. The scenery also started to get a little more interesting as the day went on. Eastern Colorado has looked a lot like western Kansas, but today the mountains started to pop up over the horizon. I know they are still far away, but it was great to watch them come into view as the miles rolled on and I got closer.

Day 41: 55 Miles

Horace, KS to Eads, CO

The last few days have been a real struggle, so I was extremely happy to get on the road this morning and find that the wind was not that strong and the temperature was cool. I started riding just before 7:00 and it was only 16 miles to the Colorado border. I don’t know if I was happier to make it to Colorado or to get out of Kansas.

Day 40: 50 Miles

Scott City, KS to Horace, KS

Another day in Kansas with strong winds and high temperatures. I got up early and was on the road by 6:45. This was not as early as yesterday, but still much earlier than I’ve been used to. The winds changed direction over night which helped a little. There still wasn’t a tailwind, but the wind was hurting less than yesterday.

Day 39: 55 Miles

Ness City, KS to Scott City, KS

My normal morning start time has been somewhere around 8:30 AM for the majority of this trip. When I talked to the 4 other guys who I camped with last night, they were all planning to be up by 4:45 AM. I knew it was going to get hot today and that I should be on the road early, but 4:45 AM seemed a bit much. When I woke up around 5:15 I had the only tent still set up in the park. Two guys were already out riding and two were close to leaving.

Day 38: 64 Miles

Larned, KS to Ness City, KS

After 109 miles yesterday I decided to sleep in this morning, which was probably not the best idea. By the time I got out of the motel the winds had picked up significantly and it was already hot. It was good that I’d pushed through yesterday, because doing that ride in today’s conditions would have been impossible.

Day 37: 109 Miles

Newton, KS to Larned, KS

Today was a long one. I got up early enough to ensure I’d be done at a reasonable time. The winds picked up a little bit compared to yesterday and were blowing out of the south. I headed directly west for the entire day and had the wind somewhere between my 9 o’clock and 11 o’clock at all times. It wasn’t quite a head wind, but it was enough to slow me down.