We woke up sore in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Last nights ho' down really shot our legs. 80+ miles of biking, no problem. Dancing, that's a whole other story.
Looming mountains set the mood up at Rainbow Trail Camp.
Thank you to Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp for showing us so much love. We got to each with the counselors and family camp members before Mari dropped us off in Westcliffe.
After loading up the bikes and saying bye to Mari (thank you for making us welcome at camp!) we started in our last big mountain climb. Goodbye mountains.
It was a clear and sunny day and Jack I quickly starting feeling the great plains approaching as we biked down the side of our last mountain pass. We could feel the lack of elevation as we rode into thicker air and higher temperatures.
Goodbye mountains, hello plains.
Lesson #58: Don't think about how nice it is to not have problems. Somehow this seems to attract problems.
I was cruising along at a fast clip as we descended onto the outskirts of Pueblo and thinking about how nice it was to finally have all of my rear wheel issues (spokes, rim, tubes, etc.) behind me.
BANG! It sounded like a shotgun going off. My back tire literally exploded 6 miles outside of Pueblo. It wasn't just the tube. My rear tire had a major gash in it. Jack and I carry plenty of spare tubes but no spare tires.
Time to put the thumb out and play the numbers game. We decided it was best for Jack to ride on into town as I waited for a ride. There were few cars on the road but after about 20 minutes a nice middle aged man in an old blue pickup pulled over.
He was taking a wine delivery to Pueblo. He'd opened the Vino Salido Winery in 2009. Thank you Steve for the lift, stories of your start-up, and the bottle of white wine.
Keep fighting the good fight Dave. Thank you for the new rear wheel and thank you for what you are doing.
Lesson #59: Business & capitalism isn't the problem. Business can be a vehicle for positive change. It's the people that choose to use their businesses in a positive or negative way.
Steve dropped me off at Cycle of Life Bike Shop. Talk about a place where their business spreads positivity. Life Cycle is a non-profit fellowship that works to provide affordable, reliable transportation to people who have recently been released from prison. Dave, the store manager, told us about how challenging it is to obtain a driver's license and vehicle after being released from prison, especially if you have a felony charge on your record.
Twenty dollars later I had a new tire and tube on my rear wheel and was ready to roll. Jack showed up shortly after we had the rear wheel fully fixed.
We left our bikes at the bike shop and headed to the Pueblo County Library to wait for Jack's best friend from college, Baden, to come pick us up in Pueblo.
We're headed to Denver for the 4th for the Avett Brothers concert at Red Rocks and then it's on to Part II of the adventure.
Bang again... i'm guessing these things no longer surprise you. Relieved to hear you replaced le wheel altogether. Hope things even out in Kansas at least wheel-wise. Just attempted an email, but Red Rocks photos appeared all over it. No idea if it'll fly. If it does, hope it doesn't explode your phone.
ReplyDeleteKeep the revolutions going. (Wheels, etc etc) Jackie
Have fun at Red Rocks--such an awesome place for a concert!
ReplyDelete