We woke up in Denver with a weird mix of being spiritually fulfilled from the Avett Brothers concert coupled with physical and mental exhaustion from two "rest days" of exploring Denver.
Luckily for Jack and I, Andrew (Jack's friend) was the driver so we got to sleep for the two hours from Denver to Pueblo.
Glad we got a couple extra hours of sleep on the drive down because today marked the start of the second half of our trip.
So far through the mountainous first half we'd averaged around 65 miles a day. For Jack to make it to the wedding he is a best man in on time we need to average 85 miles a day. Here's hoping our thought of trading mountains for miles pays off.
We picked up our bikes from Sunshine Bikes (thanks for letting us store our bikes with you over the 4th!) and got a late start on the road a little before 1 pm.
It felt great to be back on the bikes. If felt even better, for the first time since day three of the trip, to return to the flat lands. Oh, how we've missed you dear plains.
We cruised through the heat (100 degrees) of the afternoon and even were blessed with a little cloud cover for our last stretch before stopping for early dinner of cereal, milk, and Gatorade at grocery store around 5 pm.
Lesson #62: Mother nature rules all.
We were ready to hop on our bikes and keep grinding out miles but there were 30 mph winds building and dark grey sky's above.
We waited out the rain for an hour or two and decided it would be best to go to bed early and make up our miles tomorrow.
The locals (and our trusty Adventure Cycling maps) told us of a local named Gillian who housed cyclists. Sometimes you can feel the stars aligning.
Side note - for those of you I haven't been lucky enough to share my dream with here goes: Friends are the family you choose. My dream is to go in with the homies and build shipping container homes on a cheap (foreclosed) plot of land deep in the woods and far away from people. (For the haters, click here. If you're still feeling like a negative Nancy know that you are always welcome to become part of this dream).
Lesson #63: Dreamville is closer than you think.
Gillian has created my dream but instead of shipping containers she has build permanent bunk houses / living spaces out of old RV's. It's an incredible place. A greenhouse to grow barley for the chickens, goats, and horses. A pool and hot tub in back. Her house in the center with showers, lounge area, books aplenty. Beautiful gardens and walkways connecting it all.
Gillian uses everything. Her property is filled with reused items.
She welcomes cyclists, gives them a bed, shower, and relaxation in trade for 15 minutes of labor. Jack and my task was to take apart the old bed frame she found in her field the other day. She was going to use the metal frame for caging her tomatoes, the wood slats to reinforce her greenhouses roof, and the used staples to a fix chicken wire in her chicken coop.
Worktime.
We showered, and learned from Gillian about how she rebuilt her current house and living community after a wildfire destroyed her house and everything she owned five years ago.
We hit the hay, well actually the comfy mattresses on the bunk bed in the blue RV, early as we're setting our sights high on a century ride tomorrow to make up for the short mileage day today.
Thank you to Gillian for building this incredible place. Thank you for letting us stay with you.
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