Loveland, CO build day

On Sunday we had a build day on a Habitat for humanity home. Usually the habitat organization doesn't work on Sundays but since we were here they had us work for a half day. That worked out perfectly since my family was around so I had the afternoon to spend with them. At the work site I mostly worked on painting the outside of the house. It was the most finished house we had worked on this summer so it was nice to see what they often turn into. 

Front of house. 

Side view. 

In the afternoon we first went to lunch in Loveland and then we headed to Fort Collins which was only a 25 minute drive. We walked around the town and I was surprised to see the many local shops and restaurants. 

Town in Fort Collins. 

Some bike stuff in a shop. 

At night I returned the church that the group was staying at. We had our weekly family meeting and I said I had another week with many highs. They included camping, cooking dinner with dinner crew, riding with a few different people, and my time in Loveland. My low for the week was also another high in some ways because although I was really scared during the lightning storm, it was a cool experience to ride in such crazy conditions. I also gave kudos to my prom date for such a great rap performance and also to my sweep partner Doug for helping me during the storm. 

Fort Morgan, CO to Loveland, CO

On Saturday we had our last flat ride in Colorado. I teamed up with my friend Lydia because her dad was meeting her in Loveland and my family was meeting me so we wanted to get there as soon as possible. Four other people joined our group and we pace lined to lunch. After lunch Lydia and I headed out. At around mile 50 the ride became much more exciting as we finally started to see the Rockies in the distance. It was such a great ride as it was a slight downhill with a tail wind and the huge mountains to watch get closer and closer. 

Lydia with the mountains. (Hard to see)

Mountains getting closer. 

The Rockies were hard to capture with a camera but they were beautiful. Lydia and I were the first to the host, which never happens to me. About an hour later my family came and we headed off to the hotel. 

Mom and me in front of the trailer. 

Other side of the trailer. 

After I showered we walked around a near by outlet mall, went to a brewery called the Grim brothers, walked around another outdoor mall and statute park, and had dinner at PF Changs. I was so happy to finally see my family especially since I hadn't seen them in a year or two. 

Me, my mom, Uncle Dave and Uncle Phil at the brewery. 

Holyoke, CO to Fort Morgan, CO

On Thursday my friend Doug and I were sweep so we were the last to leave in the morning. The ride started off great since there was a strong wind but it was mostly to our backs. We did a few bonus miles together since it was meant to be a 95 mile day so we wanted to get a century ride in. We made it to the first lunch stop at a reasonable time but could see some dark clouds up in front of us. As we headed out we prepared with garbage bags in case we needed to wear them for warmth and to put over our camelbacks. 

Doug riding towards the clouds. 

Shot from the van. 

Shot from the van. 

After only a few miles from lunch lightening struck a metal pole about 50 meters from us. I started freaking out a bit but Doug calmed me down by saying it was just a camera (which we both knew was a lie). A mile later another bolt of lightning struck a pole 100 meters away from us and again I started freaking out. Our only choice was to keep riding since there was nothing but open fields around us. The ride was getting more and more difficult though because of the heavy rain and head wind. Eventually after about 20 minutes of riding that felt like forever, we made it to a hotel. We called the group of people in front of us who said they were right down the street at a ga station. Doug and I quickly rode our bikes a little bit further just to be with the team and it turned out almost everyone had been there, some for the past hour. At the gas station we waited for a few hours to see if the storm would pass but the lighting kept coming. Our group leaders talked for a while and heard that the town we were heading to had just had 14 people killed in the past week because they were struck by lightning in open fields. The leaders decided it would be best to van everyone  Fort Morgan due to the storm and time constraints since we still had 50 miles left to go. A lot of people were upset by this since 6 people had never been vaned and wanted to complete the journey on their own. No one had a choice though since it was all for safety purposes. The can could only carry 12 people at a time though and ended having to make 3 trips, each taking an hour one way to get everyone and their bikes to the host. I was lucky since I was on dinner crew this week so I got to go with the first group to the host to DM food since we had no host dinner. When we got to the host I went with my friend to several different places. We ended up getting a lot of food from Arby's, McDonalds, and a Mexican place. 

DM galore. 

A bunch of other people got a bunch of food from other businesses as well so we had another successful host free dinner. The skies ended up clearing up as soon as we left the gas station but since the leaders had already made the call, everyone was still driven in. Some people didn't make it to the host until 8pm, which means they were there for at least 7 hours. I was fortunate to have been the last one to the gas station and the first to leave, so I was only there for 2 and a half hours. 

Alma, NE to Holyoke, CO

On Thursday we had another century ride so we woke up early at 5:30am to get a good start. We also changed time zones so that gave us an extra hour to ride. I rode with my friend Roge all day which made the ride go faster since we didn't stop much and we talked most of the time. 

Woke up to this inspirational chalk. "Smile today's gonna be great!"

Crossed time zones around mile 50. 

Stopped to cool off in a lake. 

Around mile 85 we entered Colorado. 

Wheat fields in Colorado. First of many scenic pictures. 

We spend 11 days total in Colorado and I'm really excited to hit the mountains in a few days. 

Alma, NE to McCook, NE

In a few weeks our group has been planning to have a prom night at one of the hosts. We were each paired up randomly with each other but only the boys knew who they were with so they had to ask the girls out. During our route meeting in the morning I was meant to do the town fact but was thrown by surprise when my prom date took center stage to recite a rap instead. He rewrote the lyrics to the song Glamorous to ask me and he did a really great job. 

We then started our ride but quickly stopped after a few miles to feed some horses. 

The rest of the ride wasn't too exciting, but it was very windy towards the end. When we got to the host we went around town for a little and then went swimming. At night my friend and I went on a short walk to see the sunset which was pretty. 

Sunset. 

Prom date Brian and me. 

Red Cloud, NE to Alma, NE

On Tuesday we had a short ride but it was still an exciting day. We started off riding a warm up of 15 miles and then for those who wanted to participate, we had a time trial of 5 miles. One person went ahead and marked off each mile and then we started the trial where each person left the start line 30 seconds after the person in front of them. 

The start line. 

And the finish. 

When we got to the end we were meant to have timed ourselves but everyone thought that someone ahead would be timing them to give the final time. A few people timed themselves, but most people ended up doing the trial without knowing how fast they went. If I had to guess my time was around 15:45 but I have no idea. 

We then rode most of the days ride but about 4 miles out from our destination we hit the half way point of our journey. It was mile 2,086 and we all met up as a group to celebrate and dance. 

"2,086 miles to go"

"California here we come"

Dr. Seuss quote 

We also lit some fireworks. 

Greeting people as they arrive. 

That night we didn't have dinner provided and since I was on dinner crew this week, my group had to make dinner. I thought it would take a long time and a lot of work, but we had a few other riders help us and it went really quickly. We were able to get a grocery store to donate us food and Pizza Hut to give us pizza so our meal still free. We cooked a stir fry of vegetables, eggs and chicken and everyone thought it was amazing. I was quite impressed myself as well. Since breakfast also wasn't provided my friend Yudi and I got a local cafe to donate us some cinnamon roles too. 

Family meal. 

Manhattan, KS to Beloit, KS

Sunday was another easy ride since it was mostly flat with a few small inclines and we also had a tail wind to help push us along. We were scheduled to ride 93 miles but since it was really easy and we got to the host early my friend and I pushed distance to a century long ride. I again didn't take many pictures since it was mostly farmland but we did stop once by some sunflowers. 

I noticed during the ride and in Beloit that all of the places we rode through seem like ghost towns. I guess stores are never open on Sundays, which makes everything seem abandoned.