Today was a big day. After an unexpected zero day and a change in weather we said good bye to Leoti and headed west. West to Colorado along US 96. The day was perfect for cycling. It was still warm but the heat was not as intense as it was yesterday. Sure the thermometer on my bike computer hit 102 at one point but it started in the 70s and sustained the 70s for most of the morning. In the afternoon the temperatures hit the 90s. But, it felt much cooler. Also, working to our advantage were the winds. They started from the north then moved to the northeast, then the east, and finally the southeast. Those winds pushed us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In no time we were in Colorado. It took less than 2 hours to pass the Kansas\/Colorado border. Eastern Colorado looks no different than Kansas. It is still flat, for the most part, barren, windy, hot, but a little browner. The cropland gives way to grasses and pastureland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the way we stopped at the church hostel in Sheridan Lake. No one was there but it was nice to fill our water bottles with ice and ice water. That is such a great stop and all cyclists should take advantage of it. From there it was onto Eads, CO. By the time we got to Eads, which was 80 miles after our start, we were both feeling good and decided to continue to Ordway. Ordway was an additional 60 miles away. It seemed like a lot but everything was going our way. We left Eads around 3:40 and made it Ordnay just before 8 pm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a point after 100 miles where the route changed to the south and winds slowed us down. Then the route changed to due west. With favorable tailwinds we were able to sustain speeds over 27 mph after riding 120 miles. At one point we were traveling over 30 miles per hour. In the first 80 miles we averaged 15.5 mph. In the last 60 miles we bumped our day long average speed to 16.4 mph. It was a big day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s stats: total mileage 142.33 miles, average speed 16.4 mph, elevation gain 1060 feet, elevation descent 938 feet, max speed 31.2 mph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n