JUNE 27 LUGGIN' IT TO LAMAR

And on the 22nd day there was rain. LOTS OF RAIN! A totally drenching, soaking rain as we approached the town of Las Animas and crossed the Santa Fe Trail.

I asked the sheriff of Bent County, CO who had stopped at our SAG outside of Hasty, what "Las Animas" meant. He said, "city of lost souls," as it is located on the Purgatory River. (You just cannot make this stuff up).

We all looked like dripping wet lost souls as we finally found shelter (and food) at the Dairy Queen in Las Animas.

We saw the storm coming and we knew that yesterday the winds were clocked at 50/60 mph with 3 inches of rainfall. We were headed directly into it on Route 50. Approaching cars had their headlights on and were wet. Our only preparation, as we biked in totally open farm country, was to put our cameras etc. in plastic bags. We got hit hard by the rain for several miles. Only Mason seemed content. I guess Army Ranger school teaches them to love adversity. We rode into town with rooster tails flying high behind the bikes.

Up until the rain came at about 11:30, we were having a great day. We were at the 85 mile marker at what was to be a 121 mile trek to Lamar, CO. It is the L O N G E S T mileage day of our journey. We were making great time with great average speed of about 18 mph. We were in a 8 man (person) paceline almost all morning...just sailing along. The weather changed all that. The last 35 miles were against a strong wind as well as being on rough pavement.We stayed together and fought the wind, but it was a tougher, slower go.

The Paceliners

We were never distracted by anything scenic! This Southeast section of Colorado has never been on the front of a postcard. We saw cattle feed yards, cattle trucks, and hay fields. We passed through the streets (sorry, that would be street, singular) of such towns as Manzanola, Rocky Ford, La Junta, and Hasty, which appeared almost deserted. The words: "CAUTION - Narrow Bridge" appeared 21 times on our route sheet today as we rode through this area into home base at the Cow Palace Inn in Lamar, CO.

Lamar, "an historical town on the Santa Fe Trail," population 4000, is a poor farm town with feed lots stocked with hundreds and hundreds of cattle at the edge of town. I asked the lady at the hotel desk if Lamar was famous for anything. She pondered, then said, "The trains still go through town every day." Don't you wish you were here?

Buffet Dinner

The ride was officially over at the hotel--the 121 mile mark, but AbB offered a certificate if anyone continued on to reach 125 miles in a day. The 2 Johns and I did--riding through Lamar. The certificate is for "Double Metric Century." It will be my last one EVER, and it better be signed by George W. It is one heck of a long way on a bicycle!

         - Bill

The Certificate

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