Day 10: Pueblo to Lamar, Colorado. 121 miles. Flat as a pancake*

Yee hah!  Today was the longest I've ever ridden in one day.  It turned out to also be the fastest 40 miles I've ever ridden.  More on that in a bit (* if it's less than 1000 feet of climb, I'm not going to shot the elevation.  While today was technically downhill, it was less an 800 feet of decline over the 121 miles).

Today's ride followed the historic Sante Fe Trail through much of small-town Colorado and weaved in and out along the Arkansas River.

Not just the trail; the folks around there take their Sante Fe heritage quite seriously.  This area, La Junta especially, is a huge railroad junction.  And the Sante Fe railroad has played a major role in this region for quite a long time.

Today we again spent the entire day on US 50.  It was a very long day and a very hot day.  We actually got out of the hotel early this morning to avoid some of the more serious afternoon heat.  In the cool of the morning, we actually had a very slight tailwind.  That, and the relatively flat roads, were what led to my averaging 19.2 miles per hour over the first 40 miles.  

Many rural communities throughout the country have their version of a gas station and convenience store combo.  In the South, there are lots of "gas 'n gro" stores.  Out here, the big chain seems to be "Loaf and Jug" combined with Conoco gas stations.  Less popular, but prolific enough for me to notice, are these "Tank N' Tummy" stores.

It's Sunday.  Rodeo day in Bent County.  A number of us stopped just off an overpass to witness the calf-roping.  Later, at the local Dairy Queen, I ran into one of the gals who was in this contest.  She still had her number pinned to her shirt as we stood on line.  While she said she hadn't done that well, she did admit to making enough money to afford lunch.

We rode through a series of small towns along US 50, including Fowler, Manzanola, Rocky Ford, Swink, La Junta, Las Animas and Hasty before arriving in Lamar.  While this is still Colorado, it's so far away from the look and feel of the Colorado Rockies and its mountains and greenery.  Instead, this is flat land, farms and cattle stations.  Green only in the crops, not the forests.

I had my first encounter with a dog today.  With bad flashbacks to the situation on the Mississippi ride two years ago, I changed pace very quickly to outrun a dog that bolted from it's front yard and onto Route 50 to chase me.  Fortunately, I was able to outrun the dog.  No matter how much we've been trained about using our water bottles or our bike pumps, the first instinct is to accelerate and get the hell away from the animal.  Sometimes it works.  It didn't for the guy in front of my on the Mississippi and he got bit by a pit bull.   While this was a smaller dog, it definitely didn't look friendly.

After my first 40 miles, the winds started to pick up and changed direction.  We now had a distinct cross wind that was threatening to become a headwind.  The cross winds hid the first of three gigantic feed lots along today's route.  The eventual headwinds later in the morning and afternoon alerted us to the remaining two lots miles before we actually passed them.

So many cows packed into such a small area.  All three feed lots looked just like this one.

Around noontime, we all posted up at a local Dairy Queen in the town of Las Animas.  It had gotten so hot that, one by one, each rider pulled into the parking lot to cool off with a Blizzard or a Smoothie.  Before we knew it, about 80% of the riders were filling up the tables.  It basically became our lunch stop for the day.

The boys enjoying a much needed cooling down.  We were all fried, but Blizzards and Slushies did the trick!

Later in the afternoon, we all stopped again at a tiny store in the town of Hasty.  Nothing much in the town except a gas station, that store and the post office across the street.  The owner of the store has rolled down an awning that covered a picnic table along side of her store.  There, under that awning, we all took shelter from the beating sun and drank Cokes or Gatorade or anything else cold and wet.  I think in the span of a single hour, she made more money from us than she might have all day long.

We finally made it into Lamar late in the afternoon.  Everyone, even the fast riders, were dragging when they arrived at our hotel.  The last twenty miles were into a stiff headwind and the skies were threatening with serious storm clouds.  We all made it in safely, then ran through the raindrops to have dinner across the street at local steak place.  Once inside, the heavens opened up and there was lightening galore.

Tomorrow, another 100+ mile day as we leave Colorado and enter Kansas.  Hopefully the winds and the weather will be a bit more favorable.