This was our second year of getting to do this 3-day ride in Eastern Colorado. The route has been different in each of the 3 years that they've organized this event. We started in Wiggins this year. The town's population is about half of the number of riders signed up for the event.
Day One was Wiggins to Fort Morgan. It was a short, 36 mile, and easy ride with perfect weather. Erich and I rode touring bikes to practice for Germany [that will be another blog post later]. Good thing it was easy and flat terrain as the bike weights more than twice as much as my road bike. John sped off oh his road bike and met other fast riders, Janet and Frank. Janet was the "rabbit". That is the faster rider that the others try to catch.
Fort Morgan hosted the evening event with live music, good food booths, beer garden [a necessity for most riders] and concurrently hosted their large annual classic car show. Actually I was surprised by how many bicyclists also have a passion for old cars.
Day 2 was the long one, 74 miles for Erich and I and slightly over 100 for John. Cannondale bicycles had an amazing deal: give them a driver's license and they would give you a demo road bike to try for the day. how could I resist. [My carbon fiber road bike had been cracked after tangling with a car, but that is another story.] Ooolala, nice bike! It didn't quite make me 10 years younger and more intelligent but it was close. $7,000 is just more than seemed reasonable for a 62 year old to spend on a bike. Then again I could get 23 years of use out of it if I continued to ride until I was 85 like the oldest rider in the event.
The purpose of the "Pedal the Plains" event is to introduce us city folk to farming/ranching life on the eastern plains of Colorado. Every few miles were educational stops.
Besides egg farms we visited a dairy. Did you know they RFID tag dairy cows so they can track the precise amount of milk each cow produces? There was a hydroponic tomato farm with delicious tomatoes. Turns out, it is more economical to farm tomatoes in a total climate controlled building than greenhouses. It was also silage harvesting season. The big trucks carrying the ground up corn [that's the entire plant] passed us frequently. Towards the end of the ride Erich encountered exhausted dog who had become lost after chasing bicycles all day. Compassionate Erich fed the dog about 5 liters of water out of his hand and then lifted the dog gently into the police officer's pick up.
Day 2 ended in Sterling, the biggest town on the trip. Shuttle service from the finish line to the motels was a little, hmmm. less than well organized so we decided not to try to return to town for the festivities. No problem. There was a big wedding reception at the motel. The one-man-band entertainment kept them rocking until the wee hours. At least the hot tub was behind the stage so John and I could sneak in for a soak
Day 3, of 66 miles return us to Wiggins. Great day of riding. Erich and I rode with Cathi and Bob who will also be on the Germany trip. The educational stop was a demonstration of the high school's technology/robot lab. These amazing high school students are now beginning to design prototypes of robots that will assist farmers and ranchers.
John sped to the finish line but patiently waited for us before having a meal.
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