A Group of Hairy and Very Large Arachnids

This is the third of three posts going up today.  Enjoy!

From Janie:

Walsenburg to La Junta, on Saturday, September 29:

We rolled out of Walsenburg this morning about 8:00.  Jody rode from the hotel.  Rod ran me down the road a quick fifteen miles and dropped me off with The Flying Fish. 

Sunrise near Walsenburg, headed to La Junta CO.

Today was the first time I'd been on The Flying Fish (my blue Klein road bike) in a number of years.  She'd had a complete overhaul and primping session at the bike shop in Denver, but I hadn't had time to get on her. 

She's much lighter and quicker than The Fish - including a third chain ring.  Much, much faster.  The position is a little different, the handlebars are very different under my hands (which are a little tired now, but should adjust in the next few days), and the shifters are completely different.  In fact, a little too different. 

I didn't think to talk to the guys at the bike shop in Denver about how small my hands are.  Rod adjusted the brakes for me, and I can manage the right shifter (which works the deraileur on the rear wheel of the bike, for those of you not quite so bike savvy).  However, shifting to the middle then big chain ring is an exercise in twisting my hand around, over-reaching, and generally being pretty uncomfortable and not quite as stable on the bike as I'd like.  Rod and I talked, then he had someone call around looking for the closest bike shop.  Unfortunately, the closest bike shop was back in Pueblo.  Not going back.  Going forward.  So I'll ride with what I've got until we reach the next bike shop on the route - in Garden City, KS on Monday.  There we'll get the shifters swapped out, and I'll be a much happier camper.

That said, it was a gorgeous day crossing the southern plains of Colorado.  The road rippled a bit - not enough to even call it rolling - and every now and then would curve a little bit to the left or the right.  But mostly just pedaling 73 miles east across the plains.

When I stopped for snacks, Rod asked me if I had seen the huge spiders on the road.  I hadn't yet, but I knew what they were.  "Tarantulas," I said.  And yup, tarantulas they were.  I must have seen 20-40 of them, but I wasn't counting.  I was busy making sure I didn't run over one of them - I swear, they were so big I was afraid if I hit one, it would knock me off the bike!  (OK, not really, but it sure seemed like it!)

Jody stopped in the middle of the road, waited for Rod to come take a picture of the big furry beastie.  EWWWWW!!!! Take a peek!

Jody's finger.  No way I'm getting that close!

Jody's buddy.  Ewwwww!!!

 

Nearly forty miles into my ride (what would be the sixty mile point for Jody), I was certain I was going to have a 50+ mile day.  Legs felt great.  Lungs felt great.  Hands and feet were tired, but ok.  The Flying Fish was flying along, and La Junta was just down the highway.  But not to be, not today.  Rod had stopped and was looking at what might have been a cloud bank, but looked way more like smoke drifting down from the north.  I pulled up, took another look, and decided to get in the car.  Whatever it was, it was blowing across the highway ahead of us, and I was certain I didn't want to breathe it in.

 

Clouds?  Smoke?  I didn't want to find out.

 

I Googled from the hotel room, found that the La Junta air rated 3 out of 10 for breathability today, but couldn't find any details on why.  Or any information about whether that really was smoke.  No matter.  Today was route number 19.  We won't hit the Atlantic until route 51.  Lots of riding left to do - no need to risk the lungs today, or any other day.

 

I have fake eye lashes on and they feel like tarantulas.

     ~Kellie Pickler, American country music artist