Distance: 55 Miles Pueblo, CO to Ordway, CO
Ride Time: 3:56
Average Speed: 14.1
Altitude Gain: 469
Average Temperature: 95
The ride today was my first day on the high prairie. It seemed real flat and uneventful. It turned out that it was the stop that made the day. Kathie told me that there were two young cyclists ahead of me. I felt that there was a lot of business that needed to be done today, so we wanted to stop early for the day. We pulled into Ordway, CO early in the afternoon. I told Kathie to wait at a main intersection in town while I checked out a campground in town. The campground was rented through a convenience store. When I pulled up to the store, I noticed the two cyclists that Kathie had seen earlier with their bikes packed down with their belongings. They had stopped for lunch. Both of them were 22 years old, had just graduated from college in San Diego, CA and were riding to somewhere in Kentucky. They continued on while I stayed to get some paperwork taken care of.
The people in the convenience store said they handled the paperwork for the campground and that I could go out and check the spaces available. The first two camping spots I checked out had only 50 amp electrical connections and no trees or shade. The third place I checked out had a closed electrical panel. As I opened it to inspect it, the wasps inside decided to check me out! For some reason they liked my right ankle the most. I was dancing in the campground as they stung me three times. I went back to the convenience store with the intention of taking one of the spots in the campground without the wasps. For some reason the lady in the convenience store, instead of signing me up for the campground, told me about a lady in town that put up cyclists passing through. As she was telling me about the lady, a gentleman that was purchasing gas overheard the conversation and said the lady has had health problems and was no longer able to take care of the cyclists. He said he would help me find other accommodations. I explained that I needed an internet connection also. He said he was Scott and was the school Superintendent. He said to load up my bike while he checked some things out. We first drove to where Kathie was parked and told her I was checking out some other options. We then drove to a house that he said was the house of the President of the school board. He knocked on the door and when no one answered, he walked in to check things out. (It is nice to live in a small town.) From there we went to the court house and he spoke to a county commissioner and arranged for us to use a campsite at the fairgrounds for a $40 nightly fee. He drove to the high school and explained to me his office was there and if I parked outside his office I would have a good internet connection. At this point we ran into the President of the School Board. He said his name was Jerry Davis and his wife, Peggy, was preparing dinner and would be glad to put us up for the night at their house and use his internet. Jerry hopped into Scott’s car and we drove to where Kathie was still waiting. I presented the options to Kathie and she said if Jerry’s options included a nice shower, dinner, internet and a bed it sounded too good to turn down. Jerry said he and Peggy would be glad to have us as guests. We thanked Scott for his help and he said “You will never know what we saved you from at the campground.”
We drove our trailer over to Jerry’s. We met Peggy and she, like Jerry, was very welcoming. I was the first to take them up on the nice shower. By the time I was cleaned up, they had arranged a work place for me and my computer. Kathie accepted an offer to play their piano and my work began. Things just couldn’t have gone more comfortable and Jerry and Peggy were soon very good friends. By the time my work was done, dinner was ready and we ate a very enjoyable meal. We also met two of their grandchildren with their friends that dropped in for a visit. We took a walk through town with them and had a fun time talking and Kathie was given an enjoyable ride in the tire swing in their yard. Jerry explained that he had organized an event called “Pedaling the Prairie,” a local bicycle ride that involved hundreds of people last year. He also gave me some “Liquid I.V.” He is a pharmacist and said it was the best sports drink he had come across. We retired for a very comfortable night feeling we had met some very good Christian friends.
ThruUSA2 