we thought we left the tornados in kansas, turns out we were wrong. the colorado police told us, hours after crossing the state line. we sought shelter in Yang’s gift shop off route 50 on our way to Las Animas. tofu, sausage, and chicken wings were on the menu for that unexpected rest stop.

with full stomachs, we returned to the road to outrun the storm. lucky for us, Las Animas welcomed us with open arms. to date, i’d have to say Las Animas and Witchita are my two favorite cities. david and sharon and their friends were so nice and i felt immediately comfortable. after a nice shower, a delicious meal, and some good conversation, i enjoyed my most restful night’s sleep of the trip.

yesterday we started into the mountains, i zambonied with andy. if i haven’t explained it yet, we rotate the “zamboni” position. Zambonis sweep the group, we are the last riders in the group. if someone flats, we help. if someone’s having a bad day, we power positive them to our destination, or make the call as to whether or not they have to sag. we climbed 2000 ft yesterday so we weren’t alone at the back.

we found ourselves in rush hour traffic in rainy 50 degree weather. the group decided to call it a day and head to rei for warmth and discounts. 2 hours later, meg, carly, lorig, and i found ourselves still at rei “watching the bikes”. lucky for us, martina, tess, and tess’s dad arrived to whisk us away to Boca de Bepo. after loading the bikes, we enjoyed a glorious meal, boys free, except for the lovely company of Mr. Evans…although we did bring leftovers home for andy.

today we road almost entirely downhill to denver. although it was cold, the ride was so enjoyable, and it was only 44 miles. i spent most of the day overhauling my bike…the pink tires are on! since learning andy’s plans to leave us at jasper, i’ve become his mechanic understudy.

i’m just hearing plans for monday’s ride to estes park…quite a climb. makes me tired just thinking about it. i’m feeling great, but worried about the mountains.

we’ve got a mail drop coming up…my last two have been empty. notes of encouragement would be greatly appreciated, we are nearing bear country, don’t you know?