Day 16 -- Green River to Grand Junction (CO) -- 105 Miles

I apologize that this post did not go up yesterday (computer issues), but I am back and happy to report a few items of business. First, our group completed our 3rd century (105 miles to be exact). Also, as you can see above, we have made it to Colorado -- Utah is in the rear view mirror!

Getting to Colorado, however, did not come easy. Our mileage was in the triple digits, as was the temperature -- some reports had it as high as 104 degrees. Boy, was it hot! But, at least there were no headwinds, and I am truly grateful for that.

I also suffered two flat tires yesterday. The first was about 3 miles before our 2nd SAG stop, and it was tough to swallow, as I was absolutely flying when the tire deflated. The second flat was on a downhill about 8 miles after the 2nd SAG stop.

Typically, I only carry one extra inner tube, and since I used it on the first flat, I figured I was stuck waiting for the support van once I received the second flat. Thankfully, however, it just so happened that about 200 feet up the road there was a woman shouting at me to walk my bike over to her so she could help.

As it turns out, this woman, Sue, is a native of Grand Junction, Colorado, and has done several cross country rides with the same touring group that has organized my current challenge. She knew we were approaching her hometown, and decided to wait along the freeway (I-70), hand out freeze-pops, and cheer us on as we approached the home stretch of the ride. It was so thoughtful.

When I finally made it to Sue, not only did she offer me an ice-cold freeze pop (the red flavor hit the spot), but she also hooked me up with an extra inner tube and a floor pump, and got me back on the road a lot quicker than I originally had anticipated. What luck, huh? It was awesome!

The rest of the ride went smoothly, save for the extra miles I decided to ride after incorrectly reading my cue sheet (map). Oh well, I eventually made it to the hotel, and slept well knowing that 3 states (California, Nevada, Utah) are a thing of the past.

I don't have many photos from the day, but please check out the few that I did capture.