binge drifting adventure nomads
  • Home
  • Book
  • Adventures Abroad
    • Nepal 2013
    • Southeast Asia 2011
    • Southeast Asia 2009
  • Grand Adventures
    • Get Out More 2015 >
      • GOMT Blog
      • Sponsors
    • River Wedding 2014
    • TransAmerica Bicycle Trail 2014 >
      • TransAm Blog
    • Marathon 2014
    • Pacific Crest Trail 2011
  • Seasonal Adventures
    • 2016 >
      • Sequoia NP
    • 2013 >
      • Jackson, WY
      • Glacier NP
    • 2012 >
      • Florida Keys
      • Southern Utah
    • 2011 >
      • Florida Keys
    • 2010 >
      • Sun Valley, ID
      • Acadia NP
    • 2009 >
      • Steamboat Springs, CO
      • Alaska
  • Our Friends

Pueblo or bust

6/17/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Heading off as the sun sets...
DAY 33-PART 2
NIGHT RIDE
Haswell, CO to Pueblo, CO

"Just let me close my eyes for five minutes," I plead with Becky as we lay on the sidewalk outside the Boone post office. The gnats and moths buzz overhead around the lamp post which lights the small town street. The scene of us laying on the walkway would seem odd or alarming to any passerby during daytime hours, however at this hour the town is motionless and still. Nothing moves other than the busy insects above. It's 3 am and we've already rode 71 miles since beginning this night ride as the sun set 8 hours earlier. Sleep deprived, we had taken a gamble battling the darkness as opposed to the relentless daytime winds. As long as we can keep awake and aware for the next 19 miles, our gamble will have paid off and the unforgiving plains will be a thing of the past. Pueblo marks the passage into the Rocky Mountains.

Some may say we're crazy or reckless for riding at night. That may be so, but those who judge have never been bullied and pushed around by the hellish winds of Kansas and Eastern Colorado before. The ride began fairly uneventful with the four of us sticking together for safety reasons. Becky and I both have bright red flashing tail lights and front headlamps. Dirty B only has a headlamp while Flats McFarlane has both a front and backlight. So far our gamble is paying off as we make great time with minimal wind hampering our passage. However, as the night progresses a nasty crosswind develops. Dirty and Flats go ahead as Becky and I can't keep their pace. After 45 minutes the winds do lighten again, but we are now on our own having fallen behind the other two.
Riding at night is very mental. We've ridden many times on this adventure in the dark early morning hours. These rides aren't as mentally trying because it's known that an end to the darkness is in the near future when the sun rising. This night ride is a whole other beast. We start in the twilight hours with no promise of light in the hours to come.

"Becky move!" I shout at the top of my lungs. The lights and shadows at night play tricks with the eyes. Especially eyes hampered with lack of sleep and hours of stressed night riding. But there is definitely something directly in our path. It's huge. Is it moving? No. Two eyes glimmer in the reflection of our headlamps. The head rises and looks straight at us with a dull lifeless stare. It's an injured deer lying in the road. That's the biggest deer I've ever seen. No wait, it's an elk. One one thousand. Becky shifts six inches to the left. Two one thousand. She clears to the side of the suffering beast by less than a foot. Three one thousand. We're safely 20 feet down the road from the near horrific collision. Becky is now fully in the opposite lane screaming and crying. I try to comfort her while also trying not to imagine what would have happened if...
Stats:
Miles: 149.51
Average pace: E (error)
Max pace: 25.3 mph
Odometer: 2320 miles

0 Comments

    team.becky.keith

    Binge drifting is a way of life for us. Since we met in 2008, we have worked seasonally in 10 different states, driven across this amazing country of ours countless times, hiked from Mexico to Canada, bicycled from coast to coast and traveled the world. We hope you enjoy these tales of our journey chasing adventure!

    Archives

    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014

    Categories

    All
    DAY 0
    DAY 01
    DAY 02
    DAY 03
    DAY 04
    DAY 05
    DAY 06
    DAY 07
    DAY 08
    DAY 09
    DAY 10
    DAY 11
    DAY 12
    DAY 13
    DAY 14
    DAY 15
    DAY 16
    DAY 17
    DAY 18
    DAY 19
    DAY 20
    DAY 21
    DAY 22
    DAY 23
    DAY 24
    DAY 25
    DAY 26
    DAY 27
    DAY 28
    DAY 29
    DAY 30
    DAY 31
    DAY 32
    DAY 33
    DAY 33-PART 2
    DAY 34
    DAY 35
    DAY 36
    DAY 37
    DAY 38
    DAY 39
    DAY 40
    DAY 41
    DAY 42
    DAY 43
    DAY 44
    DAY 45
    DAY 46
    DAY 47
    DAY 48
    DAY 49
    DAY 50
    DAY 51
    DAY 52
    DAY 53
    DAY 54
    DAY 55
    DAY 56
    DAY 57
    DAY 58
    DAY 59
    DAY 60
    DAY 61
    DAY 62

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly