When flat is good

"Sure, it's a few more miles, but it looks flat to me."

Famous last words said while looking at a map.

Each day on the commute home I pray for a tailwind. Headwinds are most common, but on this day, seeing how I am reversing the commute, I expected a tailwind. No, no, no - Mother Nature cannot have this. Let's throw 15 mph in my face why don't we? Suuuuure, why not?

My trip to Pueblo West on Friday was not supposed to go like this. At the risk of sounding like a chronic complainer, nothing went my way on that seventy-mile jaunt. The first fifteen miles were normal enough - the commute to work each day, but with additional traffic, two fire engines in a big hurry and lots of red lights (I'm usually on this leg of my trip at 5:30 am), the going was slow.

Now, into new territory.

Highway 85/87 through Fountain leads to Old Pueblo Road on the east side of I-25. I'm guessing this is how one got from Colorado Springs to Pueblo before I-25 was introduced. Old Pueblo Road was the obvious choice as it is illegal to ride a bicycle on an interstate highway, and the west side (preferred) of the interstate had broken and disconnected frontage roads. So, headwind blowing, idiot motorists out ("Hey moron, get off the road!") and half a gallon of water, I set out.

Surely something must improve if I am to enjoy the remaining 45 miles of this trip. Old Pueblo Road forks into Hanover Road, which takes me due east to Meridian. This is where the opening quote of this post comes into play. It amazed me that riding away from the mountains I was still riding uphill. Take it in stride, dude. There's no shoulder to speak of and no traffic, so that could be construed as a good thing. Meridian Road is the one that will take ease some of the pressure. It will get me out of the headwind and into...

TWO INCHES DEEP OF GRAVEL FOR FIFTEEN MILES.

Holy geez, if there is a cycling Hell, I was in it. I had to stop three times just to utter a few curse words and gather my bearings. Once I left the gravel for pavement I thought things would get easier, but as it turns out, I was pedaling headlong into one of those famous Colorado afternoon hail/thunder storms. Neat.

Luckily, I only saw a few close flashes of lightning and a few droplets of rain (which cooled me off). The harsh reality was that the gravel took it out of me, and when I say 'it', I mean every last joule of my energy. By the time I reached my destination, my neck, shoulders and core were aching. My legs felt great, I just could not muster the energy to go another foot on two wheels.

I guess the payoff was that when I awoke Saturday morning, there were no sore muscles and I was ready to golf 18 holes. The whole intent of riding down was to plot the course for the beginning of The Trip 2005. I succeeded, but am not looking forward to the next time I must travel that way...