Hi Spokesters,
We made it to Colorado! Home of the best airport in the world (Denver International Airport). We are officially in our fourth state, and it’s starting to feel like we’ve made significant progress! Woohoo.
Before crossing into Colorado, we spent our last day in Utah with a stunning hike through Arches National Park. It was my first time seeing red rocks, and although it was 100 degrees outside, the experience was transformative. There have been so many moments during this trip where I’ve been awe-struck by the natural beauty of America. It feels like every day I witness firsthand places that I thought only existed on postcards. Arches was one of these places. Even now, looking back at the pictures, the landscape feels unreal.
After our hike, the team split up for the rest of our rest day. Some of us headed to the pool, while others returned to Arches to explore more. We regrouped in downtown Moab—a very cool city I didn’t even know existed. Eva, Will, and I visited the food truck park and indulged in some overpriced food. My $9 smoothie felt very necessary at the time.
We ended the day in my favorite way—with a warm meal. Thai food, specifically. It was a healing meal. I always say I need a warm meal. The longer I go without one, the more I crave it. Every day that I’m forced to eat a dry Tofurky sandwich, I yearn more and more for a nice warm meal. All I want in life, all I need in life, is a nice warm meal.
The next day, we set out from Thompson Springs, Utah, aiming to reach Grand Junction, Colorado. The day was certainly eventful—we got three flats back-to-back, faced 105-degree heat, climbed almost 3000 ft of elevation, and rode 80 miles with nowhere to stay for the night.
Hunter was the only Spoke who hadn’t gotten a flat by that point, but he was the first to fall on this fateful day. There we were, on the side of the interstate, when he walked up carrying his deflated tire, sorrow written across his face.
He fixed it fairly quickly, and we were back on our way. Things were going well, aside from the blistering heat. We made a quick stop at the only convenience store in Cisco, Utah: Buzzard's Belly, where we met the most unexpectedly kind woman. Jean, the woman running the store, found out about our housing issues and did everything she could to ensure we had a place to sleep that night.
If you ever find yourself passing through Cisco, Utah, make sure to stop by and meet Jean. She’s amazing!
Back on the interstate, I felt that familiar slow drag of my bike that I know all too well. I was feeling my fourth flat of the trip. While I was disappointed, I can't lie—I’m very proud to lead in the number of flats. I'm also getting really fast at repairing them. My PR is five minutes right now. Hopefully, I’ll get it down to two minutes by the end of the trip.
We continued on our way and finally made it to Colorado. As we neared Grand Junction, bike paths materialized everywhere. They were so nice and smooth, especially after squeezing onto the shoulders of the interstate for so long. The best part was the paths that lined the Colorado River. Every time I ride, I say the current ride is the most beautiful I’ve ever done. Then, the next ride beats it for the most beautiful. As of now, I can say the Colorado River ride is the most beautiful ride I’ve done so far.
Just as I was enjoying the ride, we had to stop. Will had also gotten a flat. We were just five miles from Grand Junction, and we were wearing thin, so we just sat there for 20 minutes contemplating on the sidewalk and trying to muster the effort to fix the flat. After some reluctance, we finished up and headed to our final destination—a church.
When we started the ride, we only knew we were headed to Grand Junction. We didn’t have a precise location because we had no housing. But we ended up getting help from some nice people at a church. Shoutout to Rebekah, Adam, and their daughter Charlie for being such hospitable hosts and allowing us to stay in their church. We literally would have had no place to go without them.
We ended our night exhausted following our hottest day and our unending stream of bike problems. And just as we began to unwind, we accidentally set off the security alarm in the church at 11 pm. The alarm blared until Rebekah and the police showed up to turn it off.
A run-in with the police was definitely not something we had on our Spokes 2024 bingo card. But that's just how it is: we experience something new every day. In just the past four weeks, we've encountered so many unique problems, but every time that we run into something unexpected, we take comfort in knowing we can rely on kind strangers to help us through the difficult parts of bike touring. So to everyone who has helped us in any way during this trip: thank you, we couldn't do this without you.
All the best,
Kawther