For Every Uphill There is an Equal and Opposite Downhill...c

I just might not ride it. The world may be round, but it's all uphill to me as I travel from the plains to Denver. I got into Denver last night after riding nearly 80 miles. I am staying in Aurora, so I didn't have to navigate too much city traffic.

My last few days have been fun. From Atwood I headed on 36 west to Denver. The map showed a handful of towns along that route, so I figured I would be able to get what I needed along the way. I arrived in Idalia, Co with a leak in my rear tire at the end of the day and found a village with a motel that looked abandoned and only two blocks of paved road from the highway to the k-12 school. I had spotted ballfield lights from the highway so I headed to the school. It was just after four and there were only a couple coaches and teams around practicing. I talked to the coaches and they said I could stay on the field, so I camped at the school for a night.

The next day I was in need of some snacks and eventually water, but all the "towns" had nothing. I finally rounded a bend after leaving only a couple sips of hot water and there, standing all by itself, was the Anton food store. I had to buy water, but it was worth the dollar for a gallon.

I then proceeded to Last Chance and found it to be inhabited by 8 1/2 people. The minister of the church lived in Denver half the week, but when I arrived he was there. He came out and greeted me and then proceeded to open the church up for me and let me use the restroom and kitchen and even let me sleep inside as it was about to storm. The church has 80 full-time members and is very well off. The next morning I left at 6:30 to get to Denver, hopefully before rush hour, which ended up happening

In Denver, Jim and Rachel Mattson opened up there home to me. A friend of mine rents from them as she works with Operation Christmas Child in the Denver area. I am hanging out here for a couple days and then it's on the road again.

I am going to leave some things here in Denver with my cousin to help cut down the load and hopefully reduce flats. It ends up being about five pounds saved.