2015 Transam Trail Days 14-18

Day 15, 9/1: Ready for Something New
Odometer start: 10,445
Odometer finish: 10,755
Miles: 310
TAT Mile Marker: 1609

Up early and on the road. The municipal park wasn’t anything special, I was ready to roll as soon as the sun peeked up.

Early on I passed a farm house that had a large plywood sign asking TAT riders to sign in. One of the family members came over so we chatted for a bit. They have 7,500 acres and run corn,  soybean, wheat and 100 head of cattle including a massive bull that he referred to as a “necessary evil of the business”. I spent a few minutes with his dog, noting how much I miss my puppy and my home.

The morning was a whole lot of riding the 1 mile x 1 mile grid of Oklahoma. At least the scenery is still novel enough to keep my interest. In the morning I enjoyed the variety of colors and textures the land (mostly farmland) had to offer. A few are shown below, it was neat to see the whisker texture of fresh cut wheat, the red head beady texture of several hundred acres of milo, the deep green soft of soy, the hard, tall corn, stubble of just emerging grass, and more.

At times the riding was boring and the scenery repetitive but I reminded myself that in a short period of time I am getting a broad sampling of our country so I should keep that perspective and enjoy it.

I arrived in Alvia, OK, a not-at-all-cute little town in the middle of nowhere, at noon. A pizza restaurant advertised fresh dough made daily so I tried it out. Better than Pizza Hut and good air conditioning so it was a score. This is definitely ranching land, there were lots of cowboy hats, guys with spurs on their boots and everyone was holding the door for the next person.

I checked out the maps and planned an on/off-road mixed route for the next few hours. The monotonous 1 mile grid was wearing thin so I thought a mix of on and off road would be a nice change.

I like to knock off by 3 or 4 pm so there is time to relax and read, recuperate from the day before going to bed. It’s surprising how little time is left if I stop at 6pm given I’m asleep by 9pm. If camp is set up by 4 then I get a couple of hours to walk around, stretch out, read, lay in the hammock, make phone calls if I have service.

I arrived in a small, barely surviving seeming town about 3pm. I was completely worn out from riding in the heat all day. All I could think about was getting a hotel room with AC if I could find one at the right price.

I pulled up to a cafe, stepped inside, took my pile of riding gear off and ordered a drink. My phone battery was low so I decided to get a quick charge in and noticed that I left my bag of chargers and cables somewhere, almost certainly in the parking lot at lunch. All I wanted to do was crash and rest but was about ready to smash something to bits now. The nice waitress let me leave my pile of junk at the table and ride 0.5 mile down the road to a Dollar General where I got two chargers and cables for next to nothing.

I sat there trying to decide whether to get a hotel next door (the owner stopped by and invited me to stay when she saw my bike, knowing I was passing through) or crash in a campsite. I decided to check out the campground they said was “just down the road” and then choose.

So, the campground was much farther than I was told, about 18 miles from town. I wasn’t going back for the hotel if I didn’t like what I saw. Arriving at the turn off, thinking back on the description I was given, and feeling rejuvenated after my break I decided to press on.

The next 50-70 miles were very nice and scenic; I was actually laughing out loud as I saw funny things and was even taking pictures again!

As the sun fell lower in the sky I knew I had to find a place to camp and had three choices. 1) a sand dunes park reportedly with no shade and run down but right on the trail 2) a state park that was of unknown quality and maybe 15-20 miles off the trail or 3) a state park in Kansas that was a ways off the trail but on a lake and probably pretty nice. I made the drive to Kansas and had a totally awesome place almost completely to myself.

I quickly set up camp, took a swim in the lake, spot-washed and fully rinsed clothes, called Denise while I went for a short walk, stretched, heated up a small bite for dinner and laid down to read and soon, sleep.

As I laid down to rest I reflected on the day. It was a roller coaster but I ended up feeling great and having good memories to look back on (and a few memories to suppress!). I noted that the mix of on and off road was perfect for me in this area and I was glad I had decided to go that route.

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Day 16, 9/2: Pulling my Hair Out as I Finish Oklahoma!
Odometer start: 10,755
Odometer finish: 10,982
Miles: 227
TAT Mile Marker: 1807

Up early, quick breakfast, a few pictures and on the road.

I’d had enough of Oklahoma. If I had to ride another day of 1 x 1 grid I was going to kill myself.

So, I rode that darn grid all morning and then road the pavement into the afternoon.

I noted the many generations of technology scattered about the plains. There are still thousands of working windmills. This technology was THE key to settling the west and, even today, many of them are still in use.

There are modern, solar powered upgrades on some windmills, and of course deep wells pumping all of the water out of the aquifer below.

I decided on a mix of on and off road riding again, specifically wanting to swing through Elkhart, KS where Brett and I went prairie dog shooting once, many years ago, my all time favorite shooting event. These pics are for you buddy:

Remember that Pizza Hut? One of still only three restaurants in town? I ate lunch there, same place we ate dinner.

I’d like to go back and try to explain why the riding out here is so taxing. First, it’s just darn hot. You’re in the sun, it’s 90 some degrees, and there’s no shade. Want to rake a break? Sure, there’s no shad so you stand in the sun with all your gear on and sweat. No good so you just keep riding.

The surface is 99% very nice and 1% pockets of powder that put the front of my bike in a basically uncontrolled frontal fishtail where each time I feel lucky I didn’t wreck. At 50 mph this is no good so I ended up riding 35-40 mph, watching the road intensely to try to detect sand traps and then grab brakes to get speed down when bad stuff pops up. That means I’m riding as fast as I feel is safe with intense focus on the road surface which is taxing after an hour, let alone nonstop for 3 hours.

The bike is kind of jiggling and bouncing you around all day and there is nonstop crosswinds and road noise that wears on you, even with ear plugs in. Then there’s the dozens of pounds of gear I’m wearing. 15 lbs of boots, knee and shin guards, body armor and a Camelback chock-full of stuff.

Basically you’re getting hammered physically and mentally for hour after hour with maybe one or two beaks per day. I could nearly collapse into a booth at lunch if don’t eat on the trail.

So, after lunch I mix on and off road riding until just outside New Mexico and then sprint down to Clayton Lake State Park. This park reminded me why I didn’t care for camping in the desert much. I loved hiking, biking and exploring the desert but not camping or backpacking much. Minimal shade, kind of dirty and dusty, gravel roads, no services.

I set up camp, charged my electronics, took a shower, tried to read in the hammock but was being eaten alive by mosquitoes. I’m not sure what it was but this night I was ready to be finished riding. I missed Denise, missed being comfortable, missedhome made food and felt like I wouldn’t be home again in forever. I was hoping that the new scenery in New Mexico and Colorado, plus a planned rest day coming up would renew my attitude.

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Day 17, 9/3: Yeehaw, Something New
Odometer start: 10,982
Odometer finish: 11,129
Miles: 147
TAT Mile Marker: 1885

Up early, outta this pit! I was immediately hit with some great scenery that only got better. Smiling and wanting the trip to never end, I was on a roll… Again.

I took the slab to the trail and enjoyed every mile of today’s too-short ride to Lake Trinidad State Park. Being a holiday weekend every park and campground is full. This park had an open spot both Thursday and Friday nights so I beeline there and grabbed it. I’m not sure what I’ll do Saturday, everything is full down the trail. Worst case I’ll find a hotel or sleep in the woods if the terrain allows.

It was overcast and I was now at 6600 ft elevation so the ride was thoroughly cold. The good news, I was on the Colorado plateau now so heat would be a thing of the past for a while. Bad news, I’ll be very cold in the mornings.

The scenery was amazing, I felt like I was back in the groove again. Trinidad is a decent size town so I expected to replenish my lost, worn and used up gear, had a day off coming and was back to loving the trip!

I hit town and realized I lost one of my sandals. Oh well, I need to lose one item per day and don’t really need them much now in the cold weather so that’s a good thing to lose.

Hit the bank and got cash. There are no outdoor stores remaining in Trinidad so I hit Walmart and got a new headlamp (I lost my last one with my chargers and such), got a new battery pack and some food. Then off to McDonald’s for WiFi.

My front tire is getting pretty worn down. It was maybe 60% when I left home. It took quite a bit of doing to figure out how/when/where to get a front tire. But, with help from the angels that keep giving me a hand when I need it, I found that the shop in Moab has a selection of front tires in inventory and will hook me up.

I looked at the upcoming trail to see what sections, if any, I should consider bypassing in Colorado. I want to ride it all but am expecting some sections to be technical enough that being solo I ought to skip them. I marked a few areas of concern and then checked into the park.

The park is perfect, just what I want for a day off. On-site laundry, clean bathrooms, showers, immaculate grounds and a site for me with lots of shade.

I was set up and relaxing very early. I made a few calls and then relaxed and read all afternoon, went for a long evening walk after dinner and then to bed at 9.

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Day 18, 9/4: Much Needed Rest Day
Odometer start: 11,129
Odometer finish: 11,143
Miles: 12
TAT Mile Marker: 1885

Since I was in bed at 9 I was wide awake at 4:45am. Wake up, eat breakfast, do laundry, clean the mobile HVAC filter, (which truly is a lifesaver on these dusty roads), look the bike over, then relax and read, walk, read, walk for 6 hours.

Then into town to ship my extra air filter and some other unused stuff home, do this blog post, eat lunch, get food for the next two days and back to camp to read and relax for several more hours. I plan on a long and awesome riding day tomorrow and may hit the halfway mark on the TAT! Woo hoo!