Final Summary

La Jolla, CA to Colorado Springs, CO - another great trip!  I appreciate everyone's interest in the trip and for following along with the blog over the past few weeks.  Thank you to my wife and kids for being supportive, enabling me to pursue this adventure.  Also thanks goes to my father who has a ton of experience cycling, rode with me on the first leg (which included some of the hardest rides) and provided key daily guidance on route, weather and other important logistical decisions that need to be made every day.  He enabled success and we both had a great time!!  Thanks also to others such as Steve Garufi (http://bikeacrossamerica.org) for his ongoing encouragement to cycle long distances, as well as key insights for many of the rides I did in Colorado over the past week (he lives in central Colorado).  All tremendous inspirations for my rides!

For those of you interested, my 2013 ride across the US blog is still active at: jeffbikeride.blogspot.com.

I hope everyone who enjoys nature finds the pictures along the route interesting.

For cyclists, I've attempted to include some information each day that could be useful to you if you do the same routes.  Note that on "Day 0" of the blog I included a list of gear that I brought on this trip.  The list is a pretty good one for a multi-week ride, staying in hotels and with temps in the range of 20s to 90s.

I've definitely received a ton of great information from other cyclists who have ridden cross country and/or long distances before me.  If I can be of help to you with any questions you might have as you plan your trip, please feel free to send me an email at jfarmer191@gmail.com.  I'll do my best to help out.

As I did last year, a few summary statistics for the ride:

1. La Jolla, CA to Scottsdale, AZ (section my dad and I rode together):
a. Total distance:                                            401 miles
b. Total elevation climbed:                            14,086 ft
c. Number of flat tires:                                   0!!!
d. Total number of riding days:                     6
e. Avg miles/day:                                           68 miles
f. Most difficult ride:                                      Brawley, CA to Ehrenberg, AZ was tough!
g. # rattle snakes seen (dead or alive!)           0
h. Avg speed:                                                  11.3 mph
i. Total calories burned (each)                        20,000+

2. La Jolla, CA to Colorado Springs, CO (my total ride):
a. Total distance:                                            1,265 miles
b. Total elevation climbed:                            52,967 ft
c. Number of flat tires:                                   2 (one small wire puncture; one pinched tube)
d. Total number of riding days:                     19
e. Avg miles/day:                                           67 miles
f. Most difficult ride:                                      Brawley, CA to Ehrenberg, AZ was tough (ditto above!)
g. # rattle snakes seen (dead or alive!)           0
h. Avg speed:                                                  12.4 mph
i. Total calories burned (each)                        60,000+


For those of you interested in the hotels/motels we used on the trip:

		Embassy Suites; 4550 La Jolla Village Drive Jolla CA
La Jolla, CA	Julian, CA	Julian Lodge; 4th & C Streets, Julian; (760) 765-1420
Julian, CA	Brawley, CA	Best Western Plus Main St Inn; 1562 E Main Street Brawley CA
Brawley, CA	Ehrenberg, AZ	Best Western Desert Oasis; I-10 Exit 1 S Frontage Road, Ehrenberg, AZ
Ehrenberg, AZ	Salome, AZ	Shefflers Motel, 66730 U.S. 60 Salome, AZ; (928) 859-3001
Salome, AZ	Wickenburg AZ	Best Western, 293 E Wickenburg Way, Wickenburg, AZ
Wickenburg AZ	Scottsdale, AZ	Courtyard Scottsdale Salt River; 5201 North Pima Road, Scottsdale, AZ
Scottsdale, AZ	Tempe, AZ	Quality Inn, 1375 East University Drive, Tempe AZ
Tempe, AZ	Payson, AZ	Days Inn; 301A S. Beeline Highway, Payson; 877-474-9800
Payson, AZ	Heber-Overgaard, AZ	Best Western; 1877 Highway 260, Heber, AZ
Heber-Overgaard, AZ	Springerville, AZ	Springerville El Jo Motor Inn; 425 East Main Street, Springerville, AZ 85938 (Confirm: 1510)
Springerville, AZ	Quemado, NM	Largo Motel and Café; U.S. 60, Quemado, NM 87829; (575) 773-4686
Quemado, NM	Datil, NM	Eagle Guest Ranch, US 60, Datil, NM; (in before 9p); 575) 772-5612
Datil, NM	Socorro, NM	Best Western, 1100 N California Street, Socorro, NM
Socorro, NM	Albuqurque, NM	Marriott Courtyard; 1920 Yale Boulevard S.E. · Albuquerque, NM
Albuqurque, NM	La Cueva, NM	La Cueva Lodge; 38690 Highway 126, Jemez Springs, NM ; 866-312-0102
La Cueva, NM	Taos, NM	El Monte Sagrado, Autograph Collection; 317 Kit Carson Road Taos, NM
Taos, NM	Ft Garland, CO	The Lodge Motel; 825 Hwy 160, Fort Garland, CO; 719-379-2880
Ft Garland, CO	Walsenburg, CO	BEST WESTERN Rambler, 457 US Highway 85 87, Walsenburg; 719/738-1121
Walsenburg, CO	Walsenburg, CO	BEST WESTERN Rambler, 457 US Highway 85 87, Walsenburg; 719/738-1121
Walsenburg, CO	Pueblo, CO	Hampton Inn & Suites Pueblo-Southgate; 3315 Gateway Drive; Pueblo CO
Pueblo, CO	Colorado Springs, CO	Springhill Suites Colorado Springs South; 1570 N. Newport Road Colorado Springs, CO

Keep on riding, inspiring and being inspired!

Day 19 (Tues, 15 Apr)

I rode from Pueblo, CO to Colorado Springs, CO today.  A beautiful day riding along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains and into the final stop of this trip!  The ride was 69 miles with 3,419 ft of climbing.

Weather:  The weather was relatively cold again today – I started out the ride at about 30F and I believe it was in the 50’s throughout the afternoon.  Partly sunny turning to partly cloudy by the end of the ride.  There was some amount of wind today.  I’ve been pretty lucky on most days avoiding head winds, but today had a pretty good 15-20 mph head wind for about ½ of the ride.  Coupled with the climbing the wind provided for a pretty good workout…

The Roads: The ride started out on Hwy 45 to get around Pueblo, then onto US Hwy 50 heading west toward the Rocky’s and then Hwy 115 northeast into Colorado Springs.

On to the pictures!

Good view of the Wet Mountains, west of Pueblo.

Check this out - the Spanish Peaks - I passed them a COUPLE days ago and can still see them!

If you zoom in on this Pano you can see the Spanish Peaks on the far left, the Wet Mountains and then on the far right Pike's Peak - cool.  This is about 15 miles west of Pueblo.

Video of the landscape about 15 miles west of Pueblo.

Lot's of unique rock formations and types today.  This along US Hwy 50 about 20 miles west of Pueblo.

Heading back toward the Rocky Mountains along US Hwy 50.  This section of Hwy 50 is very good for cycling - wide, smooth riding lane.

One more of the Wet Mountains showing all the snow still on them from the Sunday snow storm.

Now on CO Hwy 115 - one of the many river valleys you cross down/up on this stretch into Colorado Springs.

Butte along Hwy 115.

Another valley - also shows what is typically of this section of Hwy 115 - good riding lanes!

Pretty cool view of multiple airplane contrails from jets that had passed over the eastern edge of the Rockies.

Different rock colors - lot's of red dirt/rock as you get closer to Colorado Springs.

Just south of Colorado Springs is a huge Army base - Ft Carson.  I think this stretches along almost the entire length of Hwy 115 that I rode today.  This is one of our major army bases for tank training. Also, apparently many helicopters.  Check out these two - they were headed right at me!

Then saw how tough I looked in my Blaze Red coat and turned away :-)

OK - another type of rock formation in the area...

Central part of Ft Carson.

Cheyenne Mountain.  NORAD and other military units are located in bunkers in the mountain.  More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheyenne_Mountain_nuclear_bunker.

The rail spurs within Ft Carson.  This appears to be the section of the base where tanks can quickly be loaded onto trains for transport (presumably to local USAF locations or to some further location where ether could be put on ships).

The "airplane restaurant" located next to the Colorado Springs airport.  I ate dinner there tonight.  If you're an airplane buff this is a cool place to visit - a ton of really interesting pictures in this place.  Food, is average at best.

Pike's Peak view from my hotel.

Home for the night and final trip picture!  Success in completing the ride!

Final Map!  Check in tomorrow - I'll put up some final trip summary info.  Thanks!  Jeff

Day 18 (Mon, 14 Apr)

I rode from Walsenburg, CO to Pueblo, CO today.  A brisk day!  The ride was a short 43 miles with 1,112 ft of climbing and turned out to be a pleasant, easy ride with lots of nice views of the snow along the highway and up in the Rockies to the west of me.

Weather:  The weather was cold today – I started out the ride at 11a with 25F and ended early afternoon at about 35F.  Partly cloudy turning to partly sunny by the end of the ride with a slight wind out of the south, at my back.  Note: we had about 6” of snow overnight – so relatively speaking it was a nice day today!

The Roads: The ride was entirely on I-25N, which was nice – well plowed after the snow storm yesterday.

On to the pictures!

The motel parking lot this morning at 8a - nice!  Didn't bring my snow tires, so needed to wait a few hrs before starting the ride.

Clean interstate right away on the ride!

Pretty white landscape early this morning.

Explanation (although hard to read in this picture) of the Huerfano Butte below.  Kind of cool.

Huerfano Butte, elevation 6,158 feet (1,877 m), is an isolated volcanic neck. A remnant of an ancient volcano, it was named Huerfano (orphan) by early Spanish explorers of southern Colorado. Its name is pronounced locally as WAR-fuh-no.^[2]

The butte is in Huerfano County about nine miles north of Walsenburg adjacent to Interstate 25. It rises above the south side of the Huerfano River with its peak about 200 feet above the floodplain. The butte lies one half mile east of the I-25 crossing of the Huerfano River.^[3]

View of the Wet Mountains in the far distance.  I had hoped to ride up into those today, but it was still snowing up there when I took off this morning, so "no go" on that plan!

Closer view of the Wet Mountains.

Good riding land - that counted for a lot today!

Wet Mountains again - there would have been 3 passes that you go over on that ride to Florence, CO over 9,400 ft.  Next time...

Another highway view...

This picture taken from the rest area near Colorado City.  The nice thing about riding along an interstate - they have "facilities"!

The dry brush looked quite good this morning with a fresh layer of white snow.

More desert type landscape and shrubs with snow.

This farm looked quite cool with the snow draping it and the ranch land around it.

Yes, it is official - bikes are allowed on this section of I-25!

Home for the night!  I kept my heavy coat, 4 layers for the feet and heavy gloves on for the full ride - relatively pleasant ride up to Pueblo today.

Sunday, 13 Apr

Well, we are having quite the snow storm in central CO today...  The forecast is for about 6" here in Walsenburg with about 12" in the mountains near here and 24" in the mountains further north.

So, I stayed put in Walsenburg today and hoping/planning to get back on the road and heading north tomorrow!

Just one picture today - outside the hotel tonight!

Day 17 (Sat, 12 Apr)

I rode from Ft Garland, CO to Walsenburg, CO today.  The highlight was crossing over a mountain pass at 9,400 ft – the highest I’ve ever ridden!  Another day of Big Mountain viewing.  Outstanding. The ride was a short 50 miles with 1,832 ft of climbing – basically the climb up to the pass for the first 20 miles and then dropping 3k+ ft in the last 30 miles.

Weather:  The weather was cooler today – high 30s in the morning and high 60s by the time I rode down into Walsenburg.  Partly cloudy most of the day and a wind from the west that was kind enough to push me the entire ride!  About 10 mph in the first couple hrs and then easily 20 mph as I rode down the mountain.  Note: there is a major snow/rain storm that is forming today (that I beat!) and will have plenty of rain/snow in the area tomorrow.

The Roads: The ride was all on the same highway – CO 160 which is a great highway for cyclists in this section.  Pretty smooth and a wide riding lane for most of the ride.

On to the pictures!

Sunset last night in Ft Garland.  Blanca Peak on the right and clouds forming on the horizon.

Blanca Peak this morning - 14k ft+  Dramatic views!

Typical landscape riding up the river valley on Hwy 160.

I believe  that is Kruger Mountain (west of the Spanish Peaks).

I didn't bring mine and I'm 1 day ahead of the snow storm that is forming in central CO - so no need to stop!

The open meadow at the mountain top, near La Veta Pass.

Made it to the top!  La Veta Pass at 9,400 ft - the highest I've ever ridden!

Lot's of downhill from here.  In checking my computer readout after the ride - I literally went 30 minutes without pedaling after crossing the pass...

First look at the Spanish Peaks.  The Ute Indians named them Huajatolla (pronounced Wa-ha-toy-a). I'll let you look up the definition of that.

The two peaks, West Spanish Peak (13,626 feet or 4,153 meters) and East Spanish Peak (12,683 feet or 3,866 meters), are east of, and separate from, the Culebra Range of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. West Spanish Peak is the easternmost mountain over 4,000 meters in the United States.

The green roofed buildings seemed to be a popular architecture choice in this valley - striking views in front of the mountains.

Panorama, including the Spanish Peaks.

Video of the landscape about 1/2 way down from the pass.  I did narrate this but the wind noise seems to have blocked out everything I said - not that interesting in any case!

Old Rusty Stuff!!

Old train station on Walsenburg, CO.

Large mountain range looking west and a bit north from Walsenburg.

Check out the mountain just behind the lamp post.  Huge.  This is looking north.  Again, just guessing (maybe incorrectly) but I'm wondering if that is Pike's Peak up near Colorado Springs.

Home for tonight and tomorrow (where I'll be sitting out the Sunday snow storm).

The map is back!!