Eads, CO to Ordway, CO
Up early. Tent pretty dry from dry night and constant wind. 40° when I woke up. Cold ride to Ordway, CO. Had a big, hot breakfast and talked to Chuck Igou and a trucker from Salina, KS. Told trucker how my warm clothes were in a box in the Ordway post office and I have to ride 60 miles to get them. He said he had just been through Ordway, CO earlier. Could have brought them to Eads, CO.
So that was my morning challenge - how to stay warm?! I basically put on all the clothing I had, in one way or another. Three pairs of socks served as mittens. Four shirts and a sweatshirt kept my upper body warm. Shorts, a pair of sweatpants, and 2 pairs of jeans kept my legs warm. I used another long sleeved shirt as a scarf and had a fairly comfortable ride to Haswell, CO - 23 miles away. Cruised at 10 - 18 mph. Only real problem was my feet were numb! Oh well. Warmed them up and waited an hour in Haswell, CO for the sun to get stronger. Onward to Ordway!
Got to Ordway, CO at 2 PM. Went directly to post office. Sat outside in the cool afternoon Colorado sun and read every card and letter. You people - THANKS - you make this trip even better because knowing so many of you are riding along on the web, adds an extra dimension of enjoyment for me.
The library lady could not be bribed. She held me to the one hour time limit. I try to respond to everyone who writes and she cut me off. Oddly, the librarians back in Clendenin, WV wrote and I responded to them moments before the time was up. It just goes to show you how different things can be. In West Virginia, they bent the rules for me. In Ordway, no dice! I pleaded for an exception, considering no one was waiting to use the computer, and the librarian pulled the “then I’ll have to do that for everyone” card. I even offered to make a small donation to the library for a bit more time, but that didn’t work either. So I politely left.
I am staying at a hostel tonight. It's a hostel for bikers inside a hotel. Private room with bed and sink and common toilet and shower. $10. Supposed to be in the 30’s tonight, so that seems like the place to be. The Ordway Hotel The lobby of the hotel
The sink in the room had a problem with air in the water line. So, it kind of would flow and then make a gasping sound and spurt and snort, then flow again and snort some more. The pipes would rattle a bit, too. Hell, whatdya want for 10 bucks?!
In the desk drawer, I found a curious notation. One Anthony Ponce on 7/12/02 decided to start a Room 207 Biker Log on the bottom of the drawer. He made a list of numbers 1 through 20 and put his name as the first one. Well, I can proudly say to Anthony that, one year and about 2 months later, a name has been added to the tradition you've started. I am quite sure other bikers have stayed in this room, but they probably never noticed it. I did because the chair in the room was too low for the desktop so I opened the drawer and used the bottom of the drawer to write.
One final curiosity about this place that I forgot to mention. Even though the room number was 207, my key number was 108!?!?!? Ordway Hotel Logic! :)
Biking total for the day: 63.18 miles, 4 hrs. 46 min., 2269.1 total miles
In the evening I left the bike in the garage and walked. Yes, walked, remember walking. Hit a laundromat and made a few phone calls to let people know I got their cards and letters. On the way back, I ran into a cafe to get something to eat and met Dove. She was my waitress and when she told me she was 16, I couldn’t believe it. I thought she was 22 or 23. She told me a lot about living on a farm and how there is a major drought going on in the area. Apparently the big cities north and west, like Colorado Springs, “siphon off” (use to water their lawns) to drastically reduce the availability of irrigation water that would normally make it to the creek beds to the east. Cattle prices are high, but when you have to borrow money from the bank to feed them because you can’t grow any food due to lack of water, it makes life difficult. Hopefully, the rains will return in the spring.
Dove also told me about how she’s into rodeo - barrel racing and such. She also is the National Little Britches Rodeo Queen and promised to send me an autographed picture. Bless her heart! :) Thanks, Dove!