It continues to be really cool, cloudy and rainy. When we started out at Holyoke it was in the low 50s and it got into the low 60s by the time we got to Sterling. Clouds all day with some spattering of rain, but in Sterling in the afternoon the sun has come out! And promise of more sun to come. But the cloudy days are great for riding- no need to worry about sun block. As we get higher in altitude one has to be attentive to that when the sun comes out. We are currently at 3,950 ft at Sterling. We stopped at Haxton at a nice coffee shop for coffee and pastry, 18 miles into the ride, then at Fleming for a lunch break at 29 miles. Easy going, but when you stop riding you really cool down fast! I was anxious to get back on the bike just to warm up! Again, giant grain elevators at every “major” town. I stopped by the one at Fleming to inquire what they have stored in it. The guy said that they have wheat and millet. Wheat for the feedlots to feed the cattle and millet for bird seed. We have seen a lot of trucks on Rt 6 carrying grain from these grain elevators.
The pace was good today, averaging 15.9 mph. I had to move fast to keep warm, but it was easy with a bit of a tailwind and really flat terrain. The road we followed was Rt 6- it is fairly heavily traveled and there were a lot of trucks, but we had a super wide shoulder that in general was in very good shape, so the ride was not at all dangerous. We are gradually moving up in altitude, but the key word is “gradually”. As we got closer to Sterling and the South Platte river, the land got really flat- as far as the eye could see. What a change from the East Coast!/
Here are the RidewithGPS stats:
These relieved my toe issue. At Fort Collins I bought a new pair of regular SPD bike shoes that have more room in the toe area so I will be trying these out on our next ride this Saturday.
Biking across the USA with Mike 
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