Getting to Grand Junction

We had virtually no Internet connection during the ride so we posted almost nothing to the BLOG. Over the next few days, I plan to write one post per day of the ride. So, if you are interested, stay tuned.

The day before we going to leave, I put new tires on my bike. I had told Luke about the pothole that I hit in a ride earlier. He was spinning my wheel and noticed how out of round it was. As we looked at the rim where the flat spot was, we noticed a crack in the rim. Upon closer inspection, we found a couple of others on the front and the rear rims.

We decided that it as not safe to go downhill at 45 mph on such a wheel. So, we made a quick trip to Old Town and bought new wheels. I told Luke he saved my life and cost me $750.00. But, I now have really nice new wheels that are better than what I had.

We packed up and left Saturday AM. Thanks so much to Bob W. for giving up his Saturday to drive us to Grand Junction. That helped our logistics a bunch. As we climbed out of Denver towards the Eisenhower Tunnel, it begin to rain, and then to snow. I'll have to admit that I was getting a bit nervous as I watched the snow fall at altitudes well below where we would be riding in a couple of days.

We arrived in Grand Junction, unloaded our bikes and stuff, said goodbye to Bob, and begin to figure out how this worked. Every city had what we called Tent City. A field full of tents. Here is the one from GJ.

It was pretty wet on the infield; hence the area in the middle where there are no tents. We walked around, went to REI to get a pillow for Luke, found some supper, and played cards until bed time. I was beginning to get that feeling before a big event. A combination of nervousness and let's get on with it.