We first rolled into a small town known as Red Cloud. It was right after crossing into Colorado and everyone was very nice. We stayed in a local community center and was able to get into the community pool for free. The pool was great. It was the first public pool I have been in where it was actually cool. A few sweet old ladies cooked us casserole galore. There were about 5 different casseroles that we got to choose from. I only had 2 but they were great. Ryan Farr's grandparents also came and joined us for dinner.
The next morning we had a short 50 mile day into Alma. We got to stop at a lake for the day because it was so short. This day was great. We met a park ranger that works for the Army Corp of Engineers who got us some press. He left and then came back about an hour later offering a free tour of the dam. It was really cool. We got to go into the dam and see the valves and controls that controlled the gates on the bottom of the dam. It was a solid 55 degrees in there and it was dark. We then went up to the top on a cat walk that sat right above the main flood gates. It was an amazing view of the valley the river flowed through. I could also see some giant fish hanging around the dam. I wish I had a fishing pole.
We then went to McCook where we got to meet a Habitat family in the town. The local Habitat chapter fed us dinner that night and was very nice in helping us plan our next day's route. The family was great and we had the best Q&A after the presentation. We all shared some great stories.
Next we rolled into Holyoke. We stayed at the First Christian Church where they went and cooked something for everyone. We have someone on our trip that can't eat any Gluten and a few vegetarians/vegans. Everyone had a little something special for them. Ryan, Jenny and I got in first and went to eat at a small Chinese restaurant. The first Chinese restaurant sense I left California.
We then Rolled into COLORADO!!!! We stayed in a small town known as New Raymer. I blinked while riding and almost missed the town. The population is under 100 people but they still had an old community building that we stayed in. I never met the person that orginized everything for us but she provided dinner and breakfast for us. I love when people work under the radar like that.
Then we rolled into Ft. Collins, CO where I still am. While riding in we got to watch the Rocky Mountains get bigger and bigger. We are staying at an amazing church that has helped us so much. We had a build day here with the local habitat. I worked on hanging about 80% of the house's lighting with Miranda. Everyone else worked on cleaning out the crawl space under the house, painting a couple sides of the house, finishing the roofing, and starting on the sheet rock of another Habitat house next door.
Tonight we also had a concert that was hosted by the local church we stayed at and by us. The concert was held to raise more money for Bike & Build and the Ft. Collins Habitat for Humanity. There were a lot of folk bands that played and we had an amazing turnout. My chore group gave the presentation and we knocked it out of the park. It was a great night of having fun and dancing. Some people went to a bar across the street that is also a bike shop. Yea, a bike shop/bar. Weird combo if you think about it. Overall we have had a great stay in Nebraska and so far in Colorado.
Now on a more serious note. I am asking everyone to pray for the NC2SD route. They were riding pretty early to beat the heat in the death valley area. 3 riders were hit by a car and they were all air-lifted to a hospital in the Palm Springs area. This comes at a bad time because their trip ends on Saturday in San Diego. Please pray for a fast recovery for those that were hurt and pray for peace for all the riders on that trip as well as our routes participants. It really brought home the reality of how dangerous this ride is. Thank you all for your prayers already. We have been very fortunate to only have some minor accidents on our route. Thanks again and I will chat at ya later.
~Ryan
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