Trans Am, Day 51: Leoti, KS to Eads, CO

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Originally, I was planning to keep my miles down today, but I forgot about the time change, and when I reached Sheridan Lake, it seemed too early to stop riding, so I just kept going.

I was surprised how quickly everything changed in Colorado. Suddenly, it started looking like the high desert of my youth in northern New Mexico: Sagebrush, rabbit brush, cactus and thistle. The humidity was also much lower, which was nice. In Kansas, especially eastern Kansas, I was always soaked with perspiration, but now I am generally dry, and, as long as I am moving, I stay nice and cool too.

A striking landmark beside the road is a disused railroad tracks and telephone poles. Once, on a family vacation driving the length of Route 66, I climbed one of these poles to grab a couple green glass insulators. I briefly considered doing it on this trip, but I decided not to. It would be reasonable to conclude I didn’t want to carry it on my bike, but the truth is that I don’t need any more junk (unless it is a tool!). However, I did take some pictures.

Later, when I stopped in Sheridan Lake, someone from the auto parts store came over and asked me if that was me he’d seen tromping through the grass. When I said it was, he gave me a stern warning about rattlesnakes. Then he took me next door to show me four rattlesnakes his coworker had caught and was keeping in a metal drum. I didn’t take a picture, because they made me sad. I also didn’t ask what he was going to do with them, because I knew I wouldn’t like the answer.

But, from that point on, I put my well-practiced tool-finding skills to work looking for rattlesnakes. I finally found one, and I was SO EXCITED. I parked my bike on the other side of the road, and I carefully approached it, then used a long stick to get its attention for a picture, only to discover it was dead. I was really sad. I tossed it far from the road so nobody would defile it for a grisly trophy. But now I am on a mission! Don’t worry, I know what I am doing. Yes, I know those words often precede dumb accidents. 😁