125 Miles to Colorado Springs

So today was the longest ride of the trip – 125 miles. Breakfast was at 5:15, and a huge shout out goes to the church for waking up so early to prepare us breakfast. Once we were on the road, what was going to be a hard day became even tougher, with my group getting 8 flats (I personally got 3 of them – time to buy new tires) – there was a lot of debris on the roadway. The morning started off nice and cool, and became really hot as we entered Pueblo (mile 55). After stopping for a quick bite and to refill our Camelbaks, it was off into the Colorado heat before stopping at mile 80 for some Subway (and to avoid the brief rainstorm). I changed one of my flats at lunch #2 (at mile 90 – usually we are already done at this point), before starting the last 35 miles, and seeing the dark clouds headed our way. The ominous clouds kept getting darker and darker (but had cool flashes of light) before a huge wind gust knocked a couple of riders off their bikes and onto the grass on the side of the road. At this point we decided to search for shelter, and stopped at a hall, where the lady would not let is in, but told us we could stay under the porch. The rain was coming down at a 30 degree angle, pelting us and forcing us to huddle together to stay warm. The storm finally let up and we continued on our way. Once we got into Colorado Springs, we thought the worst was over, as we only had 10 miles to go. Of course, those 10 miles included some steep hills, where we had to be in our easiest gear – not the way to end a 125 mile day. But we made it, got to shower at the YMCA and have dinner from Olive Garden, which Aimee from Pikes Peak Habitat arranged (she was an awesome help with all of the logistics).