The Bliss of Wandering, Two Colorado's and Birthers in Strasburg

Jim Here. We are getting ready to bed down in Byers, Colorado. We didn't start biking today until 5:30 after a day of scrambling to finish last-minute chores before we left town. Our dear friend Therese dropped us off at Watkins and we biked 23 miles to Byers, had a good dinner at a burger joint here, and scored a room at the Budget Hotel. Tomorrow we head into a very isolated stretch of HWY 36 through places such as Last Chance and Joes, and hopefully into Cope. It all depends upon the wind how far we make it. Tonight we fought the wind most of the way and 23 miles felt like 40. Tomorrow, we're hoping that the wind turns around. We're also expecting heat tomorrow, well into the 90s, so we're hoping for an early start. If all goes well, we'll camp somewhere in Cope. If the wind or heat gets us, then we'll camp somewhere in between. There are no stores for 100 miles so we're loading up on food in the morning, and water. We are finally leaving behind Denver's orbit and entering this new rural Colorado mileau..........the slow pace of baseball games in isolated parks, the contrasted colors of green fields and dark storms sliding along the horizon...........and the looks from the passing cars at our folding tandem lets us know that we have crossed the divide. The people on this side have something beautiful, a hesitation in their conversations, a downward glance, all of this is built into the language and vocabulary of the body.
The politics are also very different. As we crested a hilltop between Strasburg and Byers, a large sign in the field to our left screamed out, "Don't blame me, I voted for the American!" How long would such a sign last in our urban, cosmopolitan setting? Another piece of grafitti on a railroad bridge welcomed visitors to Strasburg, proclaiming, "Welcome to trashburg."
As we said our goodbyes to Therese today and headed east on HWY 36, with a large black storm rolling across the horizon to our south, I felt great joy as I settled into the freedom of discovery of a bicycle tour. Gabriela and I were euphoric, after such a busy stretch of months, to feel nothing but the open road, and the transformative bliss of wandering on two wheels propelled by inquisitive minds alive with possibility.