July 5 Crossing America

Pueblo, CO Service Day, Distance -0-

The Old Guy taking it easy

Ah!  Slept in till 6:00AM felt so good, even more so knowing I won’t be cranking out any miles today.  I did have a very busy day beginning with a small continental breakfast, and then taking my mini-van to a Dodge dealer for a 105,000 mile service, back to the motel took my S-Works to the bike shop for a full service.  I joke that the S-Works is like a Ferrari powered with a Volkswagen engine.  Well, I beginning to think it cost as much as
a Ferrari to maintain.  Today’s service set me back $150.00.  Everything I save in food expense seems to be eaten up with bicycle repairs and maintenance.

About 10:00 AM we loaded up and headed to our “Home Make Over” service project.  Ms. Kathy is not only an MS victim, her husband Rob was in a major car crash last year and is suffering with extreme back issues and both of their mothers; one 85 years old and the other 88 years old live with them and are in poor health, too.  Given all the hardships this family is dealing with both Kathy and Rob are positive and enthusiastic about life.  When we arrived they had a welcome sign for us, tools laid out for us to use and Rob, who could hardly walk kept picking things up and helping.  I kept telling him there are 20 of us, let us do the work just supervise, he sort of listened.  After we completed putting the yard and home in order Kathy insisted on her and her daughter fixing us lunch.  It was nice but the gals felt like they had just cleaned the kitchen and living area and then we with lunch and all of us tramping through the house it wasn’t much better than before but it was.  We all left Kathy and Rob feeling pretty good about helping make life for them a little better.

The Crew at Ms Kathy's home after completing work

Made time for a haircut today, my hair was about as long as it’s been in a number of
years.  Sure feels cooler, too.  A quick trip to Wal-Mart for fresh fruit, coke and Pop-Tarts, can’t believe I’m now able to tolerate them.  Then five of us old geezers went out for
Mexican.  Once back at the motel Trish, Aaron and I laundered our clothes we dirtied today.  I volunteered to babysit the laundry in order to write today’s journal.  Hard to
believe I’ve been going since six this morning and it’s going to be after 11 before the clothes are done.

Tomorrow we ride again; 60 miles will put us at the base of our first big mountain to climb.  Everyone is apprehensive if they are going to be able to do it.  Amanda
tried to cheer me up by saying everyone will be riding slower.  Right, that means I’ll be going slower yet.  Most of the youngsters are planning on waiting until 10 or 11 to get start riding; I’ll be at it by 8:00 AM.

That’s all the news that’s not Crossing America today.   Goodnight!  The Old Guy

Chopper sculpture in Pueblo

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