July 13, 2025
Sunday – Kansas City to Limon, CO
This morning around 7:30 AM I woke up in the tent having slept well, aware of the nearly 800 miles I needed to make to Denver. Took just under an hour to break camp, to get everything loaded and get rolling.
Thirty minutes into the day, I came as close as I’ve ever come to hitting a bird. Not just one bird, but three. Not just any birds, but Canadian geese clustered in the middle of the road. They flew right at me. Exciting start to the day—low-speed, but those birds are big.
Twenty minutes after the Geese encounter – I get my 2nd road hazard of the day. A torrential downpour going down the highway. You could tell the skies were loaded and ready to dump. I had my rain gear on and was ready for it. That was the only rain all day, though it threatened for hours. Temps in the mid to high 90s for hours on end. Not the same humidity as yesterday, but the kind of heat that just sucks the energy out of you.
I had a couple encounters with interesting people today. This is the sort of thing that happens when you travel alone. The first was at a really run-down restaurant modeled after Stuckey’s but long since stripped of any franchise rights. It had a dining area with six or eight tables next to an ice cream counter (Baskin Robbins Jamocha Almond Fudge—my purpose for stopping). Two old couples were talking when I walked in. I greeted them, made eye contact, congenial exchange. You couldn’t avoid overhearing their conversation, and it was obvious these couples had known each other for a while. After a bit, one couple departed and the remaining guy asked me if I was getting wet on the bike.
The three of us ended up having a really nice conversation. I assumed they were husband and wife and made a couple references along those lines. He shared that he was a former avid motorcyclist and had ridden quite a bit. When I asked whether they rode together, he clarified that they weren’t husband and wife. Both of their spouses had died in the last eight years and they’d gotten tired of just staying home. So they started doing things together, exploring all over their home state. Both were born and raised right near where we were talking. Two very charming and gracious people who gave me all kinds of ideas for places to go in Kansas and recommended the town of Limon, CO if I was headed to Denver and needed accommodations.
At the end of our conversation we exchanged names and she quite deliberately pronounced hers “Ee-Loyce.” I said I’d never heard that name before and she said “Well, it’s spelled E-L-O-I-S-E and most people would say Eloise, but my mother and I say Ee-Loyce.” As I was walking out, she added “That is really neat, all the different places you’re traveling to, but I have to say—I’m personally really happy keeping right to Kansas and seeing the many wonderful things here. I hope when you travel with your wife, you’ll come back to Kansas and explore.” Altogether, a charming and quirky little Kansas dialogue in that restaurant.
The next encounter—it’s like 3 PM, blistering hot crossing Kansas plains and I’m worried about running out of gas. Finally an exit with a single station comes into view: two pumps with an awning and some quirky ritual for accepting payments. The guy on the other side of the pump is having trouble making it work, and we start talking. “Jim S” is from Marietta (40 miles from my home in Georgia), here to visit his twin children who just graduated from college. Nice chat before getting back on the road. Small world.
Another hour down the road and I’m spent—I pull off in the town of Solomon, KS and as I exit I see a police officer do a u-turn in the volunteer fire department lot. I pull next to him and ask: “Is there a place in town where a guy could take a 30-minute nap on a picnic table?” He smiles and says: “I’ve got the perfect spot for you. Just go down to that stop sign, turn left and you’ll find just what you’re looking for.” Indeed—nice 20-minute nap on a covered table there.
So it’s been a rather solitary experience today—long hours on the road punctuated by random conversations with people on the other side of the gas pump. After my nap, I did a quick call to Tina and Aaron. Let Aaron know he wasn’t getting the flag-themed red-white-blue flip flops they had at Target, but that he could share my black ones for shower use when he joins me camping next week. Both of them were at Aaron’s grandma “Nana” who thinks I need to get a sidecar for the dogs to travel with me. We agreed I’d get the sidecar if Nana would hold the dogs on her lap for the first couple rides. Nice to have those check-in calls with family while on the road.
It’s now about 4:30 PM—I know from traveling previously in this section of the US that the first part of Colorado is really arid, flat and barren. Not a lot of tree canopy or protection from shade and few campgrounds to find shelter. The maps show no wildlife management areas like I’d had the night before. I’m also aware that the following day (Monday) is rather pivotal as I need to find a campground and would be limited to first-come, first-serve offerings. Mondays are when a lot of people shift. Lots to get in place before my first workday on Tuesday.
To make all that happen I need to get closer to Denver. I pulled in for gas and noticed a Motel 6 with a sign of $65 a night. “Shoot, I could do that…” Looking at the map and gauging the position of the sun—the town of Limon, CO popped out as a candidate destination. About an hour closer to Denver, a place Ed and E-Loyce had recommended. A couple clicks on Priceline and I suddenly had a plan.
Nice ride—due west watching the sun go down, not worried about where I’ll sleep and anticipating a shower and chance to get gear organized before the big day tomorrow.
Stats
- Highlight: Ed and Eloise, Being in Colorado
- Miles: 300+
- Hours: ~14
- Cost: ~$180