Colorado...before we climb the mountains

So I made it through Kansas and I am now in Colorado Springs. We left
Kansas and went to Lamar for our second official century ride of the
trip. I got my first flat tire of the trip on this day, along with 2
other people who got flats. After we hit the 2,000 mile mark people
have been getting flats like crazy. It's about that time to change
tires. I don't remember much from this ride, except for the fact that
it had an awesome Colorado state sign. The next day was a shorter ride
of 67 miles and not only did we gain an hour of sleep, we also got to
sleep in an extra hour. It was sweet. We woke up and headed over to
the local community center for an awesome breakfast that they were
having in honor of everyone who bikes to work...and they invited us to
come along. Then we got our cue sheets for the day, which was actually
a giant crossword puzzle with all the answers being people on our
trip. It was really nice just to be able to relax in the morning and
hang out with everyone. For the rest of the day we rode in a pretty
big group just relaxing and talking with everyone. It was all one
road, but still turned out to be a really nice ride.

The next day, into Colorado Springs, was awesome. For almost the
entire 128 miles you could see the Rocky Mountains. Each mile they got
closer and closer until we reached the foothills, which were
absolutely gorgeous. Although it was a long ride, the scenary was
breath taking. I can't even imagine what it's gonna be like when we
climb the Rockies. Throughout the day our group got 6 flat tires, most
of them in the last 25 miles. However, there wasn't a moment in time
when I thought I wasn't going to make it. It was one of those things
that we all dreaded at the very beginning of the trip, but once the
time had come we were all incredibly pumped for it. This group is such
an amazing bunch that it's hard to even consider faliure as an option.
The day ended with a van escort into town because of the busy roads,
which was an obsticle in itself. Overall, I don't know if I'll ever
have the mental capacity to do 128 miles again, but it was definetly
an epic ride.

Today was the start of the bike and build blitz build, where our group
comes in a builds the foundation for the sc2sc group to finish the
house. This habitat home is being built completely by bike and build
which I think is absolutely amazing, and I'm so glad that our group
gets to be a part of it. We didn't get to meet the people who will be
living in this house, but we did get to meet an incredible woman
living in the neighborhood. It's so nice when we get to see the people
and families that we are helping out along the way. All in all a good
build day.

Tomorrow is our last day off and a lot of us are going crazy in
Colorado. A group of 11 of us, including myself, are going white water
rafting. There is a group of 10 that our going sky diving, and the.
There is a smaller group going rock climbing. Basically Colorado is
awesome for outdoor activities, especially just staring out at the
mountains, which I find myself doing a lot.

Well that's all for now...I love Bike & Build!