June 9th, Fort Garland, CO - La Junta, CO
Today’s ride was one of our most challenging. 123 miles of rolling hills and cross/head winds that were enough to drive you crazy. The winds felt like someone was constantly slapping you in the face. But, eventually I just had to get mad at the wind and yell at it like Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump when he is in the middle of the hurricane.
Though the ride was difficult it proved to be quite varied in the scenery. For the first half of the day we were surrounded by mountains most of the time. We saw some beautiful 14,000 foot mountains that were just jaw dropping. As we rode further we encountered terrain that looked more like Kansas, with flatter yet small rolling hills for miles ahead. Some of the smaller towns also reminded us of our home state of Kentucky with farmland and ford pick up trucks.
We are learning that the rides go by much faster when you take the time to bond with others. Today, Wade and I passed 20 miles by in no time by talking about our grandparents, cousins, and just families in general. We have both been fortunate to have wonderful families and we both had interesting stories of cousins and growing up with our grandparents. Mitch and I also had some great talks about the fraternity and family life that helped pass by the time. So, even though the day was tough it was one that brought the riders closer together.
We finished the ride in a town that seemed to have a bigger cemetery than the actual town. La Junta, CO was our final destination and our last one for a while. After our ride we drove to Colorado Springs to spend the night before Jordan Minton and I left for Louisville. I am heading home to be a groomsmen in one of my oldest friends, Eric Lutz, wedding. He is marrying Jessica McConnell and I am very excited for the wedding. He has been my roommate for the past three years and now I get to watch Jessica take my roommate from me, haha.
Please keep my friend Tyler Jury in your prayers as he is battling a knee injury on the ride. He has had some problems in the past that are flaring up and I pray that the next few days of rest will provide adequate healing for the ride ahead.
In His Adventure,
Chaz Vittitow
