Day 48
Pueblo CO, 0 miles, Rest Day
People I have talked to in towns along the way have confirmed my suspicion that there are a lot fewer cyclists on the TransAmerica Bicycle Route than in pre-COVID years. It’s a shame really because almost all the towns along the route are small and could really benefit from the stimulus provided by people passing through. I wish I had kept a more accurate count, but my number probably isn’t far off, I have passed about two dozen people heading East since I started my tour. Going West, I’ve been passed by no more than a half-dozen people, and those were in the first few days out of Yorktown, none since then. I was told in one town recently that in the past, as many as 50 cyclists would be in town on a single day. That number is just hard to comprehend based on my current experience. I don’t want to make any rash judgements about the mind-set of people in the world we live in now compared to the one we lived in just four years ago, but I think it’s clear that now things are different. Social Scientists studying us years from now will have a lot of work to do to explain these times, economically, socially, and politically.
I have a goal on rest days, besides resting, it is to visit bookstores, bakeries, and bike shops. Yes, the places I visit have to start with the letter “B”. I also give acknowledgement to the letter “C” by visiting coffee shops. There is a river walk here in Pueblo that people are quite proud of, It’s about a mile long. I’m going to take that in later this morning. Don’t think by this that I have any preference for the letter “R.” It so happens there are two book stores only a short distance from the walk. One of them is an outlet for used books acquired from the Pueblo Public Library. That should prove to be a treasure trove. You may be wondering, does he carry books with him in his panniers? No, I don’t, but I am thinking about it. If you’ve been following these stories you know that I have bought one book already, and promptly mailed it home. It will be a fine read and a fine souvenir. You never know, I may find another.
The Arkansas River as it makes it’s way into Pueblo. Muddy from recent rains and Spring snowmelt. The Rockies got snow just two weeks ago. That’s not the only reason I started my tour in the East, but it is one of them.