Day 35! Benkelman, NE to Yuma, CO

• Distance: 70.24 mi
• Elevation: 1,736 ft
• Dedication: My teammate James’s mom, Mary, and Uncle Tim
• Ride group: Glenn, Chase, Shelby, and James
• Host: Homestays through First Presbyterian Church

Today was a big day for 4K: we are officially halfway through our 70-day journey, and we crossed into Colorado! Maggie and I woke everyone up bright and early this morning with halfway/middle-themed songs.

Today was also one of my most physically challenging days of the trip. Between lingering fatigue from COVID, having close to a week off in Omaha, and pushing a little too hard yesterday, I was slow-moving today. Thankfully my teammate Glenn was feeling similarly, so we spent most of the ride together at the back of the group and had some nice conversation. It was also one of our hottest days so far, hence the early wake-up.

We came very close to the Kansas border right before our first water stop so my group decided to detour so we could get pictures with the Kansas and Nebraska state signs. Getting there was almost a mile uphill, but we got some good pictures and had a nice cruise back down to our route!

Our first water stop was at a little park with a gazebo and a 4K treasure: a water spigot! There is no better feeling than drenching your sun sleeves (or head) under the water, plus we’re able to refill our water coolers easily. It was also next to a cafe, which I did not visit, but my teammate Shelby was kind enough to get me one of the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had after seeing me jump out of my chair when the cinnamon rolls were brought out at breakfast yesterday.

Just a few miles from our first stop we crossed the Colorado border! It is so crazy that we actually made it to this point. Reaching Colorado has seemed like such a far-off milestone for months and here we are. Unfortunately eastern Colorado is identical to western Nebraska, so my high spirits from crossing the border were quickly dashed by the heat and wind. I do appreciate the scenery here, though. We had a very stark shift from mostly midwestern cornfields to prairies and plains just in the last day or so.

By the time we reached our second water stop it had become incredibly hot and several people chose to rack to avoid heat stroke. The water van wasn’t actually at the stop when my group arrived because they were helping out other groups (and taking pictures at the state sign, very important), but they left the necessities under an open shelter attached to a very run-down Uhaul location? After loading up on water, snacks, sunscreen, and chamois butter, we didn’t stay long because of the heat. I have never been so hot and sweat so little. The dry heat and wind kept me dry but I still felt like I was overheating most of the day, and my legs felt useless. It didn’t help that our route was a veryyyy gradual uphill all day long. Glenn and I stopped at a Dairy Queen right before our host to cool off and celebrate the fact that we just trudged through 70 miles in 100º heat despite feeling like our legs were made of lead.

As tough as today was, I was reminded of several little things that bring me great joy on the 4K:

• Water spigots in public parks
• Gas stations (specifically Casey’s)
• Ice
• Ice cream
• Being sprayed with water
• Catching a little draft off of passing trucks

Tonight we’re being hosted by various families who attend the First Presbyterian Church in Yuma, CO. We were greeted at the church with cold towels and lunch. I wanted to shower ASAP so I rode with three others to shower at someone’s house before returning to the church for dinner. The house was about a 15-minute drive outside of Yuma. The woman who took us explained she and her husband are farmers, like many of the locals, but that their ability to farm is threatened because the aquifer they source water from is drying up. After spending all day in the heat it was easy to imagine the entire area drying up completely.

Back at the church we had an excellent taco bar dinner and ice cream for dessert! From there the team split off and went home with our respective hosts. Maggie, Bailey, and I stayed with Carol and Ray, a lovely couple who have been hosting 4K riders and runners since 2004! We chatted with them for a little while and browsed some photo albums of their incredible cruises around Alaska and the Panama Canal while we did some laundry. I would’ve loved to have chatted more but I can’t remember the last time I was this tired– we’re about to be asleep by 9:30! One huge plus of homestays is that I don’t have to worry about drowning out people who want to stay up late like I do when we’re all sleeping in the same room. I’m even more grateful for an early bedtime because tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter, so we’re meeting at the church at 5 AM for breakfast to roll out as early as possible.

Until tomorrow!

Lauren