Firehouse Fun

First, thanks to our cousin Matt, who brought us tons of snacks and shampoo (whee!), and drove all the way from Tulsa to see us in Kansas. We were so glad you could come see us!


Second, thanks to Mom and Dad for coming to visit us, 11.5 hours from Pennsylvania. We needed the mental lift, thats for sure!


Anyway, on to the story.


We had just made it to Eads, Colorado (keep in mind, this was a few weeks ago). It was the last city in Colorado before we crossed into Kansas the next day. There was a little city park, and we were allowed to camp for free. There was also a little swimming pool, and after a long day of riding, we were really excited to take a refreshing dip. This was the first day that we had met Joel, Jessica and Chad, some other cyclists going East. We all made our way to the pool, but the weather was looking a little precarious. Big clouds were rolling in, and it was getting darker. But the swimming pool also had showers (free for cyclists!), and the need for clean was strong.


We made it to the pool just in time...because of the weather coming in, they were closing early, but we had the chance to get in a get a shower. I won't even discuss the shower, because it was too strange to explain. Suffice it to say that we needed two people to operate it. We had to shower in our clothing, because it was a combination shower/toilet situation. And any time the door opened, people walking by could see in. Such a good time.


After the shower, there was no place to change, so we had to go outside in our dripping wet clothing. When we got out, we were amazed by the change in the weather. The wind was whipping leaves and gravel and junk into the air, and it looked like it could start pouring any minute. We ran to our bikes, but we weren't really sure where to go for cover. There were 5 of us with our equipment, and we take up a lot of space:).


Just as we were leaving, a big black pick-up pulled up. The driver was a volunteer firefighter, and he knew the storm was going to get bad. He offered to open up the firestation so we could wait out the storm. How cool was that?! Answer: Totally.



Since the town was pretty small, it didn't take us long to get there. True to his word, the man came over to open up the firestation. He told us that not only could we wait out the storm inside, but we could stay the night if we wanted to. We just needed to close up in the morning when we left, and make sure not to block the ambulance, just in case there was an emergency:). Goodness, small town hospitality is amazing.



There were some other cyclists still at the city park, so someone went over to get them. That brought to total to 7: Bethany and I, Joel, Jessica, Chad, David and Diego. Quite a motley crew. I have some great photos, but I can't upload them! Curses, technology. The guys set up a long table and 7 chairs in the middle of the firehouse floor. Everyone made some dinner and sat at the table, sharing stories of their trips so far. It was crazy fun. There is a certain camaraderie between cyclists....and it was nice to share such an extended amount of time with so many fun people. Normally, we pass each other on the road, talk for 10 minutes, then get on our way. It was great to have more time to hear about sights that we couldn't miss, scary areas to avoid (dogs! saddle sores! Kentucky!), and fantastically entertaining stories of the trips so far.


Dinner ran long, so after we cleaned up, it was pretty much time to get to bed (we planned on waking up at 5am to start the next day with Drill Sergeant Joel and his colon-busting coffee). The firehouse floor was disgusting, and there were roaches/crickets running across the floor. So, yeah, not sleeping on that. We looked around for alternates, and Diego came up with a fabulous plan....sleep on top of the fire trucks! Yes, you heard it here first.


There were three fire trucks (two ambulances, and a few other emergency vehicles), so it was easy to pair off. Bethany and I took one, Diego and David took one, and Chad took the last one (Joel and Jess braved the firehouse floor - you guys are rockstars). I'm sure this would have been frowned upon if the volunteer firefighters knew about it, but I'm also sure that they would have wanted us to be comfortable. And like we said in the picture album below, if it was illegal, or even not recommended, we probably did it.


We all set up our sleeping pads and sleeping bags on top of the trucks.....technically on top of the firehoses, which were coiled perfectly on top of the trucks. The hoses are pretty solid; they're not as soft and comfortable as one might think. Good thing we had the sleeping pads for the extra cushion:). Getting to sleep was much easier once we didn't have to worry about a roach crawling into our hair (or nostril...*gasp*!).


True to our word, we got up the next morning at 5....or 5:15. Ok, 5:30, but it was still a really good effort. This was the day we did our first 100 miles (we did two more days over a hundred miles. Holla). We ate breakfast and got on the road as the sun was rising. We said goodbye to Diego and David, but we kept riding with Joel, Jess and Chad for a few more days, where much more fun ensued.


Stay tuned: Grizzly mace!


Good times. :)