Boris, Author at Trans-American Electric Bike Tour - brought to you by EVELO - Page 3 of 8

Author Archives: Boris

May
17
Day 40 Map - Denver, CO

Day #40
Miles Covered Today: 43
Hours on The Road: 4.00 (including breaks)
Miles Traveled Since Beginning: 2,333
Where We Are: Denver, Colorado

Day Overview: The silhouette of mountains in the distance was almost like a mirage. After spending 8 days in the High Plains, there is a tendency to forget that any other form of terrain even exists. But it was there – becoming more defined with every mile that I got closer to Denver. Continue reading

May
16
Post Office Still There

Miles Covered Today: 55
Hours on The Road: 4.50 (including breaks)
Miles Traveled Since Beginning: 2,290
Where We Are: Byers, Colorado

Day Overview: When I spent the previous night in Anton, CO (population: 7), my host – Elva – and I spent some time chatting on the porch in the evening.

We talked about the little towns. Towns that are located far away from the Interstates and that have been going through a slow, but never-ending deterioration as the traffic, people and life have been moving away from them. Continue reading

May
15
Day 38 Anton, CO

Day #38
Miles Covered Today: 88
Hours on The Road: 8.00 (including breaks)
Miles Traveled Since Beginning: 2,235
Where We Are: Anton, Colorado

Day Overview: The day started off to a late, leisurely start. There were only 52 miles planned until the next destination, so there wasn’t much urgency to getting on the road early. That turned out to be a mistake.

At around 11 am, fully packed and ready, I pulled my bike into a gas station in St. Francis, KS. They had a small sit-down area inside and were the only operating place in town to get some breakfast.

As the staff was making the eggs in the back, I started chatting with a few locals who were sitting next to me. “You may want to stock up here” they said – “after you leave St. Francis, it becomes somewhat of a no man’s land for the next 140 miles.” Continue reading

May
13

Day #37
Miles Covered Today: 88
Hours on The Road: 8.50 (including breaks)
Miles Traveled Since Beginning: 2,147
Where We Are: St. Francis, Kansas

Day Overview: People who have driven cross-country will often report that Kansas was the most uneventful and boring part of their trip. In a car, perhaps. There’s not a whole lot to see, so people will tend to push the pedal to the metal and plow through the state.

But on a bicycle, it’s a different story. It’s an incredible feeling that overcomes you once you enter the prairie. Its wide open spaces, big white clouds that hang right over you, and the lack of any trees and vegetation simply accentuate how enormously large the plains are. And as you’re cycling through the open road – completely on your own, with nothing and nobody for miles – it feels… quite incredible.

Next Scheduled Event: Denver, CO on Monday, May 21st. See full schedule of future stops.

May
12
Lincoln Highway

Day #36
Miles Covered Today: 77
Hours on The Road: 7.50 (including breaks)
Miles Traveled Since Beginning: 2,059
Where We Are: McCook, NE

Day Overview: Riding on the nondescript stretch of Highway 30 – or the Lincoln Highway – may not appear significant at first glance, but it actually is quite important, as it carries a tremendous amount of history to it. History that is particularly important to cyclists!

Before departing on this trip, I’d read a book about the beginnings and expansion of Interstate highways in the US – Earl Swift’s – The Big Roads: The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways. It may appear to be an obscure topic, but I often wondered about this amazing feat of engineering, human ingenuity, and determination. Once you consider just how much of a role the superhighways played in the economic growth of the US and how much we all rely on this mammoth road network in our day-to-day lives, you can’t help but wonder how it all came about. Continue reading