Today is a rest day..no riding..well at least no loaded riding. Fairplay isn't the best town in Colorado I am sure but it has a campsite, clean showers, hot tub and WiFi ..what more does a knackered touring cyclist want?...

It will also give my sunburnt lip time out.

This site costs $12 a night which is double the cost of sites further west. But its located right after or before the pass drowning which way you ride.

I'm pretty close to Denver and Colorado springs right now...my route takes me along highway
9 in the direction of pueblo.

The ski shop here had sleep mats but they were way to big and heavy for a bicycle. Maybe there is a proper camp shop in pueblo.

I dumped the new camelback. It was uncomfy and leaked. I got a fifth water bottle to carry in the panniers. That way the bike takes the load not me.

I think the section I rode yesterday was tough not for the climb but because there is nowhere cheap to stay/camp in Breckenridge. That meant a long haul ride before even taking the pass. So for those of you thinking of doing this route be aware that sometimes you will need to be able to ride iro 80+miles in one day sometimes..but mostly its less.
My little tent from decathlon is the envy of other routers here..mostly their tents are not as good and mote expensive and often heavier. Also my bike is seen as pretty cool to...which if course Shinto is.
I am tali.g multi vitamens because its tough gdtting fresh food on the road. Subway has been the best place to get fresh food relatively cheap..but they are only in the bigger towns.
Generally the traffic has been light and considerate. BUT as with anywhere there are idiots out there who believe all cyclists should die. Over here the shoulder is for cycling..cross the white line and you are in trouble as the trucks do not pass wide..enough. I prefer the way we ride in the UK with no shoulders and cyclists having equal rights as drivers on the roads.
The American people are amoungst the friendliest in the world I guess. They will always say hi and most are very amazed at my trip. Like anywhere though..the holy $ rules so carry cash if you ride this tour. Atm machines are easy to use if you can find one ans then oftentimes that are broken. Bike shops are a joke for the most part and very far apart. The exception being Breckenridge yesterday. So if you tour here carry all you need to fix stuff. I amfinding that the single most important thing is mental attitude not fitness. Fitness is key but I am building it on the tour. My mindset is simple...there is no option but to succeed..no way back...no matter how hard the headwind or high the climb I will succeed. That total belief in what I am doing keeps me on track and has got me through some very tough riding. If you pack just one thing for this ride pack a p m a.

There is always something to do or see..never a single dead moment..even on rest days I am busy blogging, washing clothes, shopping, etc.

Bug and mosi repellants are must haves here...you will be eaten alive in places without it. Also sunscreen. I have a combined spray which I wouldn't ride without.

The trsnsam is not a lonely ride. In fact riding alone self supported for me is better than with a ride partner or group. I'm free to do what I like without having to consider others. Important on a ride like this I think.

Although I have a pair of jeans with me I am in danger of being the first man to cross America wearing tights! O where cyclekit everywhere..no exceptions so far.
Washi.g clothes is easy in some places..but Wyoming was a real dustbowl and keeping clean was difficult.

I am no longer carrying my trangia cookset. It was old and heavy and I soon realized the front pannier space wad best filled with easy food from a shop. Currently I'm running on peanut butter, honey and bagels!

I think I am about halfway through the trip now..approx. I feel a sense of change this side of Hoosier pass. Leaving the hills and forests behind as I head east across the open plains..Looking at the maps the roads are straight..less rivers and countour lines.

I still have to pinch myself to realize I am actually cycling across America! It's very dreamlike.

Fly fishing in colorado

View from Hoosier pass last night as the thunder and lightening chased me across the pass lol!

On top of Hoosier pass the highest climb on the transamerican cycle route!

Wow..some day! I started late as I was tired from the long climbs of yesterday. The plan was to make Breckenridge stay over and hit Hoosier pass in the morning. In the event here I am in a tent in fairplay having crossed the highest pass and continental divide on the transam route!
Parts of the ride were tough and there was lots of traffic. The little detour around the lake early on the day had me cursing potholes and short sharp climbs . My rear tyre was soft and Shinto eS dragging. I found a bike rental in Silverthorne but the track pump just deflated my tyre and the arse left me having to hand pump it back to some kind of riding pressure. Navigating on this busy town on a bike is a nightmare. Eventually o found the bike path to Frisco and Breckenridge. Once you are on it its great but finding it is tough and here the aca maps let me down for the first time and I was asking peeps for directions. The path is beautifully and ridden by lots of roadies..in.brechenridge there are bike shops and I got my tyres up to 100psi. I had planned to stay here but it is a ski town and stupid expensive and no camping. I went to the poli e station to ask but they were useless. So at 6pm I took the decision to attack the pass. There was a huge thunder storm building and lightening all over. The pass was very steep but at the top I knew that all future climbs would be less high. On top of the pass two drivers said it was a good place to camp..no way..cold..isolated..so I rode like the wind downhill as it was getting dark to outrun the storm. Just then some asswipe on a pick up with no lights on pulled up and deliberatly tried to run me off the rode twice. I fisted his truck and eventually he drove off like the coward he was. Then in camp o met Jeremy who is riding to Virginia as well. There was a lot more to today but that's a summarry.
My lip is really paimfull from the wind and sun. It's botheri.g me a lot and hurts to eat and drink. So two big climbs in two days and I'm tired. Time for bed.

Biggest climb of my life!

I'm so wired after todays ride I can't sleep. It had everything..lakes, highways, heavy tragic, navigation nightmares, beautiful quite bike paths, police, bike shops , supermarkets, headwinds, tailwinds, ditching the camelback, donuts, 15 bottles of water and to gatorades, massive climb, thunder and lightning, burning heat, moron truck driver,meeting other cy lists, exploding sleep mat, broken track pump , and I rode over a small snake ..saw horses and what I think was a beaver. Spoke with lots of people who always talk to me when they see my union Jack mudguard sticker. Living every minute here!

And the final chapter of an eventfull day...my alpkit sleep mat just exploded! Great...now I need to find a good camping shop. Dam weird...it is making a fuzzing noise..thought it was rain on the tent...then a big bubble appeared..! No comfy sleep for me tonigjt after all .

Colorado today

Views as I rode into Colorado today

Ok so here I am on another continental divide pass this time in colorado! Rode 79 miles today in very hot sunshine over the pass and then downhill into kremmling. The scenery was fantastic in places and a videos part of the ride for facebook. Checked into a cheap hotel to get a wash and rest up ready for the biggest climb on the tour tomorrow at Hoosier pass. The
Camelback I bought yesterday was a mistake as it leaks and is like riding with four bags of sugar on my back..ill probably ditch it...and get another two bottles to put in my panniers.
Tonight here the sky is heavy with rain and its humid. I'm trying to avoid another huge ice cream!
On the ride today a lady in a parked car gave me fresh cold nectarins..just the job for a thirsty cyclist and I thank her!

Ian a little concerned about my left knee..its painful and another steep climb on a heavy loaded bike isn't what it needs right now. I guess ill see if it is up to the job or not soon.

Thanks to all for the comments and e mails :)

Ranch named after the local people and my first view of Colorado from Wyoming this afternoon.

Rode from Saratoga across the state line into Colorado today!  My ffifth state on this ride! As I came into Colorado it looked much greener than Wyoming. Strange how everything changes as you cross state lines here. I'm in Walden tonight camping in the city park and eating to much ice cream again! The head winds are still here ..had them for a week now!

I'm really looking forward to riding in Colorado..it sounds like a cool state. From now on its cloning really as I approach Hoosier pass in a few days time. Tonight the sun is out and I'm happy.

Shinto at the state line today

One of the cool things about life on the transam ride is that news travells along between riders as you go. You get to know who is behind and ahead of you a few days from riders coming from the east or those passing you from the west. I heard the two girls heading to Florida who were at Missoula made it to lander for example..not bad considering they not have triples fitted for the passes here!
I also met a guy called Fred from Ohio and we rode together a while. Fred already rode the southern tier and is heading home along the trsnsam then turning towards Ohio at Kansas. He is a cool guy and strong rider..he is 70. Amazing.
Tonight I am on the tent.in the city park with a group.of chainsaw wealding teenagers dri.king touch beer and Making to much noise..they have been cutting fire breaks on independance mountain and are sleeping here tonight..on between frisbee games..tent erection competitions and having a lot of fun:)
Tomorrow there is yet another continental divide to climb and a 60miles stretch with no stores..acordi.g to this map. I keep runni.g out of water on rides even though I carry 4 bottles and pre hydrate. So I went to the dollar store here and picked up a cheap camelback. There is a limit to how much water I can carry..it is very heavy but this should help.
I need to reset my spd cleats as everyday at around 50 miles my feet hurt a lot.
I am not getting any cell phone signal still.at and t suck.
Ice cream scoops here are tem times the size of those in the UK..important to know when ordering three scoops lol!
There is a fire fire ban here across the state..forest fires are a big risk still I think.

Hot spring bath for me.tonight on Saratoga Wyoming..and its all free!

I'm just hanging out in Saratoga..its a cool little town in the dessert of Wyoming...just had dinner at dukes bar and am now at the ice cream parlour getting fat lol!  People here ate friendly...and I got chatted up by a lady who thought my accent was spook cooiiil...ha ha..but I'm just not that cheap :)  the hot springs..the ice cream...the pizza.. this is the best town in Wyoming so far.thankyou for all your cool comments its nice to know you ate out there :)

Well here I am on a town called Saratoga having a pizza with local people I met in the hot springs here. I had a hot natural spring bath..todays reward after a 78 mile ride through wyomimg dust. Totally relaxed now man that water is hot.lol!

This afternoons ride from lander to Sweetwater junction was the toughest of the tour so far. I faced a serious headwind which didn't  emerge until I was to far out of lander to go back...besides going back isn't an option. Then came the ten mile approx climb at one in four in places against that wind. Then the shoulder got worse than normal and it seemed the gods had turned against me. I battled every foot up that dam hill and every inch hurt...I  kept at it though and even though each bend hid another endless climb against this wind and I had run out of water...it what is extremely barren country..I made it to the top half wishing I'd stayed at McDonalds in lander...then a guy in a pick up truck looking at the historical marker there gave me two bottles of water...top man! I continued to Sweetwater rest stop to camp wondering what set of life events had led him and me to be on that summit at that moment because if all those life choices we both made had been different I eod likely still be up on that hill suffering extreme dehydration ! Good things happen at the most unexpected moments on a tour like this. The pictue in this post shows the climb from the top looking back at where I had ridden. The climb itself isn't that bad compared to others I've ridden it was the killer headwind that made it so hard and lack of water even though I had four full bottles with me when I set out. This wind is  holding me back I hope it stops soon..or better turns and blows me along like a sailboat lol!

My New friend the wigwam cat and my bed on the wigwam tonight.

When I got to Sweetwater junctiion test area I met a very nice couple who were interested in my trip...they kindly took this picture of me .

Split rock wyoming

Wyoming wingd

Sleeping in a wig wam in Wyoming

Well todays surprise is sleeping in a wigwam or tipee for free! There is a very basic bike camp with three tipees so instread of battling through the rain and wind I will sleep here. There are two dogs and a over friendly cat to keep me company and the fridge is stocked with free ice creams. Alrough I am still on the middle of what I call desert the sky is heavy with thunder ..the signs were to stay here so I'm goi.g with the flow. My map tells me I am entering the great divide basin..I wonder what surprises this part of my trip will bring. This area is so vast..serif..barren..it must have been pure hell for the early settlors here..with names like lost soldier lake and Cherokee creek..I can only imagine what life was like back then. Earlier today I saw a heard of cows being rounded up by cowboys on horses...video on facebook hopefully.

Well here I am back in the cafè in lamont Wyoming ordering a cheeseburger with everything and a pasta salad...real food..gotta back the most of it while I can out here! There are six guys here I've been talking with who are drilling for oil here ..and truck drivers passing through...its a real 'greasy spoon' place with salt of the earth people...makes a change from the rip off garage stores and processed food.
My tipee has a double bed with a hot kitten in it..ha ha..the wigwam cat won't let me go..very affectionate cat. This place plays led zeppelin music..its set out like its still 1945 but I'm seeing real America..talking to oil drillers ..you say mate we say buddy..type conversation. They want to know about English women..I'm more the European type lol!..one of them didn't know where England was..omg..anyway ..I've also met Fred who is cycling home to Ohio from Astoria..he has ridden the southern tier across the states already and is riding the trsnsam route back. He also isn't a Wyoming wind fan!

Shinto and the buffalo in lander Wyoming

Hot on the reservation. Today

This is crowsheart butte in Wyoming..Sioux territory. I rode over 80miles today including a pass over 9000ft. The land is becoming very cowboy and Indian now. I didn't go to fort waskeke as the lady at crowheart told me the Indians there would give me a hard time..I was going to ride another 40 miles ish to lander but came across an oasis in this desert with fresh green sprinkles grass and posh restrooms...where I met two English cyclists and an Australian all riding across east west! So I met a guy from Farnham and another from Salisbury and a girl from Canberra on the middle.of the Wyoming desert! I even got to have a shave tonight...so am again top sexy hunk lol!
I heard that Simon from cyclechat is in lander tonight..he is riding east west trsnsam on a group tour..it will be cool to pass I'm the middle of Wyoming!
Tonight I feel safe in the tent again free from grizzly attack for first time in over a week!

Dubois Main street today

This was made entirely out of antlers..