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BLOG: What it's like to 'Pedal the Plains'

So, I'm a bit nervous about sitting on a bike for so many hours each day. 
Amy Carter, Lynne Valencia, and Steve Carter.

Editor's Note: 9NEWS is a sponsor of the Pedal the Plains event. The cycling race takes place over three days on Colorado's eastern plains, with anywhere from 50-65 miles per day. Lynne Valencia is 9NEWS’ Community Affairs Director. Along with 9NEWS' General Manager, Steve Carter, she is participating in the ride. She will be sharing her experiences with everyone through updates to this blog.

The most recent updates will be at the top of the blog - scroll down to see the earliest entries!

Read more about Pedal the Plains here.

Sunday afternoon, 4:00 p.m.

So this is what I get to take home, along with a Keensberg hat, a t-shirt with a tractor on it, and sore legs.

Here's what I get to take home after a weekend of riding! 

I met a group of women from Kansas who ride bikes around the country, a retired lawyer who sag wagoned for his wife and lots of people each with there own story of what brought them out to Kersey.

For me, I wanted to pedal along corn fields, rows of sugar beets and wilting sunflowers. I also wanted to test my grit. I made it!

The folks from these small towns were kind, generous and excited to welcome us to their little bit of heaven.

Glad I did it... but really glad I'm heading home.

Sunday, lunchtime

Here is our last lunch stop.

I'm tired, sore and stinky... and really just want to be home.

Our last lunch spot.

I've eaten so much watermelon and pork on this trip. I'm craving a burrito and a margarita!

I'm also tired of seeing so much spandex... give me cotton!!!

Sunday morning

Here I am inside the area where they attach the machinery that milks the cows.... no hand milking here... hundreds of cows are part of this operation.

Inside a local milking operation!

Here we (Steve and Amy Carter) and I are visiting a dairy farm and got to see them milking cows. They milk the cows 3 times a day. And one cow produces 6 gallons of milk a day! I hope I remembered that correctly.

Amy Carter, Lynne Valencia, and Steve Carter.

Saturday evening, 8 p.m.

A common sight at every stop....

If there aren't lines at the porta-potties, is it really a race? 

We met some great kids who participate in 4H. They were kind and helpful to all of us as we push our pedals into each stop.

On the road between Keensberg and Brush.

Big sky. Dry fields. On the road between Keensberg and Brush.

4H kids helping along the Pedal the Plains route.

Saturday evening, 7 p.m.

Wish for Wheels gave over 500 bikes to area 1st graders. Kiddos were fitted with helmets and got to take home a brand new bike. Very cool!!!

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Saturday evening, 5:30 p.m.

Here are some scenes from this afternoon's ride!

A local rock and roll band belting it out in Brush, Colorado. Lots of locals came out to join us. We all tired after 62 miles...hard to get up from sitting on the grass. 
Local volunteers serving up food. Menu: sweet corn ( surprised??) baked potatos, pulled pork sandwiches and lots of watermelons. 
Here is the home of a woman who open up her home in Wiggins for a stop. She grows bird seed, corn and alfalfa on her more than 300 acres.  It was so peaceful...didn't want to get back on the bike.

Saturday afternoon, 3 p.m. Steve Carter and Amy Carter have made it to Brush after 62 miles. The road was bumpy and there was quite the head wind!

Steve Carter and Amy Carter have made it to Brush! 

See some photos from their journey below!

Friday evening, 8 p.m. I made it!! Kersey to Keensberg -- 50 miles. Two tractors welcomed us! Along the road I met a woman from Kansas who came to do the ride. She was surprised at how dry it was. And it was dry, everything yellow except what they irrigate. I rode past irrigation ponds and fields of corn.

A gigantic baseball lives in a yard in Hudson,Colorado.

Friday afternoon, 3 p.m. Here is what we look forward to on one of the stops.

Snacks await riders along the Pedal the Plains route.

Me and Captain Corneleous on one of the stops. I'm feeling pretty good but it is hot!!! No clouds and a slight wind. We are all pedaling through lots and lots of corn fields.

Me and Captain Corneleous! 

Enzo, 12 years old, is one of the youngest rider of PTP. This is his third Pedal the Plains.

Enzo is the youngest rider, at 12 years old, he's already done three of the races!

Friday morning, 9:30 a.m. Here in Kersey, CO. Folks in line to get registration packet. Met a woman from Denver who said this ride is on her Bucket List.

Lined up for registration at PTP!

Here is a tortoise and the hare...it's a beautiful day here in Kersey.

'A tortoise and a hare'

Friday morning, 6:50 a.m. So, I'm a bit nervous about sitting on a bike for so many hours each day. Pedal the Plains is a 3 day tour that averages 50-70 miles a day. Now while its flat terrain, that is still a lot of miles.

Here's the jersey I'll be wearing for parts of the ride.

Some of these miles I'll be wearing a really cool jersey. I finished packing this morning. My dog Mary Jane is not ready to get out of bed, but there's my suitcase that has a few changes of clothes in anticipation of a variety of weather conditions.

Mary Jane isn't ready to get out of bed - but my suitcase is packed and ready to go. 


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