Day 48: Which Spokie Are You?

Glenwood Springs, CO -> Vega State Park, CO — 56.6 miles, 4887 ft

Sometimes on Spokes we are faced with tough decisions. Which lesson should sit out at the upcoming learning festival? When should the driver leave rest stops on days when everyone gets spread apart? Do we end Spokes today and just stay with our hosts forever until the end of time? Unfortunately on the last count, while the answer is clear, the decision to leave our hosts is always a tough one. It was hard getting out the door in the morning and saying bye to Barb, Lindsey, Birdie (their dog), and their fantastic cooking, but we all eventually lumbered towards our bikes and headed towards our first rest stop of the day, a free hot springs a few miles out from town.

The hot springs were surprisingly hot (I know, not sure what I was expecting). The Rs (Ruth and Ramona) got there first and changed into swimwear and bathed for a bit. The rest of us (minus Tian, who skipped the stop) pulled up a short while after and waded.

Once again, we peeled ourselves away from a place we could stay forever and biked together to the next stop. For some reason, we often ride together when Sarah is the driver for the day. It’s not on purpose, I think…? Or perhaps Sarah has some deep, sinister vibes that subconsciously poison the will to form a seven-rider peloton when someone else is driving 😬

I was feeling a bit slower today on the bike and my chain was making weird noises, so I troubleshooted at the second rest stop. I also found out the sushi wrap that Ruth had made me last night went missing! Not a great rest stop. And right before we set out again, Ruth broke the news that Ozzy Osborne had died. After explaining to some of the team who he was (and also why it was incredible that he made it to 76 in the first place), I put in my AirPods and played my favorite Black Sabbath songs. RIP Ozzy

In between rest stops 2 and 3 lay a long gravel climb. Despite the surface and the elevation, the climb was a reminder of how far we’ve all come as bikers since the start of the trip. When all of us are getting faster and more skilled on the bike, it’s hard to tell how much I’ve improved sometimes; however, I know a climb like this would have obliterated me on the first week of the trip. Now, it’s quite manageable. We reached the top and waited for one another. I took a scenic piss.

After leaving the last rest stop for the day, I biked with Greta and Ishaq to the campground. I finished my Ozzy tribute ride and took my earbuds out, Greta marveled about the Earth being round (?), and we tackled the final climb with some help from Fiona Apple over Greta’s speaker. The views coming into Vega State Park were gorgeous and our campsite was right next to the lake.

Ramona went for a shower/swim. The others went for actual showers. I helped Sarah chef up her signature Spokes meal — grilled cheese. After taking some very involved, personalized orders, we decided that the meal sounds a lot better advertised as custom melts instead of just grilled cheese. When it was my turn, I put literally every possible topping available on my two melts, made my bowl of tomato soup, and rocketed off to heaven. After dinner, Ruth, Joseph, and I drove to the campground facilities (rather far away since we were at the other end of the lake) and I showered while they did the dishes. I came out to see the sunset bathing the sky in warm red, yellow, purple, and pink hues. I helped out with the last few dishes, joining what was easily the most scenic dish washing experience I’ve ever had. Ruth and I also tried the tiny playground slide and I stung her with a nasty shock at the bottom. It was bad. Joseph heard and saw the spark from 20 feet away. We both screamed.

When we got back, some of us sat around the camp fire, relaxed, and stared at the mesmerizing flames. Ishaq broke the tranquil trance from inside one of the tents by cracking a Sprite. After chatting for a bit, we dispersed for bed. Ruth and I played a couple hands of Gin Rummy with a cheeky hanging iPhone flashlight rig. Another Spokes day in the books — I feel maybe our coziest yet!

Since today’s blog wasn’t all too eventful, I also worked with the other Spokies on a more recent rest day to bring you our long-awaited, hotly-anticipated, Grammy-nominated “What Spokie Are You?” quiz. Link in text form: https://opinionstage.com/page/a42634c6-b51c-4f3c-8261-221331801c6f.

**EDIT: migrated the quiz to a new site! the old quiz was buggy, but has all the bios at the end if you’re curious.

Drop in the comments which Spokie you are most similar to!!

P.S. Sorry about the late blog! I officially entered (and am now exiting) the three-blogs-behind club 😞. Because I am vain and need the blog views (and I worked hard on the quiz :)), I am leaving this blog up at the top of the blog page and I will backdate it when someone else publishes a more recent blog.