Day – 48 and 49 Golf is Back!

Ok, Pueblo lived up to its reputation. All night the inhabitants of the Motel 6 Pueblo were out and about plying their unlawful trades. The AC was less than cold but inviting any of what was happening in the parking lot through an open window was not an option. Not my best night of sleep. Enough whining, and enough Pueblo bashing. In the spirit of being fair I was impressed that they had bike paths that seemed effective for commuting and the downtown government square had pleasant park space and unique water features.

The big news is speed! The new tires, tail breeze, down hill trajectory, and pavement made the 79 miles to Rocky Ford brief and quite enjoyable. As I said in the last post if you keep peddling the road gets better.

The other headline is Golf has returned. Today I woke up and headed over to Rocky Ford Country Club. Upon arrival I was greeted by Rich. Turns out the course is run by volunteers. They do the maintenance, run the clubhouse, and plan all the events. Most members just roll up and start playing. I checked in and was told to let it rip whenever I was ready. I won’t keep you in suspense. I was totally impressed. If I had not been told I would never have guessed it was volunteer run. The course layout is nice. Not a lot of trees but every single one of them seem to come into play, or at least they did for me. Fairways are tight on the shorter par fours and generous on the longer holes where you need to uncork one. It is set on and around the highest hill in town making for nice elevation change. The fairways and greens are healthy and consistent. The rough is mowed to a level that makes missing the fairway putative but not impossible to escape. They don’t try to be anything they are not. They have converted the sand traps to grass traps. I appreciate this more than unmaintained rock hard sand traps and think it is smart.

I played ok with two pars and several good drives but it was far from my best effort. By the time I got back word was out about the weirdo riding his bike and playing golf. But what the members wanted to know was what I thought about the course. Their pride is well deserved and it was fun to chat with them about all they put into the place.

After golf I put Alister’s new found speed to good use and knocked out 70 miles. Again tail breeze and down hill assisted.

I needed that round of golf. Without the challenging climbs and jaw dropping scenery of the GDMBR it was quickly feeling like riding to say I crossed the Country instead of riding to see the Country. Golf has rooted the trip and given reason to interact with the folks of the towns I am passing through. There are a few courses in Kansas I am really looking forward to in the next few days and that makes me want to get on my bike and make some miles.