Day 36: Tribune, KS to Eads, CO Total Distance: 56.8 mi Moving Avg: 12.5 mph Moving Time: 4:32 Route Summary: KS 96 to CO 96 "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto." There, I said it! I apologize, but I felt it had to be done. I have a new nemisis on the road: biting flies. They are really really obnoxious, and the bites really hurt. According to a guy in Sheridan Lake, they have been really bad the last couple weeks. I had to resort to DEET to help keep them away, but even that had limited effects. Tailwinds continued today, and decently strong too, so today was one of my shortest days, time wise. I could have pressed on, but even if I camped the only campgrounds were either still too near to make it to Pueblo in one day or too far to make before it got too late, so I decided to stick with the plan and take three days despite the really nice winds. This morning I ran into a biker coming into Tribune. He was packed super super light, even lighter than the last one I said was packed light. We chatted a bit, and he said he had hiked the AT last summer, so he had practice packing light. Then, in the afternoon when I got to Eads, I ran into another biker named Andrew checking into the motel. We chatted a bunch, and he'll prob come over in a bit and we'll chill some more. Very nice guy, very outgoing. He came through the Western Express route and had some useful things to say about it. He also made me realize (or at least, verbalized) what I don't like about the ACA route. It feels like your hand is being held as you go. There is somehow less adventure when you know what is coming, what to expect. Although it is rather comforting to know that a motel will actually be there. As I go further west, the towns get smaller, so the odds of any random place having a motel are pretty slim. I haven't had to sleep in a ditch yet, and if I follow the ACA route I'm pretty sure not to have to. On the other hand, the ACA route goes through less populated areas, so it would likely mean more camping anyway, but at least it would be at campgrounds not random places. I'm still just very very torn about which way to go. Andrew and I just chatted for quite a while about the route ahead. He had a lot more to say than I, mostly because he's been through the interesting part and I have been going through pretty boring country. He advised I take the Western Express route, simply because it is so beutiful. And it is. I mean, I've seen a fair bit of the beutiful part already, about 4 or 5 days of riding, through the most scenic part of Utah. Of course, I was in a car speeding by at the time, and biking gives a very different view of the land. I guess I'll figure it out, eventually (well, in about a week, since thats when the split will be).