Day 42 Zac in Pueblo, CO

After a great day of biking,Zac has made it to the big city of Pueblo, CO, population 103,000. He biked a total of 115 miles. For the first 65 miles or so, Zac said he averaged 12 mph and then the last 40 or so, he averaged 19 mph. There were 10 minute segments where he was biking 30 mph and loving every minute of it. Zac has enjoyed watching the antics of the many prairie dogs in this semi-arid area. Rainfall in this area averages only 14 inches per year.
About 44 miles of his biking was done along the Arkansas River bed in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. He has gone ahead of his biking companions because of his speed for the day and splurged on a hotel room for the night.
Zac had difficulty getting motel rooms in the area due to limited vacancy. One of the motels that he checked into was totally not clean and he had to argue to get his money refunded. He will rest Day 43 in Pueblo and get his rear wheel "retensioned' and add his 'saddle bags" to the front wheel to redistribute his weight. There is a large bicycle shop in Pueblo that he can get the repairs done.
Zac will rest in Pueblo, eat well, and do the necessary repairs. If he finds a library, he will get on the keys and hopefully share his thoughts.
Pueblo is the economic hub of southeastern Colorado and northern New Mexico. It is the largest steel producing city in the US and is known as "The Steel City".
Pueblo is considered to be in the "banana belt" which is the segment of a geographic region that enjoys much milder conditions, especially in winter. This. apparently, usually occurs when you are on the lee sides of the mountain slopes. They have very little snowfall here in their winters.
Pueblo is the hometown of four Medal of Honor recipients - Drew D. Dix, Raymond G. Murphy, William J. Crawford, and Carl L. Sitter. On July 1, 1993, the Congressional Record recognized Pueblo as the "Home of Heroes".
We are hoping Zac will get on the keys himself on his rest day.

*posted by Zac's mom.... once again...*