Day 7: Eads to Ordway CO

61.6 miles, 989 ft ascent, max grade ~4%, 4:43 riding time, elevation 4311 ft.
Today we ate breakfast at the Cobblestone Inn and hit the road at 0800.  The skies were overcast with temps in the 60’s and a tailwind of about 10 mph! :)  We made great time until about 1100, at which point it started to rain and the wind shifted to the NW, so our tailwind turned into a headwind :(. I was slow to put on my rain gear in the hopes it was just a sprinkle…well it wasn’t!  Lesson learned - put on rain gear before you are all wet.  I don’t have many photos today because the motivation to stop and take photos in the rain was low.  I focused on a spot about 20 ft down the road and just pedaled for the next 15 miles until we came to Sugar City CO.  There was only one place in town to eat, and the curb appeal wasn’t great.  

We almost passed it by, but a man we stopped said it was good, so we went in.  It was charming inside and the people were very friendly.  And just as important, it was warm and dry!  I had a chance to talk to the owner, Lynette, about the town of Sugar City.  The town was founded in 1891 by the National Beet Sugar Company and thrived until the 1960’s, at which point  a combination of market shifts and collapsing commodity prices led the National Sugar Company into bankruptcy, and the factory closed its doors in 1967.  Today the town is depressed and a ghost of its former self. 
I have seen a lot of towns with similar stories on my journey. Major employers close or move away, and then the businesses suffer and die as people move away.  Here are just some examples from just today.


But there are signs that some towns are managing well, as evidenced by the building murals that I showed from Great Bend, and this one today.
 
Tonight we are staying at the Hotel Ordway.  It is a quaint old hotel that has been in business since before the first TransAm riders rode through town.  It is furnished with antiques and every room is has its own character.  

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