Day 19 - Pueblo, CO

I barely found a place to stay last night before the sun went down. I was aiming for La Junta but since I spent time avoiding the storm I was barely going to get there in time. On the way, I ended getting a staple in my back tire. The sun was going down and I was 7 miles from La Junta. I'm getting better at putting in new tubes but it's still frustrating. This new tire is harder to put on and when I was using a screwdriver to get the tire on the wheel, I nicked the tube without knowing. I made it 15 miles past La Junta to Swink and found a place to stay just a few minutes before it got dark. I was asking for directions to the park where I was planning on sleeping and someone offered to let me camp in their back yard. I ended up sleeping in their camper because it got dark and it was late.

I got out early and just 9 miles down the road my tire went flat again and I realized what had happened. I used my last spare tube and I think this one will work. I rode it about 50 miles and it's still full on air so hopefully I didn't do anything wrong. I'm going to pick up some more tubes tomorrow. I'm in Pueblo for the night, meeting some friends for the 4th. I'm going to get some rest, get some supplies and start the trek up the mountains tomorrow.