Road Z/Road 21/US 50 Loop

Starting from 5th and Lincoln, proceed south to 10th Street. West on 10th Street to US 350, then southwest to  County Road Z. West on County Road Z to Road 21. North on County Road 21 to US 10, then jog west to pick up 21 northbound again. Continue north on 21 till it intersects with US 50, then east on 50 back through Swink and into La Junta. 22 miles.

The roads are in good repair and are lightly traveled. I've noticed that rural traffic, ranchers and farmers, tend to give cyclists lots of room, and they wave a lot. When you get closer to town, however, the number of motorist thugs increases quite a bit.  The ride is also noteworthy in that there was very little litter or trash. I've noticed that in the rural areas where there is not much town traffic, the roads, ditches, and fencelines are a lot cleaner. Is this because here in town we tend to have a higher population of slobs who trash the environment, while ranchers and farmers are more appreciative of what they have? Certainly the litter and trash situation in town would seem to support that view.

The pictures below were taken along Road Z and Timpas Creek off Road 21. They present a view that is relatively rare, what with the fog and dampness. The dampness really amplified the smells, including a very pleasant freshly-turned earth smell from fields which are now being plowed.

Bike: Fisher XCaliber
Temp: 25-32 F
Wind: NE 0-15 

Here is a gallery of images from this trip.