Day 3 — Ride Report from Maria at Cruzbike

On his third day of riding, Matthew soldiered on through cold and gusty winds putting up another consecutive day of riding over 360 miles.  Yesterday was the toughest day yet.  According to Bailey, he rode up and down the valley trying to find more favorable winds but it seemed everywhere he rode there were headwinds and strong gusts.  The impossible mileage numbers, high altitude, and cold weather seemed to be wearing down even Matthew’s superman-like strength.  Unfortunately, the weather in the area Matthew is riding near Center, Colorado is about to get worse, a lot worse (see graph and forecast below), and Matthew and Bailey both knew it. Forecasts for Wednesday are very windy conditions with gusts up to 65 miles per hour.  

There were some big wins for Matthew yesterday.  He had already set the recumbent record by the end of the day.  And  after a bit of experimentation  figured out a comfortable shoe/cleat configuration to keep his feet happy.  

At Cruzbike headquarters, Jim and I were trying to help Matthew and Bailey by finding another place to ride on Wednesday (tomorrow)  that would have slightly better conditions.  Unfortunately, the whole region is expected to be impacted by the wind storms.  Furthermore,  Bailey, as a one person crew cannot drive the van and support Matthew with his nutrition, and bike maintenance singlehandedly while moving from place to place.  Jim and I were worried about both of them.

We finally settled on getting Matthew over to the other side of La Veda pass and having him ride from Kim Colorado east into Kansas and then north.  In studying the wind charts, we hope that Matthew can get some tailwinds for at least a few hours on Wednesday and feel stronger at a lower altitude.  We realized it would be impossible for him to move without additional help.  

 When we chatted with Matthew this morning he and Bailey had come to the same conclusions and decided the safest thing would be to stop riding.  We knew today would have better wind conditions in Center than yesterday so we encouraged Matthew to keep riding while we worked on getting some additional crew to move the record attempt to the east side of the mountains.  Our plan was to reach out to our Cruzbike customer base and ask for volunteers.  

Before I had a chance to compose an email, we called our good friends and Cruzbike racers John and Laura Crawford and incredibly, they volunteered to make the 10 hour drive from their home to meet Matthew and Bailey tonight in Alamosa, CO.  They have vast experience crewing, including crewing for Matthew during his record busting win of Ride Across the West last year.  They also love Matthew and Bailey. They are the ideal people to help Matthew bring this record attempt home.

There are many challenges ahead. The winds will continue in Kansas and the accumulated wear on Matthew’s body will not make things easy.  Please follow along and post encouragement for both Matthew and Bailey.  We’re so proud of them and deeply thankful  to the amazing and generous John and Laura Crawford. 
Wind chart and weather forecast for the area Matthew has been riding all week. 

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Pueblo CO
145 PM MDT Tue Apr 21 2026

...HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TO 8 PM MDT
WEDNESDAY...

* WHAT...Southwest winds 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 65 mph
  expected.

* WHERE...Northern San Luis Valley, and Central San Luis Valley.

* WHEN...From 1 PM to 8 PM MDT Wednesday.

* IMPACTS...Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines.
  Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult,
  especially for high profile vehicles.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Areas of blowing dust could reduce visibility
  to under a mile at times. Be especially careful near recently
  plowed lands or locations with disturbed soils.  Visibility can
  change rapidly over short distances.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Remain in the lower levels of your home during the windstorm, and
avoid windows. Watch for falling debris and tree limbs. Use caution
if you must drive.

FOLLOW MATTHEW'S HWMR EFFORT HERE >>