32.6 miles, 4240 ft ascent, 10% max grade, 4:12 riding time, elevation 8863.
Today we had breakfast in the Village Inn diner in Cañon City and hit the road at about 0830. The first few miles were relatively flat, but then we headed northwest into the foothills. The next 25 miles were up, up, up. I don’t have many photos for today because I spent most of the time staring at the white line about 10 ft in front of me. Did I mention that we had a wind from the west of 15 - 20 mph?
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| Not what you want to see when riding a bike |
Grades of 5 - 10% are bad enough on a loaded touring bike (weighing 88 lbs with food and extra water), but the headwind made me downshift into my “granny” gears. I mentioned in a previous post the challenge of riding in a straight line at about 4 mph. At times the hills to my left would block the wind, but then the road would curve westward between low hills and the wind would get channeled between them directly at me. My average speed over 33 miles was about 7 mph, so that tells you something.
Soon after passing Royal Gorge CO I noticed some fishtailing of the back end of my bike…you guessed it, a flat tire. There was no shoulder where I was, so I rolled my bike about 10 ft off the edge of the road into some grass. When I examined the outside of the back tire I saw multiple thorns had penetrated the tire. I then checked the front tire and found about 4 or 5 more. I had been introduced to the dreaded Goat Head, otherwise known as the puncturevine.
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| The dreaded Goat Head |
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| The puncture in puncturevine |
All of the thorns in the front tire and all but one in the back came from rolling my bike onto the shoulder! There was one thorn that was particularly deeply embedded that I must have picked up from the shoulder of the road on the way from Royal Gorge.
I have seen multiple displays of patriotism on my journey across the country. The people in the middle of the country really believe in America. Military service to the country is a common thread that runs through many families and communities. We may not agree on how to fix the problems the country is facing, but the belief that we will is strong.
The change in the scenery from the plains of western KS and eastern CO to the foothills of the Rockies is dramatic. It is difficult to capture the change and the grandiosity of the landscape in photos, but I will continue to try.
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| On the way up to Guffey |
I was totally spent when I finally reached Guffey (and 1 day behind schedule). I stopped at a health food store for a smoothie and some chocolate covered toffee. It never tasted so good! Bill and I are staying in the Wild Spirit Mountain Lodge B&B tonight. It is an interesting combination of lodge and bar. I learned that the population of Guffey is 112. I think most of them were at the Lodge for live music, food, drink and camaraderie. The 45 mile ride to Fairplay tomorrow should not be as challenging as today. I am hoping my mountain legs will be well rested by the morning.
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