Day 48: Westcliffe, CO – Salida, CO

After the terribleness of yesterday, I decided today would be a short day.

I set off at about 10:30 and my route took me north, paralleling the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. I was now in a valley in the rockies and the first half of my day was mostly downhill – I had climbed 4000 feet yesterday but only gone down a bit over a thousand so the valley floor was lower still.

I reached the Arkansas River and turned onto route 50, which followed the river upstream. It was a very beautiful ride, with tall cliffs on both sides.
Before long I reached Salida and called it a day.

Today’s mileage: 49 miles.
Total: 2531 miles.

Day 47: Pueblo, CO – Westcliffe, CO

After a night of fitful sleep, I packed up, grabbed lunch, and got on the road at 11:30 or so. I found my way to the start of the Adventure Cycling Association’s “Western Express” route and headed west.

The road started out with a nice shoulder, but it dwindled away over the course of 10 miles. My progress was pretty slow, even on the flat sections, which I attribute to my late night drinking and lack of sleep. My planned second lunch fell through when the only place to eat in the town of Wetmore didn’t open until dinnertime, so I ate a clif bar and moved on.

There were a few big hills in the first 30 miles, but nothing that would prepare me for what was ahead. I had looked at my map but the true magnitude of the day didn’t hit me until it was upon me: a four thousand foot elevation gain, most of which was crammed into a never-ending hill that took me above 9000 feet.

I started out climbing at maybe 7 mph, and had about 14 miles until the top, with roughly 3000 feet altitude to gain. My progress quickly slowed to more like 5mph as I slowly and arduously biked up the mountain. It was very tough and I found myself stopping maybe once every 2 miles. About halfway up I pulled over and sat down and rested for nearly an hour, probably getting some sleep.

I continued on after my rest but my pace didn’t quicken nor did it get any easier. Sweat was pouring down my face and massive salt lines developed. My helmet’s straps turned pure white from all the salt.

I got a terrible cramp in my left calf after a couple more miles and I pulled over, stretched, changed the album I was listening to, and rested for a few minutes. After this break, my speed hastened to 7.5-8mph which I was able to sustain for the last 5 or 6 miles.

As I reached the top I lost my focus and my speed plummeted and legs grew tired for the last minute, but I eventually got to the pass at about 9200 feet. I was slightly disappointed by the lack of an elevation sign. Looking over my map, this appears to be the second longest climb of my trip, with only the Monarch Pass being slightly longer and steeper. But nothing could keep me from being ecstatic that I had finished the climb.

I wound my way down the other side which was much less steep than what I had ridden up and got to the town of Westcliffe, CO, ate dinner, and found a motel.

Today’s mileage: 58 miles.
Total: 2482 miles.

Day 46: Denver, CO – Pueblo, CO

I started off the day by getting a ride from my brother out of the city. We said our goodbyes and I headed south.

I connected to a bike path that would take me maybe 30 miles through the Colorado Springs area. It was a beautiful path, with the mountains to my right and plains to the left. It wound through lightly wooded pine trees and was probably the most scenic bike path of the trip so far. The path went right through the air force academy, where signs warned of no unauthorized entry and of patrols. That was kind of weird, but I made it through with no issues.

Trail eventually died out a ways south of the city and I was dumped onto roads. It was already getting late because I had started so late and took a long lunch, but I pressed on towards Pueblo. After winding around a bit, I finally hit the road that would take me 25 miles south to my destination. It was dirt.

I was counting on being able to speed to Pueblo, but the dirt road was very bumpy and had lots of soft dirt so my speed averaged 8 mph. Darkness fell and I continued down this lonely road, barely being able to see ahead of me. As the full moon rose it was slightly easier to see and I had a distinct shadow from the moonlight.

Eventually the road turned to asphalt and I entered the city and found a motel. Went out to a bar and met a couple teachers at the local college and had a good time before getting back to my room and falling asleep at almost 1 am.

Today’s mileage: 73 miles
Total: 2424 miles

Days 41-45: Rest Days

I stayed in Denver with my brother for the better part of a week to get some much-needed rest.

Visited downtown Denver, ate a lot of food, met up with Justin from Devis, and got a lot of much-needed downtime. Got my bike looked at (pro-bono) by a mechanic at a shop and installed a handlebar compass that my uncle found and shipped to me (thanks!)

I’ll be heading south to meet up with the Adventure Cycling Association’s route across the Rockies on Friday.

Day 40: Limon, CO – Denver, CO

It was chilly today, even when I got on the road at 11:30 after an early lunch, so I used my long sleeved shirt for the first time.

The first 10 miles of the day were on pretty terrible dirt roads and I had to proceed on them slowly to make sure I stayed upright. Eventually though, I hit a highway and was able to ride at a decent pace. The terrain was rather hilly today. Lots of very large hills, on some of which I was able to coast down at nearly 40mph without pedaling or trying to be aerodynamic.

One nice thing about Colorado is that it doesn’t have nearly as much farmland as Kansas, so I get to see what things were like before humans got here. Unfortunately, most of it so far has just been plains, but today I finally reached some areas with pine trees as the silhouettes of the Rockies appeared on the horizon.

I stopped after 40 miles for a second lunch before heading into the outskirts of Denver. I tried to take some bike paths but they meandered a fair amount. Wanting just to get to my destination, I hopped back on the roads and made my way through the suburbs to my brother’s house, arriving at sunset.

Today’s Mileage: 85 miles.
Total: 2351 miles.

I will be staying in Denver for a few days to get rested up, so don’t expect any updates for a bit.