Today's Mileage: 49
Total Mileage: 1598
We woke up after a freezing cold night's rest and scrounged together some breakfast. With everyone's contributions, we ended up having a nice meal of oatmeal, granola, fruit and nuts.
We set out around 9:15 and the ride to Rico rolled through the mountains up the Dolores River, gradually climbing to about 8800 feet. Along the way, Karin, Debbie, and I were inspired by the scenery and we yodeled our way through the entire score of The Sound of Music... until we ran out of breath going up a hill singing.
In Rico, we had a pricy and less-than-satisfying lunch. I got a head start on the next leg of the ride: the climb up to Lizard Head Pass at 10,200 feet.
The ride was a pretty reasonable 12 miles, climbing slowly until a turn away from the Dolores River made the road significantly steeper for a couple miles. Somebody had spraypainted in orange some motivational messages along the road. The one that kept me going was "The force is strong with this one."
Wesley caught up to me in the last two miles up to the pass. He continued down the mountain, while I waited for Debbie and Karin, who had promised Oreo cookies.
We were looking forward to 15 downhill miles to Telluride, but a steep descent into a creek took us straight back up another 1000 feet. I grunted through it, and did surprisingly well. The last few miles into Telluride were along a bumpy path.
Wesley managed to get the clicking sound in his bottom bracket taken care of, while I asked the visitor's center for cheap motel recommendations. There were none, so we opted for the town campground. We were lucky to run into Rosie, who offered to let us pitch our tents in her campsite, which was nice because the campground was packed.
We set up our tents in the rain, and Debbie and I headed into town to a grocery store and bar. At Smuggler's Brewpub I sampled several beers, and settled on a nicely hopped Russell Kelly Ale. We ate dinner at Smuggler's and ended the evening looking for Karin and Wesley, who were also looking for us.
Luckily, the night air was a perfect temperature for sleeping, and the rush of the river nearby lulled us to sleep.
Total Mileage: 1598
We woke up after a freezing cold night's rest and scrounged together some breakfast. With everyone's contributions, we ended up having a nice meal of oatmeal, granola, fruit and nuts.
We set out around 9:15 and the ride to Rico rolled through the mountains up the Dolores River, gradually climbing to about 8800 feet. Along the way, Karin, Debbie, and I were inspired by the scenery and we yodeled our way through the entire score of The Sound of Music... until we ran out of breath going up a hill singing.
In Rico, we had a pricy and less-than-satisfying lunch. I got a head start on the next leg of the ride: the climb up to Lizard Head Pass at 10,200 feet.
The ride was a pretty reasonable 12 miles, climbing slowly until a turn away from the Dolores River made the road significantly steeper for a couple miles. Somebody had spraypainted in orange some motivational messages along the road. The one that kept me going was "The force is strong with this one."
Wesley caught up to me in the last two miles up to the pass. He continued down the mountain, while I waited for Debbie and Karin, who had promised Oreo cookies.
We were looking forward to 15 downhill miles to Telluride, but a steep descent into a creek took us straight back up another 1000 feet. I grunted through it, and did surprisingly well. The last few miles into Telluride were along a bumpy path.
Wesley managed to get the clicking sound in his bottom bracket taken care of, while I asked the visitor's center for cheap motel recommendations. There were none, so we opted for the town campground. We were lucky to run into Rosie, who offered to let us pitch our tents in her campsite, which was nice because the campground was packed.
We set up our tents in the rain, and Debbie and I headed into town to a grocery store and bar. At Smuggler's Brewpub I sampled several beers, and settled on a nicely hopped Russell Kelly Ale. We ate dinner at Smuggler's and ended the evening looking for Karin and Wesley, who were also looking for us.
Luckily, the night air was a perfect temperature for sleeping, and the rush of the river nearby lulled us to sleep.
3 comments:
If you need a hot shower in the morning I hear Tom Curise has a "shack" someplace in Telluride. I'm sure he wouldn't mind whipping you up some breakfast too!
Btw- Lionel wants a new postcard for each state you go through.
Well at least the tent was getting wet from natural causes (not sprinklers this time)
Hi Ceci! You're kicking some ass girl. I'm in Oregon right now and I was just thinking about you on the roads headed east. There's a ton of pretty country out there and its beats the dry, dusty SoCal heat as of late. Miss you. XO G
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