Day 28

Mileage: 90

Total mileage: 2456

Last night the rain never stopped and it kept on drizzling as I packed up to go.   Putting on cold, wet chamois and jersey was less than a pleasant experience as I stood shivering from the morning chill. Nothing was open in Alma, so I decided to climb the last few miles to the peak in the rain and then get breakfast in Breckenridge.

Last night I made very good use of all the cold weather gear I've been hauling for 4 weeks and I'm finally glad I brought it. There were a few hot days down in Kentucky that I considered sending it back, but last night was very cold and this morning is shaping up to be the same way. My groundcloth kept my bag dry except for the inevitable bit of condensation that always forms under a waterproof sheet, but that was easily shaken off my bag and the down stayed fluffy and warm.

The last 6 miles up to Hoosier Pass were markedly steeper than the rest of the climb, but I knew that was coming from my maps and was ready for it. When I finally saw the sign marking the top of the road, I put in one last big burst and made it to the top with a whoop and holler. There were a few tourists up there taking pictures who looked at me oddly, but I didn't care. I had made it to the highest point on the whole trail. It's net downhill, all the way to the ocean!

Descending into Breckenridge, I burned a lot of brake rubber. There were some really awesome curves and some pretty steep portions, but with the road, my tires and my brakes all wet, I didn't really feel comfortable opening up and taking them at speed lest my tires slip out while I was leaning hard into a turn. I'm actually very glad I didn't attempt this last night as it was getting dark.

Breck itself was a quaint little town where everything was very fancy and touristy and I couldn't find a local to recommend a breakfast spot to save my life. It felt like the kind of place where people just passed through, not where anyone actually lived. Regardless, it might be fun to spend a week there in the winter sometime. The quaint cabin atmosphere could be fun when everything is all snowed in. I bet it would be expensive though. Two guys working in a bike shop both pointed me to a cheap diner where I got 4 eggs, hashbrowns, two pancakes and bacon for 19 dollars. Ouch. I guess that's tourist prices for you.

A few miles outside of Breck, the rain let up for a bit and I had an easy ride into Frisco, then Silverthorne. I say easy because the riding was mostly downhill, but following directions was a bit of a nightmare. In Kansas, I rode highway 96 for 300 something miles. Here, I actually have to turn and stuff. I included pictures of Colorado maps vs Kansas maps.

Outside of Silverthorne, I had finally left tourist country for a bit and made the long 54 mile ride out through Kremmling and into Hot Sulphur Springs. On the road into Kremmling, I encountered the worst drivers of the entire trip. The shoulder kept narrowing until I was riding just the white line, but people kept passing in lane while traffic was coming from the opposite direction! Everyone had a trailer or a camper on the back of their vehicle and they were driving like they didn't. Numerous times I got off the road and off the bike when a particularly foolish driver tried to squeeze past in too tight a spot. Eventually I ran into a patch of construction where the pavement was actually gone for 6 miles and I was riding a wet and muddy dirt road. Here there was of course nothing resembling a shoulder at all and I was riding what would be the right tire track for most traffic. Still, people were passing in the face of incoming traffic! It was mind blowing. I finally took matters into my own hands. When there were cars coming the opposite way, I would take the center of the lane, the left tire track, like a total jerk and just not let cars past, sometimes for 30 seconds to a minute. When opposing traffic cleared, I'd roll back as far right as I could go and motion with a wide arc that they should go around, using part of the opposite lane to create space. It worked, but it was both exhausting and nerve-racking and as soon as the pavement came back, I pulled over with a huge sigh of relief.

In Kremmling I tried to use the library to publish my blog posts because I've been completely without cell service since leaving the great plains. Unfortunately they were closed on Fridays, but I saw a sign on the door advertising a showing of Zootopia with free popcorn. I got very excited because it was for June 30th and then looked at my watch and realized it was the first of July already. Rats. I need to look at the library entertainment schedules for upcoming towns because that would have been a lot of fun.

As I cruised out for my last 17 miles into Hot Sulphur Springs, it started to rain again. I've gotten used to the sudden soaking of prairie thunderstorms, but this cold constant drizzle takes a different kind of fortitude to deal with. You have to ride harder to keep your core temperature up, or else put on layers of warm clothing. Since I don't have anything other than arm and leg covers (besides my emergency go-to-ground plan if I can't stay warm enough) I had to work pretty hard to stay at a safe temperature down that stretch. 

5 miles outside of Springs, the highway took a hard left across the Colorado river and into a narrow canyon. It was really neat, but the rain was coming hard and visibility was dropping with the waning light, so I didn't pause to take any pictures. Once in Springs, the rain let up for a little bit while I ate dinner, long enough for me to look around for a camping spot. There was nothing, and it was getting dark so I decided to rig my tarp over a fence for a shelter. It should work well. Finally, some more dead weight I've been carrying becoming useful.

With shelter for the night all squared away, I walked down to the Sulphur Springs resort that the town is named for. 14 dollars got me access to the springs for 2 hours, until they closed at 10. And oh was it glorious! The resort has basically directed the springs so that they flow from pool to pool, hottest at the top and getting cooler as they go down. The 108 degree pool felt just right and I stayed in there for a while, chatting with other guests. It was fairly well populated, perhaps two dozen folks, but they were spread out across enough pools that it was never crowded. 

10 o'clock came far too early, but I walked back to my camping spot feeling really nice after the long hot bath. Oh, and I should mention, I picked up a new pair of spandex in Silverthorne for the occasion. No flashing with my modified chaps.

I'm willing to bet that it's going to rain again tonight. Tomorrow should be a pretty easy day, but I've got one big climb. Let's hope the rain lets up, eh? 

G'night!