Author: Greg Pezoldt

Fueled up with that amazing dinner from last night, I packed up my gear, said goodbye to Michelle and Terri who was another traveler sat the RV Park whom I had met and began pedaling toward Ute Pass. As far as I can tell, Ute Pass might be the last pass of this adventure. I am getting real close to the Great Plains and I don’t see any more named Passes on my route. It is kind of sad to me to think this is the last one. I may be surprised yet since I still plan to ride to Rocky Mountain National Park but I have decided not to ride Berthoud Pass since it a little too far out of my way, but there may be other passes that I am yet unaware of. We will see.

Anyway, I am getting to far ahead of myself here. The ride up to the Ute Pass Summit was an 8 mile gradual climb from the town of Florissant. It was another pretty easy climb which is surprising to me since all of these last 3 passes have all been over 9,000 feet.

Now it is primarily a long downhill into Woodland Park and then continuing down into Manitou Springs. There a great treat awaits.

I am going to visit Paul Erickson who happens to be my best friend from my college days at Montana State University.

I haven’t got to see Paul since his wedding to LynnAnn too many years ago. It was a great reunion. We relived a lot of crazy memories and talked about our futures too. It is one of the real highlights of my trip!

Today I would start a 2 day effort to get to Colorado Springs. It is 92 miles and there are three 9,000 plus passes to cross in order to get there. No rest for the weary. And the “best” part is the first pass starts right out of the starting gate this morning so not much opportunity to get warmed up. Trout Creek Pass.

I am riding on US Hwy 24 going up the pass and all the way to “the Springs”. There is a LOT of traffic. Luckily the shoulder is pretty wide or I would be pretty nervous. The climb has its moments. It is steepest on the initial portion but then moderates on the upper sections. All in all, not too bad except for the copious amount of sweat that was mixing with my sun screen and then burning my eyes! I had to stop at least twice to flush my eyes with water so I could see were I was going.

I made the summit. It was up on a broad flat top with scattered pine timber. Nice. And then some additional good fortune. There was a Hwy junction just past the summit where most of the traffic veered off toward Denver leaving me with a much less traveled road to negotiate.

I would ride on across a broad flat plain to Hansel, CO where I knew there was a cafe for lunch. Not much else but lunch was all I really needed there. While having lunch, I could see the weather changing. Changing to windy with thunder storm cells building in the distance. By the time I finished lunch, the wind was a gale and the sky’s were getting pretty dark. With these weather cells, it is real random where they will center. Just because you see one right in your path doesn’t mean it will still be there when you get there. With that chance, I decided to carry onward. Especially since the gale wind was a tailwind for me and I wanted to take full advantage of that!

So off I headed out into some pretty nasty weather. But I made good time with a few miles averaging almost 25 mph! As I approached the beginning of the climb up the second pass of the day, the weather really caught up with me and I got slammed with one of those storm cells. I got pretty wet, but that was the chance I took. I just grinned and bared it.

Wilkerson Pass was a pretty short, gradual climb. Actually one of the easier climbs for the trip.

There was a nice Visitor Center at the top where I got a chance to escape the rain and warm up a bit. And as luck would have it, the weather cleared and the sun came out so I actually dried out quite a bit.

With the sun out and a long downhill to enjoy, I headed out toward Lake George for the end of my ride for the day. The miles ticked off rapidly and Lake George arrived before I knew it. I found a nice RV park that offered tent sites and hot showers.

While I was just relaxing and enjoying the sun for a few minutes I happened to look toward the West and saw another huge storm cell heading my way. I got in gear and hastily set up my tent and stowed all the gear just in time before it hit. Wind and rain again for the second time today, but this time I would be able to take shelter instead of riding through it. This was much better than the first one this afternoon. So much so that I actually enjoyed this one from the comfort of the porch of the RV office. A nice warm and dry view.

A great end to the day was Michelle, an employee of the RV Park inviting me to have dinner with the staff. What a fantastic offer. Her friend, Linda was baking lasagna with garlic bread and some wine. Wow! What a great time we all had. An amazing end to a wild day. Thank you Michelle and Linda for the dinner, but more importantly the amazing generosity and kindness shown to a complete stranger.

Today was going to be an epic day. One way or another no matter how it turned out.

It started a bit on the “iffy” side. I had listened to the wind in the trees all night. Wind always makes me nervous. When I woke up, the wind was still rustling in the trees. Once I got on the road, I figured out that it doesn’t take much wind to rustle aspen trees. The wind was no going to be a factor today.

Today was the day to climb Independence Pass! A true monster. And I had a plan! My camp was at approx. 9200 feet and I had to climb to 12,095. So basically 2900 feet. My previous experience would say that this would take about 3 hours. So my great plan was to go for 2 hours and take a break before taking on the last 1000 feet. Seemed like a great plan.

The climbing was hard, but about the same effort as the other big passes I have gone up on the trip so far. But the altitude. That would be the big difference on Independence Pass. So on I pedaled. So right at 2 hours I stopped. Not because I needed to though. I WAS AT THE TOP!

I was pretty pleased with that effort. So much for the plan, right?

I also crossed the Continental Divide for the 7th and final time for the trip.

Today, there were lots of cyclists at the top. I was the only one touring so I got to claim bragging rights for the hardest climb of all of them. I didn’t tell them that I did it in a 38-26 gear.

Next was the second most fun part (climbing the pass was the funnest part). The downhill. I covered a lot of ground and lost a lot of altitude quickly. Very quickly. On to the Twin Lakes where I had a much deserved lunch. Then lastly down to Buena Vista along the Arkansas River.

Today was truly epic. And Epic in the very best sense of that word.

Note: I know I should have taken more pictures. I think that was the altitude causing my brain to malfunction. That is my excuse.

I got up, packed the bike and headed for the transit center. It was 2 blocks away. So far, so good.

The bus was on time, my bike fit on the rack and we got back to Carbondale on time. So far, so good.

Riding up to Aspen was nice. Mostly nice I should say. There is a bike trail that runs all the way to Aspen, allowing me to completely miss traffic in the very busy Hwy up the valley. The only catch was there has been a fire near the town of Basalt which I would have to ride through. The smoke was irritating but only for about 15 minutes. Then I was past it.

I covered the 30 miles up valley pretty easily. There were challenges though. Lots of sketchy riders coming the other way on rental bikes. No helmets and not very good bike handling skills either. There were no injuries to report thank goodness.

Aspen is full of VERY rich and famous people. Or as my brother says- rich and shameless. And also lots of tourists. An interesting mix of people.

I found out that a place I have always wanted to visit but was not sure where it was is right here. The Maroon Bells. I had to go!

Maybe you recognize them. They are in lots of photographs that you see. And for good reason.

So after a lunch and seeing the Maroon Bells, I headed up valley to hopefully camp. This was the last dicey part of yesterday’s plan. To be able to find a camping spot. I got to the first of 3 potential camps and found an empty spot. Dibs! So the day worked out great. I am not sure if I was smart, lucky, or something else entirely, but I’ll take it. It is also worth noting that since I was only 8 miles from Aspen…… that my campsite was in an aspen grove!

This morning is somewhat overcast and perfect for climbing the last 2 miles over McClure Pass. Needless to say, the final climb was fine and I have again set a new high elevation standard.

This high point will not last for long but it is the standard for today!

The downhill was fun too as you can imagine. It was a fairly quick ride into Carbondale with one quick distraction. I was told of a hot spring along the Crystal River which was the exact river I was following to Carbondale. How fortunate.

The springs were great. Several pools to choose from with different temperatures in each one.

After the nice soak, I continued the rapid descent to Carbondale. I was even able get onto a bike path for the last 6 miles into Carbondale. In Carbondale, I had several things to accomplish. First was find lunch. That was easy. Next was to figure out how far I was going to ride past Carbondale towards Aspen. There are several campgrounds past Aspen that set me up perfectly for the climb up Independence Pass, but they are just too far to ride there today. So I needed to find an intermittent place to stay today. I stopped at the Forest Ranger Station to inquire about camping and there really was nothing that was a reasonable ride and on pavement. Next I looked for private campgrounds and RV Parks. Nothing. Next was looking for a motel that was reasonably priced. Nothing. This was looking really bad!

Finally, I decided that I needed to ride to Glenwood Springs, in the opposite direction that I needed to go in. But it was only 10 miles and downhill. Then the plan would be to put my bike on the bus in the morning and go back up to Carbondale and start riding from there again. I can make it to Aspen easy enough for lunch and then go on to the campgrounds toward the pass afterwards. Problem solved. And the first part went perfect except for the afternoon rainstorm that I ended up riding through before Glenwood Springs. So a motel room is was for today. Now everything is dry except for the laundry I did in the motel room sink. So far so good for the alternative plan.

For tomorrow, I hope the rest of my plan works out. Stay tuned.

Before I hit the road this morning, I had some unfinished business. I had to met Rosemary’s donkeys, Ginny and Paco.

Then, I tried out her “e-bike”. That was pretty cool. It gave me all sorts of ideas. Ideas of pitching my Fuji. Wait. That would be wrong. For the purpose of this trip anyway. I need to ride this tour using my legs and gravity. Nothing else. But in the future, who knows.

So I said good bye to Rosemary. She is a really nice person and was a great host.

Now it is on to Paonia and some lunch. Paonia is a pretty cool little town with a lot of character. It was only 11 miles by back roads from Hotchkiss so I would need to get a plan for the afternoon. I went over to the Forest Service Ranger Station to sort out the camping option for this evening.

The options were to stop at Paonia Reservoir or pushing up toward McClure Pass. I decided to see what the reservoir option liked liked. Once there, it looked pretty bleak. The water level was so low that the reservoir was just a muddy shoreline. Plus, the campground had no water. I decided to rest there for an hour and then start heading up McClure Pass around 4:30. It was about 12 miles to the FS Campground just below the summit. I got there about 6:00. It was full but one of the campers said I could share his spot. That was welcome news and it worked out fine.

I chose to ride through Colorado so I could ride through their mountains. Maybe I should be careful of what I wish for. These are serious mountains. At least so far, McClure Pass was reasonable, but I would have 2 more miles to tackle in the morning.

We will see how that goes, but not until after a night’s sleep.

Well, today I did get back on the road. I hope my flat tire problems are behind me, at least for a while.

Today I would finally turn easterly again. For the first time in 1000 miles and Whitefish. It would also be into the desert again. Delta, CO would be my goal for the day. It was not a hard ride. Rolling hills and not much wind at all. No towns for 40 miles though.

The country was dry and desert, but the east was dominated by the Grand Mesa.

There is a ride option to ride over the Grand Mesa. I opted for No this time.

I got to Delta for lunch. I also was searching for. Camping option nearby I found lunch, but no camping options that were convenient. So after waiting a few hours, I took off heading for Hotchkiss, 20 miles down the road. The temperatures “cooled” to the low 90’s and there was a tailwind. An easy decision.

I called Rosemary Ranck. She is the cousin of my friend Carol Ranck to let her know I was coming. You might remember Carol from Rest Day 1.

Anyway, Rosemary met me in Hotchkiss at a local restaurant. We had a nice dinner and then she loaded my bike into her Prius and drove to her house.

I got to sleep on the patio, which is a cool deck with chairs, table, and a hanging bed about 50 yards from her “off the grid” house. Very cool.

I was happy to have been back on the road again with no problems. And I was happy to be sleeping on the patio tonight.

I needed to take a rest day. I have been riding for 13 straight days and was feeling it. I just wasn’t sure where to take a day off.

Today was SUPPOSED to be a ride day. It started off as one, until I went out to load up the bike and found my rear tire flat. That seemed odd but no big deal. I fixed the flat, said good bye to the Louck’s and headed out. I was going to go by a bike shop to top off my air pressure first though. The shop I went to was closed for Sunday so I went across the street to a gas station to get some food for the day’s journey. Then I noticed that my tire was flat again. WHAT? that does not seen right. I called the Louck’s and said I was going to walk back to their houses d figure out what was going on.

Once back at their house, iTools the tire off the rim and examined it. I discovered that grim tape had “squirmed” and left several of the nipple holes exposed. The inner tube had been rubbing on the sharp metal edge. I would have gotten a new flat tires about every 2 miles without fixing that problem. Riding today was now out the window.

Next was trying to resolve the rim tape problem. With the help of the entire Louck’s family we found an open bike shop in Fruita, CO. We drove over and got some new rim tape on my rear rim. Then it was back to the house to put the tire back on. About 2 hours later and enough frustration to last an entire lifetime, I could not get the tire back on without rolling the new rim tape. I have never had this problem before or have even heard of anyone having this problem. Period! So it was back to the bike shop. After their tech struggled for half an hour, he finally put a different kind of rim tape in and was able to get the tire in without rolling the tape.

So now with tire outback together I was ready to ride the next day. I think the universe was just telling me that this was the day to rest!

There was an additional benefit to the rest day. We allée t over to the Louck’s daughter Robin’s house for a BBQ. The food was terrific.

I had gotten my rest day. Whether I wanted it or not.

Here is a photo of Bob and Erma Loucks. Great hosts and friends.

Some Stats:

Miles Ridden: 2166

Crosses the Continental Divide: 6

Highest Elevation: 8428

National Parks: 5

National Monuments: 3

State Parks: 6

Flat Tires: 3

Miles on Bike paths: 105

Today, I really got up early. Nothing like being in the middle of nowhere for motivation.

Yesterday, I had walked up the road to scout the rest of the climb up Douglas Pass. It would get steeper than yesterday but the nights rest helped. The 1.5 mile climb up to the summit elevation of 8,266 went pretty easy although there was no sign at the top. Then a great downhill where I did not turn a pedal for almost 10 miles. Yowser! I just had to dodge the cows that were scattered along the road since it was all open range.

The descent was fast and I quickly returned to the scrubland of the Colorado desert. After 36 miles, I again found civilization in the town of Loma. They said I would have to travel 5 more miles to Fruita to find a restaurant so civilization might have been a slight stretch.

But fruita was nice. I had a real nice lunch and then it was only 11 miles to Grand Junction, my destination for the day.

11 miles huh? With being so close, I decided to take a side trip to the Colorado National Monument right here. Plus it would pop out in GJ so I wouldn’t have to backtrack. Great idea.

29 miles later and 2200 vertical feet later I was questioning what a great idea it was. And did I mention it was pretty hot?

But it really was worth it.

After the initial 4 mile climb, it wasn’t so bad. Well except for the heat. Did I mention it was hot?

After a much needed descent I found myself at the city limits of Grand Junction at a convenience store. I was pretty thirsty. I casually inquired to the clerk if he knew the outside temperature. He said 105F. Did I mention it was hot?

I had made plans a long time ago to stay with the Louck’s. Bob and Erma Loucks are the parents of one of my best high school friends and just really great people. Bob came and picked me up at that point. I was done riding for the day.

They really made me feel right at home. We all went over to their daughter Robin’s house and I met the whole family and their friends. A good time was had by all.

For me, I got up early since I didn’t want any sprinklers to soak me down and I didn’t want to scare any children who might want to play at the park before it got too hot.

I made really good time riding to Rangely, CO. So good that I ended up having breakfast instead of lunch at the local cafe.

I made a point of getting extra water for today’s ride. It was 73 miles to the next town and I was not going to make it that far today. I would need to camp along the way.

I rode for about an hour when I saw a simple generic rest stop sign. I needed to rest so it seemed like a good idea to stop. Once there, I found out there was a trail that lead to a great collection of ancient Native American wall art.

It really was excellent and it was just luck that I stopped. I should point out that I would have never stopped if I had been driving! Another reason I like bicycle touring so much are the unanticipated things that one might have missed otherwise.

Now back riding after an hour and a half break I found myself pedaling into a modest headwind. No one should ever say I don’t learn from my mistakes. After an hour of this torture, I took another break. Both to let the temperature drop a little and to see if the wind would change. For once, patience won out. The wind did stop for the most part.

Now for the next hurtle. That would be Douglas Pass. It was my plan to ride up most of the way and camp below the summit. The climb was very gradual and the scenery gradually changed from canyon land to mountainous.

About 6:30, I found a flat place to set up camp. It was ‘t very elegant. Latterly a wide spot on the road. I set the tent up about 150 feet from the road but nobody bothered me at all. One person did stop to inquire if everything was alright. He even have some extra Gatorade that he gave me. Another unexpected act of kindness. I think I have a lot of Karma to give back to the world after this trip.