Aug 2 - Aug 5
For miles along a hot, desolate, no-services stretch, K had been dreaming that a kind motorist would intuit her parched state and pull over to offer an ice-cold drink. Riding on the 8 inches of shoulder on Highway 9, grinding our pedals against the headwind blowing off Heeny Reservoir, we crested a hill to find a dream come true. We found him in a turn-out, sitting on his VW Beetle bumper, hand extending a soda just plucked from his cooler. K happily guzzled her Pepsi while he filled her water bottles with bubbly water. After an amusing and lively chat, off he zipped, hand waving through his sunroof. Rehydrated, we pedaled as fast as we could to Kremmling to finish the treacherous and heavily trafficked route.
We were happy to have this one good experience with a motorist as our experiences on many of the Colorado roadways were less than desirable; the combination of no shoulders, heavy volume of traffic, and impatient, speeding motorists with cowboy mentalities detracted from the spectacular scenery around us. But the scenery was stunning, particularly near Hoosier Pass.
Climbing the Rockies was challenging. Although the grade was fairly gentle, oxygen was scarce. The last pitch of the climb up to 11,542 foot Hoosier Pass had K sounding like an old Hoover vacuum.
You all are soooo incredible. I can't imagine biking at that altitude. In fact I forgot that this would even happen. I thought you'd be rubbernecking at the scenery - afraid of the heights as you looked off the edge of the road! But there was more - gulping lungs, annoying drivers - and finally such a great story about the drink offered.
ReplyDeleteI know that you have more photos and I can't wait to see them all.
Anticipating your return now and I'm happy you'll be home but know that this trip has just changed so much. I wish every day that I was with you.
LOL,
C-lini