Wild Ride

Today's destination was Walsenberg, CO. Each rider was given a decision: take a 38 mile straight line on flat Interstate 25 or an 83 mile ride on the mountainous scenic byway named "The Highway of Legends." The choice was obvious.

Ten other riders and myself took the ambitious venture through the peaks of Southern Colorado, and it simply was a wild ride. The route started fairly easily, but massive mountains loomed in front of us. After a lunch stop at mile 35, things got interesting. We came upon the dazzling Monument Lake, a man made treasure at about 8000 feet. Savoring the sight was short lived, as dark thunderclouds rolled in. Our troupe dashed to our cycles, hoping to speed past the incoming storm. We failed. Torrents of rain were interrupted only by bursts of hail, soaking us to the skin in instants. Just as things were letting up, we entered into the steepest ascent of the day to a peak of 10000 feet. Lungs and legs burning, for a moment, I wished I had taken the easy route. Reaching the conclusion of the climb, my sentiments quickly reversed. I flew down 10 miles of downhill, weaving in and out of curvaceous roads at speeds of 30-40 mph. I even passed a car! Near the bottom of the downhill, I came upon a tiny village of wooden lodges named Cuchara, where I was fortunate enough to purchase Elk jerky. I quite like Elk! The last 15 miles of the highway gave beautiful views of rock formations and distant peaks. This roller coaster of a day likely will be the most memorable of all my rides this summer. But heck, that's what I thought about riding into Trinidad!

I have to run to dinner, but will upload photos of these last two beautiful days of biking as soon as possible. Happy Trails!