Day 33 – More Great Memories
Sitting on a bench under an overhang at a
strip mall in Silverthorne, CO. Watching the rain fall. We are 3/4
of the way through today's ride and for the third day in a row we are dodging
thunderstorms and avoiding rain. We just
biked forty miles with few options to take cover should the rain start to fall;
but the rain held off until after we got here. As I said yesterday, I
don't know why we keep lucking out, but I am very thankful we do.
Our ride thus far has been filled with
majestic mountain views. And dark clouds. Other than a ten-mile stretch
of busy State Highway 9 that had no shoulder all has been good.
Fast-forward two hours. Just waited the storm out in a great little
café, where we had a rare afternoon snack. At 4:00 they informed us that the restaurant
was closed. I was wondering why it went from bustling to just the two of
us. We walked outside and noted the rain is now a light mist. Clouds are gray but not dark. We have
fifteen miles to go to get to Breckenridge, and we decide to tempt fate once
again.
There is a fantastic bike trail from Silverthorne
to Breckenridge that is picturesque, well maintained and best of all: allows us
to escape busy State Highway 9. So off we go. One problem. The trail is not well marked, our overpriced
bike maps are worthless, and GPS doesn't recognize bike paths. At least
not well enough to give us any confidence.
I wish I knew how many wrong turns we made and
how many times we stopped to discuss, "Where now?" At one
point, about nine miles from Breckenridge, Brian and I had two options so we
decided to split up and see what happens. Both options got us
there. Mine may have been more picturesque than Brian's but unfortunately
I overshot our final destination by over a mile and had to back track. We
will probably stick together going forward. But at least both options got
us to the same destination. Oh yeah –
and we did not get rained on.
By the time we finally finished we had
gone 53.3 miles from Kremmling, CO to Breckenridge, Co. Thanks to waiting
out the storms and getting lost often it took us well over eight hours to
travel those 53 miles, likely our least productive day so far. On the one
hand it was a little frustrating. But on the other hand, I wouldn't have
traded this day for anything. Today was truly a journey, and great
memories were made.
One final thought on today. We finished the day in Breckenridge, CO.
I have been here many times in my life. But always in the winter and
always to ski - my first love among my pastimes. The skiing here is great
and the views are outstanding. The town
is an energetic little ski resort and the locals are so welcoming. As I
biked with the view of the Breckenridge ski slopes in front of me (still
covered in snow), I couldn't help but think of all the ski trips I have made
out here - some with good friends and some with family. The memories from
all those ski trips are many and provide feelings of happiness and gratitude.
Now I am experiencing this place that has provided so many wonderful memories
and good times in a completely different way. And I just keep adding to
the great memories.
I am truly: Blessed Beyond Measure.
Beginning of the day. More thunderstorms ahead. |
Mid-day |
The last fifteen miles of the day was on a bike path |
Love this ride, your pics, description of the ski slopes covered with snow! Also, any update on how many miles you have biked on this trip to date?
ReplyDeleteThanks John. I do plan on providing some stats on the trip soon. I keep a running log and find it all very interesting. I have been waiting for our next day off to publish that information. As of today we have biked a total of 1,838 miles.
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