Epic Bike Ride Day 18 June 14
Thoughts from Kelly: I woke up way too early today because it was very hot, so Mark also got up early. We were camped by a sign that said a ‘natural arch’ 1 mile, so we decided to both ride out to it for another side trip. We rode for a bit over a mile and didn’t see it anywhere near, so we rode back to camp to start the real ride. We were on the road by 10:10 today and made it to a small community, La Garita just before a storm moved through. We enjoyed an amazing meal and internet (we uploaded about 10 of these journal entries) while the storm passed. Chatting with some of the locals assured us the road out was very nice and should be ok even after the rain and boy were they correct! It was an amazing road paved and gravel for about 8 miles, then we hit the standard bumpy, rocky grated mountain road. About 35 miles into the day, another rain storm passed through, so we waited this one out in the truck, I took a little nap and Mark enjoyed some snacks. After the rain, we continued on. Mark was feeling very strong so we rode till around 7:30. We ended up camping on the side of a fairly busy road with zero trees for privacy, but we were tired enough that any noise didn’t bother us. About a quarter mile up the road we could see another cyclist camping, that was reassuring.
Thoughts from Mark: We started the day by taking a “side quest” to see a natural arch. It was supposed to be visible after a one mile ride from our camping spot. After a little over one mile, we came to some rock formations and one was more interesting looking than the others, but it still wasn’t really an arch. We rode back to camp and Kelly did an amazing job of navigating the sandy, rocky, and muddy trail. She’s becoming a pro mountain biker! After packing up, I rode into La Garita, where we had an excellent meal and updated “this here” journal. While we were eating, a huge wind and rain storm swooped in and we waited for about 2 hours for it to pass. After the storm, I got back on the bike and rode through “Hellgate” pass, which was a very beautiful canyon with some pretty impressive cliffs near the road. I rode on for about 25 more miles, before we had to wait for another thunderstorm. After the storm I rode on, and Kelly made a nice dinner of chili and Ramen noodles. We were both pretty tired, and slept well.
Miles for the day: 46.39 Feet climbed today: 3,028
Total miles ridden: 788.9 Total feet climbed: 53,645