Have you ever dated someone you knew in your heart wasn’t for you, but they had potential and you wanted it to work? A thrill coursed through you every time you looked at them. You tried hard. When you spent hours together it started out awesome, but as time passed you always ended up arguing, until you eventually resigned yourself to the fact that you … Continue reading Winter Park to Boulder via Rollins Pass
All of the tension has been pedaled out of my body. I’m so relaxed that I could ride more miles or just as easily take a nap. Right now I have my feet up and wonder if we can buy a recumbent tandem before tomorrow, it feels so good. Today’s ride from Kremmling to Winter Park was a short 46-mile jaunt on tired legs. A … Continue reading Kremmling to Winter Park
Public Service Announcement: If you pedal at a 4.5 miles-per-hour pace near mosquitoes, be assured they will have their way with you. We spent today crawling along the rises between Carbondale, State Bridge, and Kremmling. Our ride was unlike the last couple of days, which have been a big up followed by a big descent and that concludes the day. Instead our route went up, … Continue reading Carbondale to Kremmling
Runaway train never going back Wrong way on a one way track Seems like I should be getting somewhere Somehow I’m neither here nor there… –Soul Asylum Ever since we started pedaling from New Mexico, “Runaway Train” has lodged itself into my head and essentially become my 2017 bike tour theme song. This is a song I haven’t thought about in years, I don’t really … Continue reading Buena Vista to Carbondale
I would have written you sooner, but I had to return the fire extinguisher to the hotel lobby. I borrowed it when my shoes became so hot that they burst into flames before our arrival in Buena Vista. Believe me, it surprised me too, especially after our relatively cool and comfortable climb up to 11,300 feet on Monarch Pass. They’re fine now, though – Sidis … Continue reading Gunnison to Buena Vista
Greetings from Gunnison! We’re on a rest day, which I’m quite happy about. I wish you were here so we could go grab a gluten-free muffin and chat about life over kombucha. Perhaps you could also help me look for my bike tour legs, which seem to have fallen out of the Carradice somewhere. My spidey sense told me that yesterday’s ride would be a … Continue reading Montrose to Gunnison
Guys, we are in Montrose and I just can’t believe this day! 115 miles point to point with three big summits: Coal Bank Pass, Molas Pass, and Red Mountain. And all over 10,500 feet. Fortunately for us, the final 40 miles of our day trended downhill or I’d still be out there riding. Today was a big day. We left Durango, and encountered some local … Continue reading Durango to Montrose
Update: the banana bread is gone and for a while today, so was my positive attitude. We planned for our ride from Chama to Pagosa Springs to be 50 miles. However, because of some gambles we made on exploring dirt roads – in hopes of avoiding the main highway – we ended up with almost 80 miles in our pockets. We hoped that one of … Continue reading Chama to Pagosa Springs
We’re in Chama, and I still have a few bites of Saturday’s banana bread left for tomorrow. Go me! This was our longest day so far, at 98 miles. We crossed over two, anonymous peaks on our ride from Taos on US 64 – possibly a third if you count the false summit of the second peak. En route to these anonymous summits, we crossed … Continue reading Taos to Chama
After a moderate ascent leaving Santa Fe, our route tricked me with 10 miles of downhill swoop and flat. But after leaving the frontage road and entering the Pueblo of Pojoaque, the road began to twist as the terrain undulated beneath us. Soon after, we rode our first surprise gravel section of our tour, followed by the first surprise creek crossing. Today’s ride was an … Continue reading Santa Fe to Taos
We’re back on tour, everybody! I spent the initial miles out of Albuquerque today feeling guilty about leaving work for vacation, but eventually I yet again realized that my employer is a bureaucracy, designed to continue happily along without me. I then resolved to check my bank balance periodically to make sure I remain on the payroll. Unlike the launch of, say – last year’s … Continue reading Albuquerque to Santa Fe, New Mexico
If I don’t write about this day, I can pretend we will ride on to the next destination. Our tour won’t have ended, D.C. won’t be calling me home. But our final day on the road is over. We are in Portland now, our journey from Sacramento to Portland complete, and Felkerino breaks down the bike as I type. I began our 11th day of … Continue reading Sierra Cascades Day 11: Detroit to Portland
Leaving Bend was a surprisingly subdued experience, once the city streets were behind us. We followed one of the Oregon Bikeways for the first 15 miles- the best cycling miles of the day. In retrospect, we should have figured out if there was an Oregon Bikeway long cut to the town of Sisters because once we left the Bikeway and turned onto US20 the riding … Continue reading Sierra Cascades Day 10: Bend to Detroit
The small towns in Oregon have been good to us. They manage to survive with decent to good lodging options, a convenience store, and often a nearby restaurant that opens early enough for bike touring breakfast and late enough for bike touring dinner. I’m grateful these towns hang on, unlike what you might find in other areas of the country. The assurance of food at … Continue reading Sierra Cascades Day 9: Crescent Junction to Bend
“Adventureland, where you can ride the Tornado, see a family show, and hear a rock and roll band!” During my childhood in Iowa, an amusement park called Adventureland was the summer go-to place for families, second only to the state fair. When we reached the rim of Crater Lake, and that old Adventureland jingle began ringing around in my head. After our mellow day to … Continue reading Sierra Cascades Day 8: Prospect to Crater Lake to Crescent Junction
