On to Wyoming

We had a fun day  in Breckenridge riding the Alpine Slide a couple of times and then going to the Brew Pub for some Avalanche beer.  I did buy a new North Face windwall fleece while in Breck and it has already come in handy.  The night temperatures have been getting down into the 40's.
On Tuesday the 28th we headed out to Hot Sulphur Springs early and rode a wonderful bike path from Breck to Silverthorne, almost 13 miles on smooth bike path past the Dillon reservoir. Our ride went pretty fast and we rode past another reservoir where I got a couple of nice pictures.

We all had to stop in Kemmerling to purchase groceries for our evening meal for which I was the chief cook and bottle washer.  When we arrived in Hot Sulphur Springs, our campground was under three feet of water.  The Colorado River, which the CG was on is at flood stage, as are all of the rivers in the west due to the unusually fast snow melt in the Rockies.

Well Terry our rabbit(he rides fast) got there first and then contacted a B&B who let us stay in their yard, use their showers and in general treated us great. their rooms are very nice and I would recommend anyone to stay at the Stagecoach Stop B&B in Hot Sulphur Springs.

On Wednesday we started the day off riding along the Colorado for about ten miles and then turned north to head for Walden, CO.  We climbed another pass (Willow Creek Pass at 9,680 ft.) and then rode over twenty miles on a road with wide cracks in the surface. This was not fun but I was glad to have the Brooks saddle with the springs on it. Others were not so lucky.  Walden was just another small northern Colorado town without much to distinguish it.  However the scenery on the ride was again spectacular.

Thursday took us into Wyoming after twenty two miles with a small climb of about 500 ft. vertical.  As I topped the hill I looked off to the west and the view was great except for the dark clouds moving in over the mountains.  Well I decided to make a run for Riverside, WY and pedaled as hard as I could for about twelve miles but stopped about three miles short of town to put on rain gear.  About a half mile from town the wind changed to come out of the west and went up to about thirty five miles an hour.  Then the sprinkles started and I continued to pedal hard and got the the Mangy Moose Saloon and under cover just before the skies really opened up.  There were only three of us who got out of the storm, the rest of the group got caught in hail, heavy rain and high winds. Most of them got off their bikes and took cover in the ditch on the side of the road.  By the way, the burger at the Mangy Moose was one of the best I have ever had.

The last 18 miles into Saratoga, WY were not too bad and the temperatures were right around seventy.  Nice riding. Our campground at Saratoga was at Saratoga Lake, nice location without many services such as water, showers, but they did have pit toilets.  The weather was very windy so no one went back into town.

We really did ride into Wyoming!

Our cooks did a great job this evening by opening up an ice fishing shack that was a little ways from the shore and setting up their kitchen in the shack out of the wind.  Very good meal was enjoyed by all. Then it was into the tents for the night. I did get to finish the book "Cobra". Now I will start using my new Kindle.

A nice short ride on Friday into Rawlins of forty miles.  The first twenty went by really fast and then we got on I-80 for thirteen miles into the wind.  That was not bad since David and I paced each other and maintained a nice speed.  We got of I-80 at Sinclair and rode seven more miles to Rawlins, into a thirty mile an hour wind.  Not fun, but we got it done.

I am now at the Western Hills Campground in Rawlins with all of the comforts, showers, laundry, nice bathrooms and a couple of saloons nearby.  We won't do much tonight since we have a 89 mile ride tomorrow and it may be into the wind for a good part of the way.

These roads in Wyoming just seem to go on and on and on, but the scenery is great. We have not seen much wildlife but everything so far is very green and has  not turned western brown yet.

Life is Good

Bobo