We were up shortly after 7. Brilliant sunshine, blue skies and a temperature of -1C. It didn’t take long to warm up, though. Out of the hotel and back on Hwy CO-125. I wasn’t very happy for the first half mile or so. No shoulder and quite a bit of truck traffic. Thankfully CO-14 turned right and took all the trucks with it. We had a lovely, if bumpy, road almost to ourselves after that.
We had the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge to our right for many miles. Alas, I saw no wildlife.
Lots of mountains in view in the distance on both sides. Even some snow at the top of some.
A lot more ranchland in evidence today.
Just after the first SAG stop we went through the small village of Rand. I think some residents here have a great sense of humour.
Saw this sign on the outskirts. Thought it was a few days late and a few hundred miles short.
Oh - and look. Trees! Haven’t seen those for a long time. We subsequently passed through a couple of National Forests - Routt and Arapaho - on our way to The Continental Divide, yet again.
It was a beautiful downhill ride for almost 20 miles. Then we crested one final hill and saw this always welcome sign. It was a great downhill run, even though I had to pedal against the wind on a -7% grade section $&@?!
And finally - the Windy Gap Reservoir just before reaching the town of Granby.
It was a beautiful ride today, and relatively easy compared to the last few days. I was in by about 2, and ready to put my feet up. One of our riders from last year, Patricia, lives nearby. She kindly arranged an outing to Rocky Mountain National Park. About a dozen folks have joined her for this, but I’ve taken a pass. I did, though, partake in the eating of the home-baked cookies that she delivered to our second SAG stop. Yum! It was very nice to see her again. We miss her on the trip this year!
Stats for the day:
Walden CO to Granby CO
92 km. 57 miles.
2856 feet up. 3025 feet down.
Temp: 8C to 28C. Some wind, but pretty nice compared to recent days.
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