Prairies to Pacific: Copey Rides West

I woke up tired and stressed about having to keep riding — not another day on the bike! And so many more to go. It helped to remember that this trip isn’t just about following the line on my GPS and worrying about logistics all day, which is what I felt I’ve been doing. The previous day’s ride down the major highway to Kremmling took a toll mentally. But once I opened the curtains and saw the bright morning sky, I felt ready to get going again. Even with my newfound zen, I still felt my day’s deadline and the reason I woke up anxious to get the miles in — the showers at the next stop, Walden, would close at 5pm (with hindsight, not a big deal). Leaving Hot Sulfur Springs and turning off the road following the railway tracks I had ridden the day before put me on a quiet road through a national forest, or what was left of it. The entire ride up to almost the top of the mountain pass was through this burned forest. A blog I found from a 2006 rider said that this was his favorite road, wit...

Turns out it’s very time consuming to write a summary of three days, so I’ll mainly be using pictures. (If each is worth 1,000 words, this post is > 21,000! Sorry Ma) FYI, you can get email notifications by clicking the three lines in the top left, and clicking an image loads the full size version.   About to set off from Guffey, where the last post ended The first sign I saw that I was actually on the TransAmerica Trail! I’ve since seen only one other ☹️ Rear view — the protruding flag increases the apparent width of the bike so people give more berth when passing, and the Stars and Stripes is a hallowed symbol to all Americans (joking). I legitimately feel safer having it on, and so far haven’t had any malicious driving encounters, even from the obnoxiously tall pickup trucks! First sight of snow-capped peaks On the road to Fairplay. Had the first headwinds of the trip as the terrain opened out Trying some nature photography View from the tent at Fairplay. I hoped to reach Alm...

 I’m on the road! The bike and I arrived in one piece into Denver a week ago, and I had a wonderful time in Salida with family friends Nancy and Cliff. I planned to ride from Salida to Cañon City via Highway 50, but every person we spoke to said to avoid it on a bike because of a lack of a shoulder and very limited sight-lines in parts. Instead I was driven down it and dropped off in Cañon City (thank you Paula!)  Nerves at the start line, with train horns blasting nearby The riding was hard — it ended up being almost 32 miles and 4050ft climbing to get to Guffey. Looking at the upcoming route, it seems like this will be the most strenuous day of climbing in the whole Colorado Rockies! Definitely threw myself into the deep end with this one. Climbing away from Cañon City Afternoon thunderstorm about 30 miles away (according to my counting after a lightning strike). Felt a few raindrops but luckily didn’t need to duck under a tree The main problem I faced (other than having to ...