No sweat day

Literally. Or at least not perceptibly. What with the rain and abnormally cool temperature of an end of July day...  in Colorado.

Boy howdy-- what a wet morning! But we stayed cheery, took our time (waiting in vain for a change in the skies), and didn't actually start the ride up Highway 14 until after 10. We've brought and carried wet weather gear on this trip--and funny that, until yesterday, we haven't had to use it since the second morning riding out of Big Fork, Montana.... and then that surprise thunder/lightening storm in the valley on our way from Lima, Mt., to the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. So we finally accepted the inevitable, garbed fully up and headed out. 

It was a steady pour as we rode the 12 miles uphill to the pass, but at least the grade was easy and we just took our time. While the shoulder wasn't always ideal (with the tell-tale "bicycles on road" sign at times), the rainy midday midweek traffic was thankfully mindful, and there was very little big-truck activity.

Even that last 3 miles of steep to reach the summit wasn't that bad, with ample spots to pause, look around, and marvel even though it was so cloudy and wet. With all the rain and chill, it was our first climb, our first full ride actually, this entire trip of no sweating! After stopping at the top and before eating our tuna cheese wraps under cover of the park's restrooms, we even donned hats and extra gloves before the downhill. Brrr!!

And, boy, on the other side of Cameron Pass It's waay gorgeous! Even with not being able to see super well through the drips off our helmets (and my fogged up, rain spattered glasses), we were in awe at the scenery as we came down the east side--quite different from the west, which was simply more forested (or de-forested, sadly, from the pine beetle devastation). The Crags, Sleeping Elephant, highway-side rushing creeks and then--the Poudre River and Canyon! Awesome, the rushing flow, the variety of trees and other vegetation, the angular cut to the rocks of canyon...!

We should have taken more pictures, but...the rain and cold and wanting to get down all sort of dampened that spirit a bit.

On our way down, we spotted a family--with a wee baby-- of mountain goats. Hard to see them camouflaged as they are like the rocks. We'll load a video of them later when we have faster internet.

If we called the KOA cabin of yesterday "cute," well, that was just being generous in our gratefulness for being able to quickly get out of the rain. Last night, we'd briefly checked options for camping and more substantial shelter on the east side of the pass in anticipation of a rainy, wet ride and had found several reasonable. (Quite a difference from all our previous days on this trip, with the ever present concern about available camping areas with some sort of water source--strange...how different from week to week) This place where we ended up, across from a "resort" type of concern, is just a small family operation, run by the very chatty and open-souled June (heard all about her 3 kids and her eyesight and her chicken and her turtle and more before we could pull our wet selves from her office!). The wee cabin across from June's home is backed up against the the canyon wall, looking across at the other side and overlooking the river gorge. We have a kitchenette, a big comfy bed (though I'm still having trouble sleeping, what with the ribs...), and even a faux fire in front of which we are drying all our foul weather gear while cozied up on the couch! The roar of the Poudre surrounds us and blocks out any traffic.

We could have continued on and ridden all way to Fort Collins easy peasy--well, at the time we got here when there was a lull on the rain and it seemed almost a shame to stop so soon-- but it's probably good we didn't, since the lull was short lived. Yep--it continued on through the evening. Plus, we're enjoying stretching out these last couple days on the road. 

We're still a little regretful to have altered our plans, but super happy we got to see the Poudre. And this way we were able to throw away, a couple days early, the rusty, chipped garden trowel we've been using for our "dig your own" poopholes.

Wednesday, July 30, day 34: North Park, Colorado, KOA at the entrance to State Forest State Park, to the area of "Rustic" and Canyonside Campground:  37 miles, 12 uphill (3 steep), all on Highway 14, 3:10 ride time, 11.9 avg spd.

Feels so strange to be nearing the end of this trip...