Day 26 90 miles 4433 feet of climbing 11.8 ave

Alamoso CO to Pagosa Springs CO

The dues we paid with the torturous winds Monday were payment for two perfect cycling days in a row. Both days were sunny with no chance of rain and only moderate winds of 15mph.

Tuesday we reached the highest point we will attain on this cross-country tour 10,800’ at Wolf Creek Pass. Here also is the place we crossed the Continental Divide. At the summit a bronze bar embedded in the asphalt marks the spot where the country’s rain is separated east and west.

Tuesday’s first 15 miles were flat riding on the valley’s floor as we approached the climb to the summit. The views up the 10-mile climb were spectacular to say the least. The grade was moderate and we had a large shoulder for most of the climb. Along the winding switchback road we pass through two tunnels carved into the mountain.

As we gained elevation the snow started to appear on the ground. Once we reached the Pass at 10,800’ the snow was about 24” deep off the road. The air temperature was about 50-55 degrees.
The route follows the Rio Grande River to its beginnings at the top of the mountain. Here is where the mighty Rio Grande River that separates Texas from Mexico originates. It is incredible to think the crystal clear small streams and creeks formed by snowmelt converge and find their way south 1800 miles to create that river.

At the summit we ate a snack and put on some warm gear. The downhill past the summit was steep and very fast. We had to stay on the brakes the entire time to keep speeds at a reasonable rate. Again the views were something our cameras cannot convey. Spectacular rock formations, waterfalls and panoramic views were everywhere to be seen.


We ended our day at Pagosa Springs Colorado. Here we found the world's largest and deepest hot mineral spring. These springs range in temperature from 85 to 109 degrees. The mineral deposits in the hot water create volcanic looking miniature mountains with water erupting instead of lava.

Some have the distinct smell of sulfur as they flow. People use these springs year round. Imagine coming out of the springs 100+ degree water on a cold winters day.

We pulled up to the first motel to check prices when an couple came up to us and said……” you guys are awesome!” At first we were confused. Are they trying to sell us something?? Then they explained that they had passed us hours ago in their car while we were climbing to the Wolf Creek Summit. Having done some cycling themselves they knew the level of difficulty it took to get the heavy bikes to the top. They also told us they were part of the “Warm Showers” network. These are generous people who offer their homes for sleeping to traveling cyclist. http://www.warmshowers.org/ Again just plain good Americans.

Day 25 70 miles 4305 feet of climbing (all in one hill)10.7 ave

La Veta CO to Alamosa CO

Wind is a four-letter word… and we called it a few other four-letter words I will not share with you. These words were shouted repeatedly at the wind like it would make a difference.

Our day started with a 20-mile climb out of the valley to La Veta Pass. The air was cool but the sun was shining as we reached the top. Snow can still be found on the ground above 9000 feet in the Rockies. The grade is not extremely steep but it is a steady 20-mile climb that eats up horsepower. Life is good….

We knew our efforts of climbing would be rewarded with another fantastic 25-mile downhill to the valley floor. Then we had another 20+ miles of relatively flat running to Alamosa before the climb up to Wolf Creek Pass. This was going to be a good day to make up some lost time.

Just as we cleared the peak and started the downhill we were hit with a windblast that was equal to the jet wash from a 747. It can’t be possible…. No Friggin’ way….. A couple of words of disappointment could be heard on our two-way radios as we started down the mountain.

This may be had to comprehend to a non-cyclist but the wind hitting us with a direct head wind at 30 to 35 mph required us to pedal to go downhill. We had to pedal to go up the hill now we have to pedal to go down. Even pedaling downhill speeds were only slightly faster than our climbing speed as incredible as it may seem.

I can’t explain the disappointment we felt having been robbed of our downhill by the wicked wind. In our minds we knew this could not last all day. Not agin…impossible. The wind must just be at altitude. When we get to the valley floor it will die down for the long flat run to Alamosa. No need to panic.

The trip down the mountain was only slightly faster than our trip up. A real bummer to put it lightly.

Sadly for us the valley’s winds were even possibly stronger. Our bikes were continuously being bullied around on the flats by the gusts. Most of the day we were not able to achieve speeds greater than10mph.

Physically our bodies have the power to keep the bikes moving forward even with the wind fiercely pushing us back. Mentally is another matter. You know you are dishing out enough horsepower to be going 18mph easily but you are only going 8. That is hard to take for day or even two but we have endured this mental torture for nearly 800 miles. Our planned “big” day was again going to be foiled by the wind.

We stopped at a roadside rest on the valley floor to eat some canned pears we had brought along. The wind noise was so loud it was hard to even talk to each other. Even opening the cans posed a problem. Expose the cans liquid to the wind and it would blow out onto the table. It was that bad.

We had our snack and hopped onto the bikes for some more abuse. Joe pulled ahead while Tim and Ken made an attempt to draft each other. Normally drafting another rider is an easy task but with saddlebags and a 35mph wind it is almost impossible. The lead rider can hardly run a straight line for the other rider to follow. The wind grabs the front panniers (saddlebags) and turns them away from the wind like a weather vane on a barn roof. Now the lead rider is almost in the weeds. The rider behind gets a sudden blast of wind and now he is in the weeds.

At one point Ken got off his bike let it drop onto the ground and said…”I have had enough”. Tim was feeling no better at this point but handled the situation “slightly” better. They jumped back on the bikes and pushed forward.

When the caught up to Joe outside Alamosa the decision had already been made. Joe said it was over. If we were to continue on to even the next available sleep spot it would be after 8PM. By the time you eat do laundry and our other duties it would be midnight. Having only traveled a mere 70 miles you just needed to stick us with a fork…we were done…well done.

According to The Weather Channel we are being tormented by stubborn low-pressure system that will not move. We should be glad we are on the west side of this system because the towns we just left like Dodge City are being hit hard with rain and golf ball size hail.

Tomorrow we will climb out of the valley to Wolf Creek Pass, which is over 10,800 feet and the beginning of the end of our crossing of the Rocky Mountians.

We will cross the Continental Divide in that area. The Continental Divide in the Americas is the line that divides the flow of water between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. Rain or snow that drains on the east side of the Continental Divide flows toward the Atlantic Ocean while precipitation on the west side drains and flows toward the Pacific Ocean.

I will have to say we put up a gallant fight but again the wind was the victor. We will lick our wounds and give it hell in the morning.

Day 24 67 miles 6014 feet of climbing 11.1 ave

Trinidad, CO to La Veta, CO

There was a reason for going east to west against all those nasty head winds for over 2000 miles. That was to save the best for last.

The Rocky Mountains are an impressive site. Huge snow covered peaks as far as the eye can see. You wonder how the first American pioneers cleared this huge obstacle. It is a big deal for us to do even on a paved road with GPS.

We can notice the effects of altitude as we approached the 10,000-foot mark today. The power you have to push the loaded bike up the hills at 2000 feet is not there at 10,000. You can feel the slight lack of oxygen on the body.

Our day started in Trinidad with a later than normal start. We were still a tad beat up from yesterday’s 125-mile battle with the winds and a 1 AM bedtime.

Today we knew we had some lingering winds and long climbs in the mountains to reach Cuchara Pass at 9950’.

We were glad to see a country store at Stonewall Gap about 25 miles in. This is a very small mountain village and this was the only store of any kind we saw today. Inside we found a friendly gentlemen in his mid 60’s who owned the store. We purchased some liquids and an ice cream bars to consume on the stores covered porch.

The owner, seeing our loaded bikes asked of our trek. When we told him we left from Niantic Connecticut and planned to ride to California. He then asked if Niantic was anywhere near New London. We told him it was only a couple miles away. He then told us he was a bass player in a band that in 1967 played at the Mabry Hotel near Ocean Beach New London.

Then he said there was a diner in that town that had the best food he had ever had. He described the diner to a tee and said the guy who ran it was named Jack. Of course we knew right away he was talking about Jacks Place that just recently closed. To be so far from home and find a person who after 40+ years can still describe the layout of a diner he once ate at. Pretty cool..

We immediately put in a call to Team rider Jay Sullivan who lives near-by “Jack” who owned that diner. We left him a message to tell Jack (real name Joe) he still has fans in Stonewall, CO.

We ate our snacks and continued on up the Mountain. As we reached Cuchara Pass we could still see patches of snow that had not melted yet. The sun was shining and the air was warm. We were rewarded for our 20 mile climb with a spectacular 17+ mile downhill to La Veta.

Of course first thing in the morning we need to climb out of the valley to La Veta pass that is again at 10,000’. We will repeat this scenario a few time to clear the Rockies.

All in all a spectacular cycling day.

Day 23 124 miles 5117 feet of climbing 10.1 wind blasted ave

Springfield, CO to Trinidad, CO

We knew we were in for a tough day before we even started. We had to run more than 120 miles to get to the next town with a motel and the wind was forecast to blow in our face.

Well this time the weatherman hit the nail on the head. The wind kicked up early and hot coming out of WSW. Basically a dead on head wind for the road we were traveling. It blew at a steady 25-30 mph reducing our forward speed to less than 9mph on a flat road most of the day.

I know I have said it before but any cyclist will tell you nothing is worse than the wind. She (the wind) dished out a severe and deliberate beating to us today. We must have called her one too many names over the last few days. And today we had no way out…no back-up plan other than sleep on the side of the road.

This part of Colorado is a vast grassland that is part of the National Forest Service. You may as well be on the moon because once you pass Kim ,CO there is not a thing but thousands upon thousands of acres of dried grass. Not a house, store …not even a stop sign. To put in better perspective the school in Kim, CO handles grades K-12. It’s district covers 1500 square miles!!!! And for all of that territory the school has 67 students …total!!

We started the morning buy stocking the bikes with extra food and water. We bought 24 bottles of water, snacks and a grinder. Each rider took 8 bottles.

The wind along with temperatures in the high 80’s sucked every drop of moisture out of us. All of our lips are chapped badly and we are faces fried from the sun.

Our journey today was all on RT 160 in southern Colorado. This road sees almost no traffic at all. You can ride for hours in the middle of the road and no cars will pass you. Most of RT 160 is as straight as an arrow and the scenery does not change…..Grass…grass and more grass.

It was about mid-day and the sun was bright and hot. All of our water was warm and you really get no satisfaction drinking it. The water is just to keep you hydrated. One of the very few vehicles to pass us went down the road for a stretch then turned around and stopped. As we approached the driver and his wife got out of the pick-up. “Do you boys want something cold to drink?” These people went out of their way to stop and offer us something they knew we needed. Cold fluids. We graciously accepted the offer and out of their cooler came some nice cold sodas. They also had some food to offer but we still had a good supply on-board.
They were from Oklahoma traveling in Colorado. We gulped down the cold sodas and talked a while. They even offered to travel in front of us at bike speed to block our wind since we still had 50+ miles to go. All of this took place in the middle of the road. Like I said desolate. Another example of great Americans always ready to help. They were just plain old good people.

As we got closer to Trinidad the next set of bumps began to appear in front of us. They consumed the entire horizon and rose all the way into the clouds. The Rockies! A very impressive sight to see, almost scary. But after all this wind “Give us the Hills”

The wind slowed us down so much we did not arrive at our sleep stop until 10:30 PM. To be honest Joe put it right… the wind takes the fun out of riding. He is right, today was torture.

Day 22 76 miles 2294 feet of climbing 11.5 ave

Ulysses KS to Springfield CO

Our day started off with moderate winds and plenty of sun. A major improvement over yesterday’s gale force winds so we were happy campers. The forecast was for more high winds but it appeared the weatherman missed this one. At least we thought he did…..

When you travel west the days get noticeably longer. Eventually the sun is still up at 8:45 PM. Of course the correction for this are the time zones. Today we entered the Mountain Time Zone. Pushing us now 2 hours ahead of the east coast where we started.

About 40 miles into our day we reached the Colorado border. Boy you really know you are far from home when you see that sign. We were all ready for a new state too. Kansas is a big place and took five days to traverse. I saw fields of wheat that were bigger than Connecticut.

We knew we had a relatively easy day planned of about 75 miles. The reason for this again is motel availability. Places to stay are getting few and far between and our day’s trek is always based on that.

We squandered some of our time at water stops knowing we had plenty of time to spare. All of our “spare” time got sucked up quick when the predicted winds finally did kick in. In a matter of minutes the slight breeze turned into a steady 30 mph cross wind.

One thing we had going for us was the road was virtually without any traffic. At least we would not be getting bullied around by the tractor-trailers going by. The wind steadily increased and eventually turned directly into our faces. With less than 15 miles to go our forward progress had been reduced to less than 8mph pushing hard.

The wind has us begging for the mountains. Hopefully we will be protected from the wind and will only have to deal with the climbing. At least you have some control over that. You have no control of the wind.