Today’s Date: June 18, 2024

Today’s Start Point: Walden, Colorado

Today’s End Point: Hot Sulpher Springs, Colorado

Today’s Miles: 60.62 Miles

Cumulative Miles: 1,863.89 Miles

Today started with a business meeting, which was a little strange. I have been traveling for about a month, and getting back into a mindset other than wake up, eat, ride, sleep was a bit jolting. I appreciate that everyone on the call kept it brief.

Due to the meeting, I could not leave until around 9:00 am, as opposed to the 6:00 am start time that I have done the last few days. I was worried that with a later start time, I might get caught in the afternoon gale force winds.

Today’s 60-mile route again went south and a little east, until jogging west for the last six miles. When you look at an elevation map of the ride, it appears as a symmetrical pyramid-30 miles up over the Willow Creek Pass/Continental Divide and then 30 miles down to my final destination of Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado.

I would be cycling through another area with no services and no opportunities to refuel. I packed extra water and food.

As I said, the meeting was efficient so I was on the road a little bit before 9:00 am. There was a slight headwind, not the punishing winds of yesterday, so I made good time on the road. My plan was to get on or over Willow Spring Pass by noon, since it appeared that the winds would pick up after that.

The ride to the Pass was much like yesterday, rolling roads that were primarily straight as an arrow. Unlike yesterday, since the headwind was not as strong, I could take advantage of the descents to help with the uphill segments.

The scenery was the same as it has been over the last few days, a relatively arid valley walled in by large peaks. The view is pretty, but after a few days of the same landscape, I have to admit it starts to lose its appeal.

At about 11:00 am I started to see the approach to the climb. The climb to the top of Willow Creek Pass is about six miles long and switches back and forth as it ascends. I was pleased to see trees, something I had not seen much of the last few days. The trees along with the roads going back and forth minimized the effect of the wind.

The climb was beautiful, with trees lining the route and mountain peaks randomly appearing as I came around each corner. There was no shoulder on the road, but there was little traffic. It was quiet except for the birds and my breathing. I never thought I would say this being a midwestern flatlander boy, but it was a wonderful experience.

When I got to the top, I realized that the top was not only the top of the Pass, but was also another crossing of the Continental Divide. I am not sure how many times that I have gone back and forth over the Divide, but before this is over I want to research the count.

Once over the top, the road descended for 30 miles, none of it too steep so that I could let the brakes go and relax. Unfortunately, on this side of the pass almost all of the trees are burnt and charred as a result of a large forest fire in 2020. New growth is emerging but it has a long way to go. Indications of the fire were apparent for about 20 miles of my descent.

Although it was unfortunate to have the surroundings marred by the fires, it did allow for better views of the surrounding mountains and the various rock formations near the road. On the other side of the Pass, the mountains were distant walls to the valley. On this side of the pass, it seemed as if I was in amongst the peaks.

I kept descending until about six miles before Hot Sulphur Springs, when I had to make a right and go east on a new road. Going east meant that I had a strong headwind, but today it did not seem to bother me. Six miles into a headwind after a great ride is much easier to handle than 30-40 miles into a headwind when the scenery is not as exciting. The rock formations on the road during this last section were fantastic.

I finally arrived in Hot Sulphur Springs at about 3:00 pm. I was happy to see a couple of restaurants and a DQ-like establishment. Upon checking into my hotel, I was disappointed to learn that everything was closed until the weekend. Oh well, since there are no other stores around that left me with the only option of picking up some microwave pot pies at the Sinclair station and settle in for the night-yum.

The next few days are calling for rain in the afternoons, so it’s back to an early morning departure tomorrow.