Today’s Date: June 19, 2024

Today’s Start Point: Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado

Today’s End Point: Silverthorne, Colorado

Today’s Miles: 57.01 Miles

Cumulative Miles: 1,920.90 Miles

Today was a brutal day of riding that ended in a delightful way.

According to news reports, it was supposed to rain along today’s route beginning at noon. My route consisted of 17 miles west to Kremmling, Colorado and then turning due south for 40 miles to my final destination of Silverthorne, Colorado. According to the wind reports, the wind out of the south was not meant to get ridiculous until about noon (silly wind reports). Since noon seemed to be the common theme for wind and rain, I decided on an extremely early start.

I left the motel at 5:30 am and headed west. About two or three miles west of my start point, I entered Byers Canyon. I had not read anything about the Canyon, but the two mile ride through it was awesome. This again shows why bike touring is great (we’ll talk about the wind later). If I was in a car I would have buzzed through the Canyon in a couple of minutes, but on the bike I pedaled slowly to enjoy the scenery, stopping to take pictures when the visuals demanded it.

The canyon had sheer rock walls with the Colorado River at its base. Alongside the river were railroad tracks with the roadway about one-third up the rock walls. The road twisted along with the Colorado River so that each turn had the element of surprise. I loved it.

When I came out of the canyon, the winds did not seem too bad and the road slightly descended to the town of Kremmling. As always, the morning light makes the scenery look fantastic, with the play of light and shadow on the hillsides.

I arrived in Kremmling at about 7:00 am (17 miles from when I started) and estimated that I would arrive very early in Silverthorne. A running theme throughout these posts is that when I assume or estimate, it usually does not end well.

I made the turn south at Kremmling and I still did not have much of a headwind. After about three miles, it was as if someone turned on a wind machine. The wind seemed to increase exponentially, hitting me full in the face. The sound was intense. Added to the insanity was that the shoulder on the road disappeared. With the wind shifting from a headwind to crosswind, it was hard to keep the bike going in a straight line.

For the next nine miles it was pure shoulderless highway with cars passing me at the posted speed limit of 70 mph. I have mentioned before of the psychological effect of riding into the wind, but today pushed me to the limit. It took me almost two hours to go those nine miles. At times I would scream at the wind as if that would do anything. It was brutal.

After this nine mile section, I came upon the Green Mountain Reservoir. The wind was so strong that it was creating whitecaps in the water. My route took me off the highway onto a scenic loop around the reservoir. Although this increased the mileage, the roads twisted and turned and had some trees to block some of the wind.

The reservoir was large. The loop around the reservoir rose and dipped and went on for 10 miles.

Once the loop was complete, I was back on the highway, except now I had an adequate shoulder to ride on. The headwind was just as strong, but as I got closer to my destination, I could convince myself that this would end soon.

To the extent that I could enjoy the scenery, the Blue River ran along the length of the road. In addition, the peaks of the mountains seemed close enough to touch. Silverthorne sits at 9,035 feet, so it basically is at the same height of a lot of the peaks.

Silverthorne appears to be a real tourist destination spot. There are many housing developments and condos being built. After some of the micro-towns that I have been in lately, I have to admit it is a relief. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there is a Target right next to my hotel.

Yesterday, Les and I reached out to Mike and Julie Ducey, old Elmhurst friends that have recently relocated to Littleton, Colorado, about a 90 minute drive from Silverthorne. Much to my delight, they agreed to come meet me for dinner in Silverthorne.

Their visit could not have come at a better time. My spirits were deflated with the last few days battling the wind, and their happy smiling faces went a long way in building me back up.

We sat and had some drinks with dinner like civilized humans (no convenience store ripple today) and caught up on what has happened in our lives over the past few years. It sounds like they have found their happy place in Colorado (outside of the wind I would wholeheartedly agree). Our kids all grew up together and it was great that Emily and Tommy (sorry, you will always be Tommy to me) have created wonderful lives for themselves.

Thank you Julie and Mike, you don’t know how much it meant to me that you drove all that way to visit with this decrepit traveler. It was a fantastic interlude.

Tomorrow is short on mileage but big on climbing/altitude. I will be tackling the Hoosier Pass, which sits at 11,542 feet above sea level.