Colorado Cruising

First, some pictures from Rico and Telluride:

Heading up to Rico, at about mile 100 on the day. Notice the trees!

Glen Baer with the house where he was born.

The riders falling in line behind the Freemasons in the 4th of July parade.

Leaving Rico, we had some spectacular scenery on an easy uphill.

This sign was the only way we could tell that it was not actually flat.

Riding into Telluride on the 4th.

Today was a perfect day. After a great dinner and then catching a beautiful sunset from the top of the gondola, we retired to Stuart's abode. We got to sleep a little and even woke up after sunrise. Breakfast was at our favorite Telluride hangout, Baked in Telluride (we're practically locals already), and we hit the road. The only bad part of this day was saying goodbye to Stuart, who will be sorely missed. We can't wait to take him up on his offer to be our preceptor on an away rotation, despite his insistence that he will not give us free time to ski or hike...

A long smooth downhill (about 10 miles) led to another "pass" (Dallas Divide), which we quickly surmounted. The divide held spectacular views and the promise of a downhill all the way to our destination.

As if the great pace and scenery weren't enough, we rolled passed Ralph Lauren's ranch and into the cute little town of Ridgeway at around 11 AM, to find a FREE town BBQ in the making. We chatted with the locals and stuffed ourselves on homemade desserts. After an hour, we decided it was time to ride the 1.5 miles to the Orvis Hot Springs, where we soaked for another hour. Sorry there are no pictures, but it was a "clothing optional" resort, and pictures are strictly forbidden.

Full, rested, and relaxed, we left Ridgeway with a storm hot on our tail. We averaged about 17 MPH even with a headwind for the next few hours to avoid all but a 5-minute pelting, and finished at Montrose with plenty of time to find a great hotel (Holiday Inn Express!) to donate a room.

Jen with the storm in hot pursuit. Those trees were blown clear into the sky seconds later.

So to summarize: pastries, BBQ, hot springs, and fast riding - it's the perfect combination! We are ready for two more days of climbing to surpass Monarch Pass and the Continental Divide!