Ready, Set.......

This is our last day at home before we load up our bikes and gear in a rental car and head to Vancouver, BC via the Great Northwest of the United States.  To try to make sure we didn't forget anything and double check the performance of our bikes fully loaded we went through our check list and loaded up our panniers, handle bar bags, and all of the bike mounted accessories like lights and water bottles, collected our cycle shoes, helmets and gloves, just as if we were getting ready to leave this moment.  Since we'll spend the first 3 days in a car we wanted to try to maintain our routine before a ride to reduce the risk of forgetting something.  Once we road tested our bikes in the neighborhood everything came off the bikes and into a pile in the middle of the garage, and the wheels came off to ease the packing in the car tomorrow morning.  Out of curiosity we weighed everything on each bike and came up with the following;

Scott's Bike:

1. 43 lbs.        Surly Disk Trucker, 56cm, 700c x 32 Schwalbe Marathon tires, accessories.
2. 6.4 lbs.       Handle bar bag, Arkel
3. 13.4 lbs      Front Panniers, Axiom (tools, spare parts, camp equipment, etc.)
4. 20.75 lbs    Rear Panniers, Ortlieb (sleeping bag, pad, clothes, toiletries, electronics)
5. 6.4 lbs       Tent, REI Half Dome
6. 89.5 lbs     Total Weight, dry

Angela's Bike:

1. 37.25 lbs    REI Randonee, 54cm, 700c x 32 Schwalbe Marathon tires, accessories
2. 4.5 lbs.      Handle bar bag, Arkel
3. 6.25 lbs     Front Panniers, Ortlieb (dehydrated food, coffee mug/instant coffee, snacks)
4. 21.25 lbs.  Rear Panniers, Ortlieb (sleeping bag, pad, clothes, toiletries, etc.)
5. 69.25 lbs.  Total Weight,dry

Not exactly like 20 pound nimble, light, carbon fiber road bikes but these babies are like the SUV's of bicycles, made for carrying lots of equipment on the long hauls.  They served us well last year on our way to the Outer Banks and we expect the same service this year along the Pacific Coast.

Next stop.... Vancouver!!!

PS:  We couldn't take a 7 week trip like this without the help of friends and family.  Many thanks to our great neighbors Sheryl & Steve Wisecup for watching our house while we're gone and taking care of Stella cat.  Thanks also to my son Ryan and his wife Mattie for adopting Weaver cat to their family of cats, Emma and  Cooper, while we are gone.  Thanks also to the Longmont Post Master for agreeing to hold our mail for 7 weeks!!!

Final Day-Avon to Silverthorne

Today is our last day of our 4 day trip. We left the Comfort Inn in Avon a little after 9 into a cool and sunny morning. We climbed 25 miles up to Vail Pass and back down the east side into Silverthorne a little after 3pm catching a few light rain showers on the east side of Vail Pass.

  

Riding into the morning Sun as we leave Avon on US 6. 

As we wander into W. Vail you can see some of the ski runs on Vail Mointain. 

We've been on a steady climb all morning. Now as we pass East Vail it's about to get more serious as we close in on the pass. 

We left the highway about 7 miles back and have been on a bike path.  There's a couple of pretty steep pitches, the hardest a few miles back as we crossed south under I-70.  We're at about 10.000 ft. elevation now and about a mile to go before we summit Vail Pass. 

This is the elevation profile for our ride today. We moved left to right on the chart above. 

At the summit we take a quick break for some food as it's past 1 and we haven't eaten much since 8:30 this morning. It's much cooler and getting very cloudy at 10,600 ft. so we strap on our wind/rain gear for the ride back down to Silverthorne. The hardwork of the day is over. 

I'd have to say one of the prettiest parts of the bike trail along I-70 is between Vail Pass and Copper Mointain where the trail winds between the east and west bound lanes which are widely separated here. There are all kinds of pretty wildflowers and lush green grasses and trees all around you.  You can see the ski runs at Copper in the background. 

Near Silverthorne  a sailboat regatta can be seen on Lake Dillon. 

If you look really closely you can see a bright green speck on a bike crossing Dillon Dam.  That would be Angela who has bolted up ahead of me like an old trail horse heading back for the barn!!

 

3pm at the Mountaineer Hostel where we left our faithful Jeep parked, we are done for this trip and Angela flexes her mighty muscles.  We're both pretty happy how well we handled this trip.  We haven't been training very much as the summer has been pretty busy. But we feel we're going to be in good enough shape for our big trip along the Pacific Coast starting in about 3 weeks. 

Glenwood Springs to Avon

We started our climb back up towards Vail Pass leaving Glenwood Springs under cloudy skies a little after 8.  We had a little bit of sprinkles through Glenwood Canyon and then the day turned sunny and warm from Gypsum all the way to Avon where we stopped for the night a little after 4pm. A nice climbing day of 59 miles. 

Entering the White River National Forest at the bottom of Glenwood Canyon. 

The original "green" power, falling water. 

A nice shot from the dam of the canyon walls near the Hidden Lake trail head. 

An overview of Glenwood Canyon at the No Name Rest Stop off of I-70. 

Still under cool and cloudy skies as we climb up and out of Glenwood Canyon...

and back into Eagle County. 

And there's another one of those bass-ackward truck signs facing the bike trail again!?  Why oh why CDOT?

Breakfast for lunch in Gypsum!  Chicken Fried Steak & Eggs oh boy!!  This wonderful meal which I ate every bit of will haunt me for the remainder of the afternoon.  We are what we eat it seems, especially after a big lunch when you have 35 more miles of steady climbing to come.  

 

Leaving the scene of my lunch time crime. Ang was much more restrained than I was. 

We stopped for a little shade under this gentlemans tree. He's a general contractor in Eagle and we chatted about his Shitzu Lucy and the state of contracting and finding good help in Eagle County.  Nice guy and possibly a Trump voter. #sad

 

And more steady climbing. 

We stopped for the little break I should have immediately had after lunch at the Eagle River  put-in near Wolcott.  We actually took a little snooze on the rock that Ang is sitting on in this picture. Very nice break and one of the better things about cycling cross country; naps on warm days in nice shady spots. 

  

Re-energized after our Wolcott afternoon break. 

  

And that's Vail Mountain ahead.   We'll take that on for tomorrow's fun. 

We checked in at the hotel in Avon and enjoyed a cooling swim, a relaxing hot tub and a little sun to dry us off before a shower and dinner to end the day. Very nice. 

And to top off the night, after our very healthy salads and a beer for me, we shared a Mexican Sundae of cinnamon churros, ice cream and chocolate sauce. Ummmm. 

 

Eagle to Glenwood Springs

A 10am departure for a really enjoyable day today following the Eagle River running into the Colorado River and then into Glenwood Canyon arriving in Glenwood Springs at 2pm. 

We had a short mostly downhill ride today so we were lazy this morning, not leaving until 10am.  Ang had a waffle for breakfast which ended up giving her the sugar shakes so we stopped for some protein to balance things out. 

The clear blue Eagle River winding to the west. Lots of fisherman evident yesterday and today. 

 

Off and on bike paths and mostly quiet US 6 today. 

We saw almost a dozen of these signs along the bike path that paralleled US 6.  Anybody know why the DOT would have these signs facing the bike path??

The Eagle meets the muddy Colorado just west of Dotzero.  


Now we begin our drop into beautiful and majestic Glenwood Canyon. 

The canyon becomes  narrower....

and deeper. 

For about the next 7 or 8 miles there's a constant battle between the Colorado River, the Canyon, Interstate 70, the Union Pacific Railway and the bike path for space. 

The westbound I-70 spends most of its time above the eastbound lanes. 

The Union Pacific coal train oming through for its share of the crowded space. 

Riding under both east and westbound lanes...

before they run completely out of room and head into the tunnel. 

Taking a lunch break at the Hanging Lake trailhead. 

Ranger Andy says 1,200 people per day hike the rugged 1.2 mile trail up to Hanging Lake.  We thought about hiking it today but I'm not a big fan of crowds.  Maybe we'll make the hike tomorrow early in the morning on our way back east. 

Since the first time Angela and I drove along this beautiful stretch of highway over 12 years ago we've always noticed bikers and hikers along the few patches of highway where you can catch a quick glimpse of them.  Today we wondered over and over again why it took us so long to have this wonderful day in the Canyon. 

Kayakers loading into the Colorado at the hydro dam. 

I liked the juxtaposition of this clear running side creek just before it merges with the red and muddy Colorado River. 

I've lived in Colorado for almost 13 years and never knew this was the Pearl Harbor Memorial highway. Shame on me!

The Canyon now begins to open up allowing more space for the crowded right-of-way a few miles before we get to Glenwood Springs. 

Cage Match as we cross north across I-70...

just before we enter Glenwood Springs. 

Laundry day at the Rodeway Motel. Not a bad spot to watch your clothes dry. 

On our walk to dinner we get a great view to the southeast of what I believe to be Snowmass near Aspen. 

Fajitas and margaritas outdoors on a nice summer evening. Ahhhh. 

A nice view from the bridge over the Colorado River and downtown Glenwood Springs. That's the Amtrak Station just above Angela's head. Maybe we could catch a train back over Vail Pass? 

I've always wanted to bath and play around in the Glenwood Hot Springs Resort.  We thought about splashing around and relaxing before for dinner tonight but they wanted $28 each for an all day pass, nothing less and no coupons. No matter how comfortable we have become financially a life time of frugal habits are hard to break. Maybe next time?