Aspen Tour ‘22: Day 2- A Bust?

Today started out great as we prepare to leave our motel in Eagle for the most valued part of our ride, Glenwood Canyon, and on to Glenwood Springs for two nights. Only a 35 mile ride with 10 miles through the Colorado River canyon where the folks who built the engineering marvel of  I-70 squeezed into the steep rock canyon had also perched a beautiful bike path along the bank of the Colorado River. 

We road on some bike paths out of Eagle and then mostly on US 6 until we got to some brand new asphalt which road like butter the last few miles before we got to the entrance of the canyon bike path. 

We stopped briefly to admire the Colorado river just before the confluence with the Eagle River before flowing into Glenwood Canyon. The sign denotes the historic Dotzero bridge over the Colorado which dates back to the early 1800’s. 

And then we saw this sign which we thought must be wrong!  We had checked the CDOT website this morning and it said the canyon path was open.  They’re were rumors it could be closing due to flash flood warnings but they weren’t in effect until this evening. 

We continued on about a mile to the find this sign at the very beginning of the path before it goes undet the interstate.  Surely they weren’t really closing the path or at the very least they had just closed it and we could quickly finish the 10 miles, the only way for cyclist to traverse the canyon before any rain would fall.   Let’s be quick about it and get going I said to Angela. 

Pushing in further we find the death blow to our trip at a padlocked steel gate. We’re not going to make it to Glenwood Springs on a bike today or anytime soon. 

 

I called the Starlight Motel in Glenwood Springs and they graciously canceled our two night reservation. Then we started back to where we came from trying to figure a way to salvage ou trip.  I considered day drinking at this distillery but it was only 11 am. 

At Gypsum we stopped at a food truck for a carne asada burrito and further pondered our options.  We could cycle to Glenwood Springs over Cottonwood Pass but it’s all gravel and we’d still likely be stuck in Glenwood Springs for days since the forecast was calling for lots of rain the next 2+ days.  We left Gypsum with only the thought to ride another 40 miles east to Avon for the night and then maybe climb Vail Pass in the rain the next day to get us back home to Frisco. 

As we approached the Eagle Airport we began discussing cutting our losses and getting a rental car home. The more we talked, including talking to Tyler at Dollar Remtal (who gave us a great deal on a Toyota minivan), the more we knew it was the best thing to do even if it made us sad to not be able to complete our planned ride. 

So we made three 65 mile trips back and forth to get our bikes home and the rental minivan back to the Eagle Airport. But we did see more aspens starting to turn and the rain hadn’t materialized yet. 

So we ended on a high note by stopping for dinner at the Route 6 Cafe near Avon where we’d had a wonderful lunch on a previous bike trip to Aspen a few years back. A couple of cold gin drinks in our hands and a very tasty meal following helped us come to terms with our fate and our choices and end a topsy-turvy day appreciating all that we had. Autumn’s not over yet. We still may get an Aspen Tour yet. 

Aspen Tour ‘22: Day 1

Ang and I decided it was time for an adventure so we’re off to Aspen on our bikes for a 5 day trip but not before a stop at Walmart for a spare tube for her bike and some sunscreen to help protect our aging skin (too late). We were headed up to Vail Pass via Copper on the Ten Mile Trail shortly after 9AM for a 60’ish mile ride to Eagle for the night.  In case you’re wondering, Angela and her eBike ‘Babe-e’ volunteered to carry both of our panniers while I’ll manage the odds and ends with my handle bar bag and rear rack bag on my faithful Surly Disk Trucker (without a name). 

We planned this trip about a month ago hoping to capture the changing of the aspens but a mild and wet summer seems to have them in mostly summer colors still.  

However the willows and meadow grasses climbing up Vail Pass have all turned yellow, orange and brown so hopefully the aspens won’t be too far behind. 

Bravo to CDOT for maintaining the Rec-path while they rebuild I-70 for about 10 miles west of Vail Pass.  It’s a major undertaking and we had 6 different flag people managing bike and construction traffic.  Kudos CDOT because if not for you sparing the Rec-path we would not have been able to make this trip!

However they didn’t leave a lot of space as you can see east bound traffic lumbering up I-70 just feet away from Ang while construction traffic is working on the left side of the Jersey barriers.  Usually we can bomb down this stretch but we rode our brakes for the best part of 6 miles.  

With most of the hard work behind us and in the heat of the afternoon and just 10 miles to get to our hotel in Eagle we stopped at one of our favorite spots on this route along the Eagle River for some shade. 

And then we were entertained by Chester who loved to fetch a tennis balll out of the river endlessly. We however had to push on. 

Ang and I are pretty much evenly matched with her ebike in ‘eco’ mode or not on at all but sometimes she likes to show what she could do when she goes into boost mode and flashes by me.  She uses her battery power sparingly, mostly on climbs (or sometimes into the strong headwinds we faced most of the day) and after 60 miles and almost 3,000 ft of climbing she still had over half of her battery left when we got to the motel. 

Nearing Eagle we see a few more trees starting to turn.  We got to our motel around 3:15, rested, showered and wondered a few blocks for a nice dinner to-go from a place called Pickles and had a nice evening leading to crashing hard for the night.  

I took this picture in black and white by accident. While it doesn’t show any fall colors I still thought it was pretty cool.  

Day 8: Good Bye Italy

Saturday morning the Piratis march their gear off the Saint Michele and into Procida to catch our ferries off the island to Naples.  Dan has two ferries to catch as he’s meeting Connie and Marlena in Amalfi. 

Good bye Saint Michele!

Symbolically this sign at a little cafe says it all as Amos strolls by, good bye Mediterranean sailing (and beer), hello cruel world. 

But not before James and I have a cappacino.  

Our taxi from the port at Naples looked like a clown car when we climbed out at our hotels. 

Steve booked himself, Jimmy and I a room near the sea but for a moment it seemed like we were entering Tolkien’s Middle Earth. Even I had to duck to get through the green door. 

Jimmy and I go on a 4 mile walk-about of Napoli and had a wonderful time.  

Of course we had to have gelato!

This bar holds nothing back in its name: WELCOME!!

A full moon rises over the Gulf of Napoli. 

And the Piratis minus Dan have one more Italian dinner alfresco in the warm, late summer evening.  

And Dan had a nice evening too, with Connie!

Day 7: Ischia to Procida-The Final Passage

After a pretty restful night excepting for a little storm that kicked up around 5:45 we had our usual breakfast on the boat and started a fairly short and relaxing sail back to our home marina in Procida.  The winds and sea were calm once again.  

It’s not all relaxing though.  We have some chores to take care of like throwing our little brown bags full of our used TP into open waters.  This helps reduce the risk of stopping up a fragile waste water system but offers the side benefit of getting to know your “business” very well.  Tonight the bags “ sleep with the fishes”!

We lay over for lunch in a little bay close to our marina and enjoy the beautiful day as evidenced by the relaxed posture or Amos and Steve. 

Amos takes  a little dip as does Wiltsch, Danno and myself.  

If you look carefully you can see a little guy up against the cliffs. That’s Dan who snorkeled all the way in to explore and look for Indian arrow heads?

Amos gives commands to Steve as he hauls up the anchor. This is the only time we can give commands to Steve and he still does not listen!

Heading back to Procida Steve steer's a course along some of the same cliffs Dan investigated, carved out over eons into jagged and unexpected shapes. 

For 290e we top off our diesel and dinghy’s gas can.  Not too bad for all the motoring we had to do this week, less than several of our wonderful Italian meals we’ve had.  

We get a little help from Luigi back at the marina backing into another stern docking situation.  And Mario on the skiff helps  push our stern in as we slide into the pontoon for our last overnight on the boat. 

Sun sets as we sit in the cockpit finishing off the last of our Italian cheeses, ham and wine and reflect on our day and begin to think about our travels ahead, either home or a perhaps a little longer visit of Italia.  

The very nice and tolerant owner of our favorite restaurant near our dock once again  serves us with pride and patience.  We may have a language barrier but it’s overcome by his and his families desire to take care of us. 


And once again we say good night Procida!  Tomorrow we begin our separate journeys to our home or wherever else we may be headed.  It’s been quite a trip this week.  What lies ahead for the Pirates? Time and fate will tell.  

Day 6: A Day in Ischia

After a good night anchored at Ischia the Piratis decide to spend the day here but split up. Steve, Dan, Jimmy and Amos want to take the hydrofoil to see Capri not too far to the south.  Wiltsch and I decide to have an easier day enjoying the port of Ischia.  The away team takes a water taxi to get to the ferry landing at the port.  

In a matter of minutes we see Cap’n Steve coming back in the taxi to get his money and passport.

😬

Bill’s and my first duty ashore was to get rid of our trash, mostly beer cans and wine bottles. We began to feel like the long ago outcast garbage barge sailing between NY and the Gulf of Mexico trying to find a place to throw trash away.   Bill even got turned down by the garbage truck.  Finally we stealthily smashed our bags into two tiny garbage cans and quickly walked away. Maybe we Americans deserve our reputation abroad?!

While Bill and I are hacking a garbage solution the other pirates are enjoying fine dining on the Isle of Capri!!

Bill and I take separate walks where I find gelato and a nice park in the town. 

Meanwhile Steve relaxes on the chair lift on the ride to the top of Capri.

And at the top of the ride this is the view they’ve earned. 

Back on Ischia I walked to the castle along a long land bridge.  They wanted 12e at the castle so I said no thanks…but on the way back, if you look closely, you can see our boat far off in the distance.  I spent more than a few minutes here trying to get the perfect picture of our boat.  It’s a good one, no?

Bill and I still had a nice time in the port with a couple of cappuccino’s and fruit smoothies before heading back to Saint Michele. 

Unfortunately our dinghy engine, Bonnie, decided to run out of gas after we got into the bay.   Bonnie apparently has a gas tank the size of our aging bladders.  After paddling back to our favorite taxi stand Mario and Guido tow us and our dinghy back to our boat.  We tried to pay them but all they said when asked “il conto” was “Regalo” which either means it’s free or “stupid Americans”!

The Piratis reunited on Saint Michele and we ordered up a taxi to the Gardenia Mare restaurant nearby and had a wonderful dinner for our last night at Ischia. 

Good night Ischia!