A beautiful day to ride bikes in the High Country today. Just under 60 miles to Eagle up and over Vail Pass and a lovely cruise downhill with only mild headwinds. After a big breakfast at the Log Cabin Cafe we left Frisco around 8:40am and checked in at the Hawthorn Suites at 3:30. Nice.....
The entire climb up to Vail Pass from Frisco is on a bike trail and today they happened to be running the 42nd Annual Run the Rockies Half Marathon from Copper Mountain to Frisco. We spent the better part of our ride cheering on the runners as they joyfully ran downhill on their way to set personal records!
The morning temperature was in the low 40’s. I’m usually good to wear my sandals in the mid-40’s and up but after a while I had to stop to add socks as my toesies were getting a bit numb. Usually I’m all about the fashion.
About 7 miles up from Frisco we approach the Copper Mountain ski area, a delightful view this morning.
After Copper Mountain the trail bisects the East and West bound lanes of I-70 for a beautiful and sometimes steep ascent to Vail Pass. We really like climbing Vail Pass from the East. I’ll tell you more about the West bound approach in a few days!! Angela is making her final push here before we summit and began our long ride downhill.
We stop to enjoy the moment and this beautiful day at the Vail Summit.
Ahhh, cruising down the path into Vail Valley is very enjoyable and the scenery is wonderful.
Around 1pm we stopped for a really nice lunch al fresco at the Route 6 Cafe. We would strongly recommend it if you’re in the area!
After checking in and washing up ourselves we decided to do laundry. As Ang and I sat in the shade and watched our clothes dry in the sun, on grass that has probably been peed or pooped on by somebody from the motel walking their dog, it gave us a positive and freeing vibe to live like this, day by day.
And the icing on the cake of that feeling is drinking the single beer you just bought from the liquor store next door, out of a paper bag while you guard your drying clothes!
An almost mirror opposite elevation profile from yesterday’s. Only a few hours of steady climbing up Vail Pass and then a long, enjoyable cruise down to Eagle. Tomorrow there will be more down hill into the striking Glenwood Canyon.
It was great to talk to you both on this day. These pictures fill in the blanks.
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