Cycle of a Lifetime

Hey Y'all!

Sorry for the delay on yesterday's (Sunday) post.

After relaxing in the sulphur springs on Friday, we watched the most recent James Bond movie, "Spector". We both really enjoyed it (I know there are some mixed reviews out there). On Saturday, one of the locals told us that the strong winds (the winds that we had been fighting the previous two days) really pick up around 1:00pm. With that knowledge, we decided to wake up early on Sunday to 'beat the winds'.

When we woke up at 6:00am on Sunday, it was a brisk 40 degrees (Fahrenheit... for our international friends). We bundled up in our warm-weather gear (thermal pants, long shirt, fleece, and long gloves).

We headed out of the hotel knowing that we would need to cross the Willow Creek Pass. Willow Creek Pass, elevation 9,659 ft, is a mountain pass that crosses the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains of north central Colorado. We were "sittin' pretty' at an elevation of 7680 ft in Hot Sulphur Springs, CO, and we knew we were in for some serious elevation changes.

We knew that the Willow Creek Pass would be tough. What we didn't know was that the 25 miles leading up to it would be completely uphill!

Looking at the maps the night before, we noticed there was nowhere to get water between Hot Sulphur Springs, CO and Walden, CO. We originally planned to carry a ton of extra water, but we discovered that there was a campsite between our hotel and the Willow Creek Pass that had drinking water available (according to their website). Upon arriving at this campsite, we learned that there wasn't any water. A kind family at the campsite overheard us talking about how we were low on water, and they quickly handed us four of their water bottles.

QUICK ASIDE: Our spiritual leader, Rabbi Daniel Cohen, has always stressed the benefits of 'paying it forward'. Receiving this much-needed water reminded us of the water bottle we had given to Kevin (the biker we crossed paths with a few days earlier-- see Day 1) when he was running low. While we never expected anything in return, we must admit that this quick "return on investment" was quite outstanding :)

When we left the campsite, we realized we were still in need of extra water (we knew we were in for more hills). We had been biking along Willow Creek (we would describe it more as a 'river', but to each their own, I guess) and we realized that this might be the last time we could easily access water.

Drinking unsanitized water can be very dangerous. Even if water seems clean, it can contain harmful bacteria that can land you in the hospital. Luckily, we had (and still have) a bottle of tablets that purify water. We filled up our 'bladders' with water, followed the instructions for the purification-tablets, and carried on.

Once we reached Willow Creek Pass, we had another 5 miles of climbing to do before we reached the summit. All in all, we had done 30 miles of uphill climbing before we were even half way done with the ride!

We relaxed at the top of Willow Creek Pass, ate some PB+J sandwiches, and reveled in what we had just done.

Earlier in the day we joked about how we would be walking up Willow Creek Pass, and we exchanged feelings of self-doubt in our ability to literally climb a mountain on a fully loaded bike (even with the 'granny gear'). In the end, we were able to bike the entire way!

The ride down the mountain was a ton of fun! At some point I wanted to see how fast I could go, and I let go of my brakes... I allowed myself to hit 35mph before I started to squeeze my brakes again. While not my BEST idea, it was a ton of fun.

After our decent from Willow Creek Pass, we reached the 'town' of Rand. Our maps indicated that there was absolutely nothing in the town of Rand (except for a Post Office, which seemed like a wasteful use of tax dollars...). To our surprise, we came across the "Rand Store" (creative name). We went into the store and spoke with the shop keeper for a bit. She told us about the premium hay that is grown on the surrounding ranches, and how some of the top race horses in America rely on it for its high protein content. Before we could ask if she had any water, she excitedly told us how she leaves gallons of drinking water outside for cyclists. We thanked her, used the outhouse, and filled up our water bottles.

With 22 miles to go, my knees were in serious pain. The pain had started a few days back, but I had been able to get by with a regiment of Advil, Icy Hot, and icepacks. The pain was a little different today... it was in both knees, and was more intense. We faced rolling hills until we reached Walden, CO... a one street town with not much going on.

By the time we got to our hotel I could barely walk. My Dad got me some ice, I popped some Advil, and I settled down on the bed for a while. After eating, we discussed our options. It was clear that what ever issue I was having with my knees was getting worse. It was also clear that I was not going to be able to ride the next day (or maybe even longer).

After a long discussion, we decided it would best to rent a car and turn our BIKE TRIP into a CAMPING TRIP - driving across America all the way back to Stamford CT.

The new plan posed an interesting challenge this morning (Monday). We needed a way to get from Walden, CO to Laramie, WY in order to pick up our car (if you're looking for a very interesting read, I recommend, "The Laramie Project" by Moisés Kaufman). We were told the only way to get out of Walden was by hitch hiking from the local gas station - no uber, no taxis. This morning my Dad tried to hitch a ride to Laramie (he even asked a driver of an oil-tanker, who would have been happy to take him but he was going in the wrong direction). After almost 3 hours of trying, he eventually found a ride with our waitress who served us dinner last night, named Missy. Basically my dad sucks at hitch hiking. He tried it on our last bike trip five years ago and nobody even slowed down.

We are still planning on going to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Mount Rushmore and hopefully the Fields of Dreams in Iowa, but we are looking for other suggestions for things to see as we drive across America. If you have any suggestions, please let us know!! (it will be much easier to 'go out of our way' in a car)

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

~CS