Notes From The Common Man: June 22 update

Pat and I worked our way to Canon City, the prison capitol of America. There is a huge Federal Prison there as well as a State prison. They even have prison museum in town as well as a prisoner made craft shop. The town itself is very nice, with a wide main street and lots of shops and restaurants. I got a haircut while in town from a lady Barbour who must have been at least 80 years old. She cut it very short, and was not gentle. I'm glad she didn't use a razor to tidy up around my ears and neck.

John's brother, Mike, who lives in Aurora, Co. met us in Canon City and carried our gear for us the next day. This really worked out well for us, because we really hit the mountains after leaving Canon City. The town sits at about 5500 feet in altitude, and we had to climb over a pass at 9400 feet to get to Hartsel, about 60 miles away. Our total climb for the day was 6800 feet, most of it against a stuff headwind. I also struggled with the altitude as we got up over 6000 feet. Over all, it was the toughest day I've had so far.

Today, we crossed the Western Continental Divide by going over Hoosier Pass at 11,400 ft. After yesterday, I was really concerned about the higher altitude, but, although I had to pace myself up the final 4 miles to the top, the climb was not too bad.

I got my reward on the ride down the Western side! There was a 12 mile screaming descent with hairpin turns down to Breckenridge where I was seldom going less than 30 mph. I did not impede traffic!

We stopped in Breckenridge for lunch and then rode the final 17 miles on a terrific paved bike path to Silverthorne, Co. The path wove along the Blue River, a small stream at Breckenridge, but a raging river at Frisco where it enters the Dillon Reservoir. I must have seen 10,000 bikes today, on the path, in the towns, and atop of cars.

Here's a few pictures.