Day Thirty-eight (44 miles, 1735.06 total): From The Mountain Hills To The Desert Plains

I wake up at 6:30 to Ella rolling over and daylight peaking into the room. I stretch out like a piece of laffy taffy and open the curtains. The sun is just barely breaking through the morning fog of grey. It is 46 degrees outside. I have have plenty of time this morning to get ready, so I take a shower and pack at my own pace. No need to beat the clock today. Once I'm ready to face the day, I slip Ella into her harness and we head out of the hotel. I am definitely glad I put on my long sleeve today, it's frosty out! Bill sends me a text to let me know he and Carol are on their way to Frisco. It is about half an hour away, so I ride around through the parking lots and head on over to Starbucks. I order my coffee and talk with the Jamaican barista while he is making it. A coffee and a blueberry muffin were exactly what I needed to start the day. While I'm sitting in the morning sun, basking in the warmth, I have several people come up to me for pictures with Ella and to ask all about my trip. Ella is going to be famous by the time I reach California!

Bill calls to let me know they are at Frisco Harbor. I finish my early morning treat and head for the lake side bike trail. The morning sun cresting the mountain tops and reflecting on to the lake is absolutely stunning. I pull out my camera for a mini photo shoot before Bill and Carol show up. It was taking them awhile, so I had a little bit of time to call my dad and talk with him for a bit. Cyclists and runners are passing by, enjoying the beautiful morning up in the mountains. Frisco is in its own little Rocky Mountain bowl of paradise. Each new corner brings another jolt of happiness among the evergreen forests and ice blue lakes. I could stay here forever, or at least until the snow comes, then I'm off to the beach!

Finally Bill and Carol show up and we make our way toward Kremmling. We follow the extensive but incredible bike trails around the lake and off into the mountains. Of course in a place a breath taking as this, we can't help but stop every few minutes for a new photo. Along the way, we stop in the next small town. Carol shattered the screen on her iPhone this morning and so stop in a Wendy's for breakfast. This gives Carol an opportunity to call a few companies to get her phone fixed and Bill and I look over the maps. Another East bound cyclist comes into Wendy's to let us know there is a 5 mile stretch of road that is nothing but dirt and gravel in a construction zone. We look at alternate routes but decide to stay on the main path we had already chosen. The route today was perfect, a lot of downhill, but there were rolling hills and around each turn there was a new spectacular view for us to gaze upon. Pine trees covering the hills like a dark green coat, rivers coursing through the woods like an icy snake, and a sky so blue, you could get lost in the millions of hues blanketing the heavens.

Later in the morning as we were cruising along, traffic starts to build up for miles and miles. We are riding in the shoulder so we continue down the highway. An ambulance passes but only its lights are on, no sirens blaring. After a few more miles of passing people standing around their cars and talking to their stuck neighbors, we reach the very front. And it isn't pretty. A car is accordioned in the front and debris is littering the black asphalt. Several firetrucks, police cars and two tow trucks, stand around while a few men are working on clean up. We are told to stop and wait for the highway to be cleared. One of the tow truck drivers told us the driver of the wrecked car had smashed into the back of a parked car on the side of the road. Bill and I can tell that the driver didn't survive. The police and firefighters look distraught and the ambulance was in no hurry to get back to the hospital. We can only assume it was a DOA.

Half an hour later, they release us to move along down the road. Traffic is immediately so heavy and so hurried, that we have to get off our bikes and walk down the side of the road. It was to dangerous with so many people in a hurry to even consider riding the shoulder. The drivers were paying no attention to us as we traveled on the gravel path off the shoulder. It is amazing that these people had just passed a horrible wreck and they continue to drive like complete idiots. Lack of common sense is sometimes astounding.

Bill, Carol, and I push on into the march of imbeciles and slowly work our way around another lake. The views from the side of the lake were dazzling. These mountains were a magical place. As we made our way around the lake and down the road, the low alpines disappeared and began to form into the high desert once again. The sun was blocked by the forming of late afternoon thunderstorms and the winds came right at us out of nowhere. We had no choice but to push on as hard as we could against the forming winds. With the winds to our face, the next few hills became a struggle to power up. The desert weather decided it didn't want to storm any longer and the sun peered through the dissipating clouds.

By the time the sun is shining high in the sky again, we have reached the dirt road we were warned about. Pedaling through the dirt and rock is like trying to pedal over an uneven rumble strip on steroids. We can't move in a straight line and cars are kicking up rocks in every direction, it is like dodging gunfire as pebbles and rocks launch at us like little missiles. A truck rolls up in front of Bill and I with Carol's bike in the bed. The driver and Carol hop out and tell us to get in. We reluctantly heave our bikes into the bed and hop into the truck. The drivers name is Jack and he is a pretty cool guy and he is a cyclist too. He lets us know that the road gets too dangerous and is really over 12 miles long and not 5 miles long like we had thought.

The road goes straight to the Kremmling City Limits sign and Jack drops us off there. After seeing what the road was really like, we were extremely appreciative of the ride. Now that we were in Kremmling, we had to find a place to stay. It isn't long before we find a nice little RV/Camp place right down the road. For $10 we got a pavilion, a well maintained, flat, grassy area and access to electricity and a very nice bathroom/shower house. It was a score for us after a long day heading back into the high desert. I made mashed potatoes and chicken for dinner before setting up my tent and taking a shower. Ella was happy to have a nice place to run around and play. Bill ran down to the store to pick up Gatorade and he brought back chips and salsa to share. It was turning into a great evening. Around 7:30PM, Bob caught up to us once again and set up his tent.

A little later, a motorcyclist pulls up on his nice Harley and trailer in tow. His name is Peter and he happened to be at the KOA, right across from Joel and I, earlier in the week. Peter is 70 and worked as an electrician in California for most of his life. Every summer, he does different motorcycle tours across the US. He and I talk a lot about Southern California, electric work, philosophy, and tons of other stuff. Peter and I hit it off right away and had a ton in common. We were talking, Bob included, until about 10:30PM, before I decided to go back to my tent.

It is getting pretty late and we have a long ride tomorrow, so it's time for me to pack up the keyboard and get some shut eye. Ella and I hope you are enjoying our adventures and we hope you continue to follow us on our journey West!