Day 33:  

I drank so much water at dinner I wasn’t surprised when I woke up and had to pee really badly. It was really cold so I dreaded leaving my warm bed. I might as well get it over with so I hurried outside across the road to the outhouse. I was glad I remember where it was as the yard was filled with tons of antiques (and junk). When I was walking back to my cabin I looked up and was amazed at all the stars. I’ve done my fair share of camping under the stars (you can probably read about my snappiness for stars on one of my posts) and I have to say the sky ranked in the top 3 of all skies. I ended up sitting on a chair outside my cabin for 20 minutes or so just admiring them.

It was nice to go back to bed and still have a couple hours of sleep left. I woke up around 7:30 and slowly got up. Since we were so high up the temperature had dropped. I hate starting cold so I quickly threw on my cycling outfit then put my base layer back on. I knew I was going to get hot after about 5 miles of cycling but I didn’t care. The local cafe opened at 8 and we didn’t know how far it was to the next town so we decided to head over there. I got there just as it was opening. It seemed like this couple had turned the front part of their house into a restaurant. I could tell it would take a while for them to make breakfast for all of us so I ordered. Everyone else soon showed up. For the first time in a while I got to eat real food and not whatever I can find at a gas station. I had an omelette with cheese, bacon, and mushrooms with a side of hash browns and a croissant. Although it was more than I usually send on breakfast it ranks as one of the best I’ve had. I also drank about two liters of water. Evan’s Dad and brother were going to trade off biking with us while the other one followed in their car. It was nice to not have gear again for the weekend. We had about another 20 mile climb into Hartisel. However the hard part of the climb was over. After about 4 miles into the day I got hot and stopped to take off my wool long sleeved shirt and leggings. The Rockies were in full view and it was studding to be able to have them in front of me. If the wind wasn’t already making my eyes teary I’m pretty sure I would have cried over the shear beauty of them. Everyday I’m so amazed at the diversity of the United States. Being up here feels like I’m in a different country. 

After reaching Hartsel the wind really picked up and we had to fight a head wind until the next town, FairPlay. I was struggling a lot with the wind and turned on some music. Maybe if I couldn’t hear the wind it would go away. (Hint: that doesn’t work) Before turning on the road to FairPlay I could see the traffic backing up. It was kinda fun to bike pass the cars that that had just passed me. ‘Haha, I’m faster than you! And it’s windy!’ I kept thinking. I saw everyone else had stopped at a gas station so I pulled over. I learned that traffic was stopped due to an accident. Evan’s dad is a doctor so he went over to see if he could help. Everyone was fine though! I was starting to get a headache which made me nervous. I only get a headache in two situations so I knew it was because I was dehydrated. I bought a Gatorade and drank another liter of water. It was getting pretty hot so I also ate two icecream sandwiches. My headache was still creeping up on me so for the third time on this trip I took an Advil.

We only had 12 miles left of the climb, 4 being up to Hoosiers Pass. Luckily there was a bike path we could follow for most of the way. The wind seemed to have died down so I called my mom to see what she was up too. Unfortunately I couldn’t talk long as once again the wind picked up. 

8 miles later we all met up at the base of Hoosiers Pass. It was 4 miles straight up to the top. This climb also led to the highest elevation point on the trail, 11,539 feet. I told myself that I would break every mile. It took me 16 minutes to climb mile one, music blaring the whole time. I don’t even remember if I could even hear it I was so focused on peddling. I saw that I had service so I called my parents back to distract myself. It worked really well and I didn’t stop after mile 2. Around mile 2.75 I took a 2 minute break and headed back out. Getting closer to the top my service starting getting fuzzy so I said goodbye to my parents. 

In the distance I could see someone waving a white flag. My group was at the top cheering everyone on! It really gave me extra push to get up the last bit. After everyone got to the top we high-Fived and cheered. Everyone took turns taking pictures with the Hoosiers Pass sign. The sun went behind the clouds and we realized it was getting late. It was a 20 mile drop into Frisco so we figured it wouldn’t take long. I put my wool shirt on as the descent was going to be chilly. 

I don’t have the words to describe the stunning ride into Breckenridge. I definitely put this town back on my list of places to visit. The ride down was so stunning. It really made me appreciate how lucky I am to be out here. I think I only peddled for 1/4 of a mile of the 10 mile descent into Breckenridge. This descent certainly put all the other moments on this trip to shame. If my eyes weren’t all ready teary from the wind I would have been crying. So many people have ridden this road- by bike or car but in those moments the road was mine. Although it was such an overwhelming experience it makes me sad to know I wouldn’t be able to convey how it truly felt. I hope I will never forget the feeling of earning that descent. 

Breckenridge turned out to be the most picturesque alpine village I’ve been too. I wish we had plan it how to take a day off here. It’s for sure on my list of places to come back and visit. 

After regrouping in Breckenridge we decided to continue to Frisco another 12 miles away. There was a nice bike path that connected the two towns. It followed the Blue River and I don’t think it could have been more beautiful. It didn’t take long to get there but it was getting really late. We all met at a Taco Bell that was down the street from the campground. I don’t really like Taco Bell so Ellen and I headed across the street to Wendy’s. There was a gas station attached to it with cool stickers. I’m a sucker for buying stickers so I decided they were worth the weight. I headed back over to the Taco Bell and waited for everyone was to finish eating. We were concerned about the temperature dropping in the night so we convinced Ellen to go across the street to Walmart to buy some warm clothes. Evan and his dad drove down to the campground to get spots. Unfortunately they called us and said the campground was completely full. We started calling motels in the area to see if we could stay there. To our surprise everywhere was full. So we called hotels and they were full too! A local informed us that a music festival was going on and plus it was the weekend. So poor planning + tourist town  +Saturday night+ music festival = us having no place stay. We called the sheriff to see if he had any suggestions. Since we were surround by a national forest he said as long as we clear the city limits we could camp anywhere we wanted. It was already 10 so we hit the road (or rather bike path) to find a place where we could set up 6 tents. It didn’t take long and within 30 minutes we found a pull off along the trail. There were some people also set up so we asked to join them. So after a long day of climbing, traffic, wind, and surreal scenery I got to go to bed around 11:30.