Colorado---"Enough of this Sunday stroll..."

The temperature at the Pagosa Lodge in Pagosa Springs was hovering around freezing when we woke up. We had talked to some locals who said Rose's restaurant had great breakfasts, so we headed over there. Chandler was our server and she was hilarious. The special was a Belgian waffle and it was "$2.00 plus 4 quarters.". She told us she likes to mix it up a bit. She also told us Rose's does not serve oatmeal on Sundays. O...kay.

We headed up the pass and pulled the bikes off around 9 a.m. I think the temps were in the mid 20's. Brisk. Flat Stanley was intrigued by the Continental Divide display. Karen and I were shivering. But oh, the downhill. And oh, the beauty surrounding us! A couple of tunnels, the cute town of South Fork with all of its little cabins, and then we were headed east towards Del Norte.









Patty found an artsy little restaurant and shop where she said she could've spent a lot of money, but really...there's no more room in the truck. She'll have to come back.


In Alamosa we headed south on Highway 285, encountering a nasty headwind. If you were hold a clock directly in front of you, the wind was blowing from 1:00 to 7:00. Blast. Patty and I decided to do a little drafting off each other, changing positions every half mile or so. I don't do a lot of drafting when I ride...don't really like to...but it certainly helped my fatigue factor. Before I knew it, we had ridden the 21 miles south we needed, and had turned east on highway 142 where I finished the day. 100.6 miles...15.64 average...952' of elevation gain.








My shifters were sticking, and so were Patty's. We decided to try and stop at a bike shop in Taos. We called at 6:00 and the owner was just closing. We must have sounded desperate...he was willing to wait for us...and we were hoping it was going to be a 10 minute job. An hour and a half later, Rey Deveaux had Patty's shifters working well, and mine were...better. The drive train really needed to be cleaned, so I planned on riding the Litespeed in New Mexico, and giving the Rodriguez a little tender loving care. Thanks, Rey, you are our hero! 3 days...3 bike shops...3 awesome mechanics. Incidentally...as Rey and Patty talked, they discovered that Patty's soon-to-be son-in-law worked in Taos with Rey on the ski patrol. Small world, eh?


We had seen a LOT of motorcycles coming into Taos. Rey told us that they were in Red River to attend a Veteran's Memorial Day service. Veteran's Memorial State Park in Angel Fire is the only state park in the United States wholly dedicated to the veterans of Viet Nam. Awesome.

Because we had spent so much time in Taos, we were running late getting to Cimarron, our overnight camping spot. Highway 58 was a winding road through forested land, something we didn't expect. Speaking of something we didn't expect...as we neared Cimarron, we saw a large truck parked on the bank of the highway with his headlights on...we wondered what he was up to..."Snipe hunting", I ventured. We laughed...and then saw the herd of elk at the edge of the highway, scattering every which way...a few of them ran right in front of us...two crossed, and the others turned back. Close call. Sheesh.

We set up our tents in the dark. Ate in the dark. And three weary women said goodnight until 6:30 tomorrow morning.

maybe you can't...because you won't...