Author: jeffjinn

I was back in Pueblo on Saturday evening and in a nice surprise, my sister Jill and my brother in law Kevin drove down from Longmont to have dinner with me. It was really good to see them and catch up.

Then early Monday morning I was back on the road. It didn’t take long for the landscape to flatten out, and soon the mountains were in the distance.

I got a little tailwind and put the hammer down! I rode hard until I got to Ordway, about 60 or so miles out. I stopped for some supplies and ran into another cyclist going my way – Eric. He had started in Montana and was going off and on road. I felt better about my progress after talking to him – he had been chased by 3 bears, attacked by swarms of mosquitos, gotten lost in the mountains and had run out of water and had to filter water out of a pond meant for cows to drink out of that tasted like cow poop even after filtering. Yuck. He was going to camp in Eads, but I kept on going, with my sights set on making it to Haswell, where I would camp at the city park. It wasn’t easy, but I made it and had a record mileage day!

The park at Haswell wasn’t much to look at – but there was a covered picnic area, a water spigot and some very terrible latrine toilets. In fact, the whole town of Haswell wasn’t much to look at – no businesses, lots of abandoned and dilapidated houses. It had a depressing feeling. According to the signs posted, Haswell is known for two things: One, Intel named a chip after the town.

And the second, even more impressive, is that Haswell is the home of……

And here is a photo to prove it:

Pretty amazing, huh? It is sitting in someone’s weedy back yard. No need for you to visit Haswell, I have told you everything you need to know.

Most of us have had a pet, loved the pet and then mourned the pet when they passed away. It is an inevitable cycle of joy, love and sadness. I got a call from my daughter Suzi to inform me that our old dog Tinkerbell was not doing well and was probably at the end of her life. She was 16 1/2 years old and her health had been precarious over the past year or so. Suzi works as a veterinary technician and has been Tinkerbell’s primary caretaker, so she knows what she it talking about. I needed to get home to Albuquerque ASAP. I was about 90 miles outside of Pueblo, CO, which was the closest place where I could rent a car – so I got on the bike and pushed hard and made it there by the days end. Luckily and amazingly, Pueblo is also the closest I would be to Albuquerque during my entire bike journey – a 4 – 5 hour drive. I was at the car rental agency when they opened on Friday, and by 1pm I was home. My daughter Elli had already arrived from Las Cruces, NM, where she goes to college. She and Suzi were with Tinky, who was conscious but pretty much non-responsive. The veterinarian that Suzi works with, Dr. Spohn, would be there a few hours later. A very sad and emotional day for all of us. It is amazing how intense our feelings can be for a dog and how much their passing can affect us. We all loved Tinkerbell and she was great companion and a part of our family. We are going to miss her.

I was able to spend some much needed quality time with Suzi and Elli, and then today I traveled back to Pueblo. Tomorrow I will get on the bike and head out onto the plains of Eastern Colorado. The bicycle tour and the adventure continue.

Man was it cold last night! A hard freeze for sure and everything was all covered in white frost. Made it tough to get out of the tent.

Luckily, the cafe and store were open early and had hot coffee ready. I set up shop there and got some work done, waiting until the sun peeked out and warmed things a little before I broke camp and packed up. About 11am I figured I had procrastinated enough and Monarch Pass was probably warm enough to climb. So off I went – it was cold, but I shed layers as I climbed and I think the cool temperature helped my climbing abilities. I zipped right up the approach and soon saw this sign:

It was a tough 7 miles, but my legs felt good and before I knew it the summit was within reach!

Another hour or so of hard work and I was there! Monarch Pass was in the bag! 11,312 feet above sea level! The highest point for the trip.

Then it was time to put on the heavy gloves as I bombed down the other side towards Salida – my hands still got numb! It was a downhill cruise all the way, except when I had to stop due to a cattle drive blocking the highway. Don’t you hate it when that happens!

My plan was to stay in Salida, but it was still pretty early when I arrived – and with a tailwind and a downhill ride it made sense to keep on pedaling. I rode on until the sun was setting and I am now camping at the Bighorn RV and Camping Park in Coaldale, right by the Arkansas River.

That’s what I decided to do today, take it easy. My riding today would take me to the little town of Sargents about 30 miles east of Gunnison, at the base of Monarch Pass. Since I want a full day to tackle that monster I had a short day of riding today. I took the opportunity to re-pack all my gear, do tasks I had been avoiding – like answering emails, send a Fedex that I had been carrying around, send a package – you know, that kind of stuff that is easy to procrastinate on. I also bought a pair of warm gloves as the rain in Gunnison became snow at the higher elevations. Tomorrow’s climb will definitely be interesting and probably cold. My last stop at 11am as I headed out of town was at McDonald’s to fill my water bottles and get a cheeseburger for the road. My bike was a source of curiosity to the McDonald’s 11am customer base (an age group that makes me feel young!). It was noon before I could pull away from my new fan club to start riding! I had rolling hills and a nice tailwind all the way to Sargents, so I barely broke a sweat as I cruised in to the Tomichi Creek Trading Post and Campground. This place is awesome! $10.50 for a nice, grassy campsite by the creek with electricity and a picnic table + a store + a cafe and bar + really nice people! The weather was still cold and cloudy….but no one was complaining. After setting up and taking a nice hot shower I headed over to the cafe and bar where I hung out with the three other touring cyclists who were also staying here. Jacob lives in Boulders and is touring on and off road down to Santa Fe where his wife will meet him. Michael (Germany) and Cory (Chicago) are a couple who have been traveling for months across the US and will be spending the next few months in Utah, probably Arizona and then to California….after that who knows? All really nice and interesting people (of course!). All three had crossed either Monarch Pass, or the off-road version, Marshall Pass, from the western side and assured me that even an old guy like me could make it over.

We had beers and talked about our travels current and past until closing time came and they kicked us out (the late hour of 8pm!). Then it was off to our tents as the temperatures were dropping fast. It was going to be a cold night!

On a separate note, I got an email from WordPress (the site we used to create this website) with some statistics – there have been 891 visitors to the site and 7,349 views! That is amazing! I am thrilled and humbled that so many people are interested in this trip. Many of you have left comments and/or words of encouragement and I really appreciate them. If you are following me and haven’t left a note or a comment – please do. It is really nice for me to see who is checking in. Much love to all!

What a crazy night last night was – rain and wind lashed at my tent and kept waking me up – but everything held fast and survived the storm. The skies were still cloudy and the wind was whistling as I packed up and go on the road and I had the feeling that my luck with beautiful sunny weather had run out. While all day long the wind was swirling around, I did enjoy a tailwind for several hours, which I was very happy to have.

The climb out of Cimarron doesn’t even have a name, but it was a solid 4 mile climb. It was on this climb that I was able to give out my first “Complete Dumbass” award. I was about halfway up the climb when I heard several truck horns sounding behind me. I thought that maybe a wide load truck or something else was coming up so I was extra vigilant. But then here comes a pickup truck with a fire blazing in it’s bed! It goes a few hundred yards past me and pulls over, and then the two 18 wheelers that were behind it also pull over. The truck drivers come out of their cabs with fire extinguishers and put the fire out. Right about then I ride up. What had caused the fire? The guys in the truck had gone camping and in the morning there were still logs in their camp fire so they threw them in the back of their truck for the next time…..and you guessed it. The fire was not out, and driving fast down the highway re-ignited their campfire so that this huge blaze was burning. Luckily no one was hurt. I wish I had taken a photo, but it all happened so fast and I was climbing – so sorry. As I reached the top of the climb traffic was stopped. There had been signs along the way warning of construction, but I wasn’t sure how it would affect my traveling. I stayed on the shoulder and went right to the front to talk to the flag man in charge. They were re-paving several miles of the highway and were letting one lane through at a time…..but, no bikes allowed. He told me that the only way I could get through the construction was to find someone with a truck who would haul me and my bike. So I turned around and started walking back up the road in search of a truck with an empty bed. I knocked on the window of the first one I came to and Mike was happy to help. We hoisted my bike up into the truck (no easy task!) and Mike and I got to know each other as we first waited to go through and then navigated the paving job. Mike was a very interesting guy and is himself a cyclist who has toured Viet Nam by bike. Originally from NY state, he retired young from a career in healthcare and now explores the country and visits family in his fifth wheel – lucky for me he had dropped off his RV at a friends and so had room for my bike. We were still jabbering away when we came out of the construction and found a spot for me to get dropped off. I feel bad because we got bike grease on his jeans as we were lifting the bike out of the truck – Mike, I hope it comes out in the wash!

The wind and the rain returned off and on as I cycled towards Gunnison. The wind continued to alternate head, side, tail in big bursts and while it never rained that hard, it rained off and on. When I rode into Gunnison I was conflicted – I really wanted to get another 15-20 miles down the road, but the rain, cold and wind were moving me towards getting a hotel in town. Setting up camp in these conditions just sounded miserable. So, I ended up getting a nice little room in a local hotel. The family that owns the hotel is originally from Nepal and are very nice. When I inquired about the nearest laundromat, they directed me to an extended stay hotel they own that was right across the street that had laundry facilities and even gave me detergent! While I was doing my laundry these two guys came in who were speaking Spanish. Of course I had to ask where they were from and what do you know – they were Colombian. Miguel from Barranquilla and Pedro from Santa Marta. Nice young guys – they are in Gunnison on work visas provided by a local company that recruits in Colombia. Miguel is also studying at Western Colorado University.

With my laundry done I figured I should check out the local brewery. Kind of embarrassed that I am a month in on this journey and I have yet to check one out. There is only one brewery here in Gunnison – High Alpine Brewing Co. – and it was just a short walk from the hotel. It was hopping (ha) when I arrived, but I got a place at the bar. Met Homer on my right, a local carpenter with dreams of starting a farm in Ecuador, and Jonathon on my left, an ex-Iowa Hawkeye football player now ops manager with a trucking company who is working remotely from Denver because he can live wherever he wants. You meet the most interesting people when you introduce yourself to those right next to you! Plus the Kolsch was refreshing, the IPA was smooth and hoppy, and the Espresso Stout was bold and delicious. And my pizza hit the spot too – figs and prosciutto. What a day!!

Wow, it’s October already! Next week I will celebrate a month on the road. It has gone by so quickly. The campground in Ridgway had a nice shower facility, so I made sure to take advantage of it before packing things up and getting on the road. Today I was going to meet my old friends Sharon and Bob Wear, who live in Cedaredge, CO. I had texted them to let them know I would be coming through Montrose (about an hour south of Cedaredge) and without hesitation they made plans to meet me. I only had about 20 miles or so to ride to get to Montrose from Ridgway, mostly downhill – so my morning ride would be easy. Add to that a strong tailwind and I was in Montrose in under and hour. I was early for our lunch date, so I pulled into a Starbucks did some blog updating etc. until it was time to meet.

At the Stone House Restaurant we all went for the Sunday Brunch Buffet and enjoyed eggs Benedict, blueberry pancakes and other delicacies as we caught up on the last several years since we had seen each other. Then Bob and Sharon headed back home and I got on the road headed east. My goal was a campground in Cimarron, about 20 miles away – but to get there I had to cross the Cerro Summit, which was a challenging climb. The sun was low on the horizon when I rode into the Curecanti National Recreation area campground at Cimarron. I selected a nice campsite, filled out my check in form and set up camp. I was still kind of full from the brunch buffet earlier, so I cycled over to a nearby General Store and got a light dinner of a sandwich and a beer – no cooking tonight. It was hard to tell what the weather was going to do, so I made sure that everything was closed, covered or in the tent.

My little camping spot was probably at 9,000 + feet and I felt it in the morning! It was cold! I stayed snuggled in my sleeping bag as long as I could and then got up to make a big mug of hot coffee to get me going. Nothing against the front range of Colorado, but the beauty of the SW Corner is hard to beat. The climb up to Lizard Head Pass was incredible. The photos don’t do it justice!

Lizard Head was one of two passes I crossed – the other was Dallas Divide, which was a pretty challenging climb.

I cruised by Telluride – was thinking about going into town, but there was so much traffic that I just kept going on down the road. At the Dallas Divide I could see weather coming in and the wind started blowing hard.

As I cruised down the pass towards Ridgway I just hoped that I wouldn’t get soaked. Luckily just a few raindrops fell and I was still fairly dry when I rolled into town. I was planning on going a few miles past Ridgway as there was a campground by the reservoir – but first I had some things to do. I went to a camping/biking store and got a new air mattress (mine had sprung a leak) some freeze dried meals, some new socks…etc. The guy at the shop was super friendly and helpful and was also able to assist with the next thing I needed, which was a meal. He recommended a place right across the street where he loved the burgers. The restaurant, Eatery 66, didn’t open for about 15 minutes, but already a line was forming. Always a good sign. I started talking to the woman in line behind me, who was also traveling (by camper van) and our conversation led us to sit at the bar and eat and talk. Brie was from California, but after a 25 year accounting career she was selling her business to her partner, had sold her house, and had hit the road in search of her fortune…. Or at least a new place to call home. She had already done a lot of exploring and it was fun to swap stories from the road. You do meet the most interesting people by introducing yourself to the person next to you! She will be stopping by La Reforma this month when she comes through Albuquerque to meet her brother there to view the solar eclipse.

In the meantime the burger and salad and fries and beer were all really good – I can see why Eatery 66 is a popular place. The wind and rain had calmed down around sunset as I cycled out to the campground – but then whipped up with a fury right as I struggled to set up my tent. It was a scene reminiscent of a Chevy Chase vacation film…..but it all worked out in the end.

The campground was only a few miles out of Dolores, so I cycled into town for breakfast. I got advice from a local and ended up at Kelly’s Diner, which was excellent. It was hopping with tourists and locals alike and the employees were nice and helpful. Sort of reminded me of La Reforma if we served breakfast!

Dolores is a nice little town and a took a tour up and down the main drag, stopping at the local market for a few snacks. Then I headed out of town along the Dolores River – it looked like a great place for some fly fishing – but only saw a couple of anglers all day. It was a great day for cycling as it was cooler up here in the mountains, some of trees were already turning colors and even though I was climbing, the road was graded easy so it wasn’t too tough.

I had hoped to find a Warmshowers host in the little town of Rico, which was right before the climb to Lizard Head Pass, but no response. I would be camping again.

In Rico I stopped to get a few provisions and drinks (and an ice cream sandwich) before riding another 7 miles or where I found an awesome campsite at the edge of a meadow by the Dolores River. It was so nice to be able to go down and rinse off in the cold, clear water. There was still a couple of hours of light left, so I set up my chair, cracked an IPA, and finished reading my book (Kon-Tiki). What a great way to finish a long day of cycling!

I even made a new friend who kept coming around!

As I sat down to write my blog today….I realized that I was missing a day! This is what happens when you are on the road and actually lose track of what day it is and sometimes the days blend together! Not that it was that interesting of a day, but let me back up to Wednesday, September 27. I left my little campsite in the woods and headed towards Blanding, UT. Figured I would get something to eat there and then head on to Monticello where I would hotel it after enough days of camping in the desert that my smell was even offensive to me! I really needed a shower and a laundromat. Blanding lived up to its name (bland) as there wasn’t much going on and again many of the shops and businesses were boarded up. It was the first stop after all that desert wilderness, so I figured it would have some frontier-town energy…..but nope. I did have a decent BLT for lunch at the one restaurant and they were also nice enough to fill my water bottles with ice and water. It was still really hot. Then I headed towards Monticello along with a plethora of trucks and cars. Damn the traffic! I pressed on and in the late afternoon wheeled into Monticello – which even though it is smaller, has a better feel than Blanding did. I settled into my surprisingly large room at the Abajo Lodge and after a shower I sorted through all my packs, ending up with a pile of dirty laundry. Conveniently there was a laundromat right across the street and in no time I had clean clothes again! Then I went on an expedition to get some supplies and some dinner. It was a success! I got groceries, a tall boy of Coors Banquet, tacos from a food truck and a pint of Cherry Garcia ice cream for dessert. Luxury!

As for photos from the day…..none taken! I guess that is why I skipped right over it.

I had unpacked everything last night and had it strewn all over the hotel room – so getting my act together took awhile and I didn’t get on the road till about 10. There was a little coffee shop next door to the hotel, so I grabbed coffee and a bagel sandwich in the midst of packing. Today I said farewell to Utah and crossed the border into Colorado – my fourth state! And one I have cycled in a lot, although it has been awhile.

Almost the whole day I was on Hwy 491, which was mostly rolling hills passing through small towns. Lots of traffic though, and lots of 18 wheelers. The shoulder was wide, so I didn’t feel unsafe – but it is annoying to have those big trucks whizzing by all day. And it has to suck living in those small towns where the homes and businesses are right on the road. I just cranked up an excellent playlist (alternative hits from 1983, highly recommended) and pondered deep existential questions like this:

I know – hard to wrap your head around it! I stopped at a diner in Dove Creek for a lunch burrito and then put my head down all the way to the turn off to Dolores. I stopped at a private campground about 6 miles out of town and shelled out the cash for a tent spot and a shower. Not as cool as camping out in the desert….but I smell a lot better! Tomorrow I head up into the Rockies!