Wednesday 30 May - Climbing the Rockies

Canon City - Fairplay

79 miles uphill
8 hours and 21 minutes in the saddle
37.6 mph max speed (ok, it wasn't all uphill)
9.3 mph average speed (mostly it was uphill, our second slowest day)

Today we have gained 6,000' elevation and it has been a killer of a bike ride. We were expecting a tough ride, but we hadn't counted on the gale force head winds we had for the last 50 miles. Pure punishment. In spite of how tough this day has been, it has also been an enjoyable ride because the scenery has been spectacular.

When we crested Currant Creek Pass at 9,404' we had the most stunning views across snow capped peaks in the Rockies. We appreciate the mountains so much after having spent almost a week cycling across the flat plains of Kansas and eastern Colorado. We stopped for lunch in Guffey, after 30 miles of cycling. We had the best lunch to date at Rita's cafe, a haven of health food where burgers are not on the menu. We also met Bill, the owner of the Guffey Garage. Bill is a real wild west character. In his garage resides the mayor of Guffey, a big black cat called Monster. There are no cars in Guffey Garage because it is stuffed full of strange things like cow skulls wearing sun glasses. Outside the garage is Bill's rat rod (like a hot rod), which he has built himself. It is a 1937 rusty old wreck, but with a modern v8 engine and automatic gearbox. We tried to convince Bill to give us a lift to the top of the mountain.

After almost 50 more miles we finally reached Fairplay at 6.30pm and we are staying at the historic Hand's Hotel which has beautiful rooms. This evening we went to the local, very good Italian restaurant (we think there is some Breckenridge effect in Fairplay) and had a delicious meal. We started the meal by having a cocktail each, to celebrate the tough ride. Stephen downed his and promptly felt the full kick of the alcohol which is about 3 times as strong at 9,500' elevation. Both of us have suffered the altitude, but hope we will acclimatise soon. We are feeling light headed and a little nauseous, it is very similar to a hang over.