Day 36
TAZ: It's Monday, 7-24-06. We've made it Breckenridge, CO. One of the big highlights of our trip. We are taking a couple of days off here. We skipped a day off last week so we could have an extra one here. We are staying with a friend of a friend. Basil from Massanutten gave us the name and # of his friend, Dave Leopold. He and his family have more than welcomed us into their home. They are so cool. They have lived here in Breck for 6 yrs after living back east and love it here. They've been very helpful in helping us find our way around town and letting us stay here and feeding us too. They didn't even know us! Dave, Jan and their boys- David, Michael, and little Colten are an amazing family. I am on their computer right now.
Saturday we rode from Florence to Guffey, CO. It was only like 40 miles. We stopped in Canon City at a Fiddle Festival and then started the climb up. Slowly climbing we went from around 5000ft to 8000ft in Guffey. Guffey was a cool little town. It was almost a ghost town. There was a bar, a restaurant, and this place that was sort of a rustic B&B. Bill was there to welcome us. We stayed in these cool little huts. We wanted to stick around the next day and check out the museum but we knew we were going to have a long day getting to Breck. We'll go back one day.
We rode into Breck by going over Hoosier Pass ( over 11,000ft). We were fearful of the climb but it turned out to be way easier than anything we've done back east. Then coming down we didn't get nearly the high speed we did back home. The scene at the top was so amazing. We have taken so many pictures in the past few days. We can't wait to get them back to you!!
On yesterday's ride, which was a 67 miler, we saw a herd of antelope. They were mingling with some cows in a wide open field near Hartsel. We also woke up to 40 degree temps on our first day in the mountains. We put on nearly every stitch of clothing we had and still froze for the first ten miles. Then little by little we started peeling stuff off. The afternoon temps got up to the mid 80's. This was a welcome change from Kansas!
Today was similar weather. An afternoon thunder shower came while we were out exploring town. We all love this town! Everything we love to do is here! The mountains surrounding the area are beautiful! There are bikers everywhere.