Day 23 – Silverthorne to Canon City
Sat 26th June 2010
Today was the day we climbed to the top of Hoosier Pass at 11,542 ft. When we set off this morning from Silverthorne we were already at about 9,000 ft so it was not too much climbing to reach the top. The first 15 miles was just a gentle climb and most of this was on a very scenic bike path that went to the town of Breckenridge.
Charming Breckenridge
The final 4 miles to the pass were more of a challenge and the steepest climb we have encountered so far with several switchbacks towards the top. At this altitude there is less oxygen to feed the muscles which makes the climb more difficult than usual and we both felt a little light headed, which we attributed to the lack of oxygen and not the beer we had at Rand.
Feeling on top of the world
Reaching the top of Hoosier was a great feeling and for us it was now mostly downhill to Pueblo and the Great Plains. We were finally on our way out of the Rockies. There were several other cyclist at or climbing up to Hoosier and one named Lee was from Swanage, Dorset. We chatted to Lee for quite a while and he gave us some useful info for the rest of our trip (he was going the other way).
So we left Hoosier with the thought that we are unlikely to cycle to such an altitude again and headed off downhill towards the small town of Alma.
Looking down to Alma from Hoosier
Before our final descent down towards Canon City we had another small pass to climb over, Currant Creek Pass at 9,404 ft. As we cycled toward this we watched an electrical storm as it passed across in front of us. We were lucky not to get caught in this as the rain looked really heavy and we were right on the edge of it. The sky was very black.
Currant Creek Pass in the distance.
After crossing over Currant Creek Pass it was a fast downhill to Guffey but we were unable to buy the food we needed there. So we decided to carry on into Canon City and the fast downhill continued all the way. The terrain was changing as we descended and it has become much more arid. We were back down to 5,000 ft for the first time in a couple of weeks so the night time temperatures should be warmer from now on.
In Canon City we found a supermarke, so we now had food but the two campsites nearby were terrible with no running water. It was getting late by this time so we had no option other than to find a motel for the night.
Tomorrow we plan to have a lay in as we only have about 50 miles to do. It’s been a long hot day.
Daily Mileage -110 miles
Time in Saddle -8 hrs 46 mins
Total Climbing – 4,552 ft
Posted on: Jun 27th, 2010 at 7:47 am
Good going lads! Am so proud of you!
You are doing great!
Dad..still no shave?
Love you
Tracey
xxx
Posted on: Jun 27th, 2010 at 8:44 am
The Hoosier Pass photo is a really great one, brought a tear!! You look and sound a lot more upbeat than you did in your first 3 weeks – but then so am I. I guess it takes us all time to adjust. It makes me feel so much better seeing you with big smiles on your face and having the time for a lie in. I didn’t get up till 08.20 this morning, I thought it was lunch time!! It is a glorious day here and I hope you have the same, maybee not so hot. We are very proud of you and love you to bits.
xxx
Posted on: Jun 27th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Got to agree with jan the Hoosier Pass photo is a great one, well done your doing great, love you
Posted on: Jun 27th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
You guys are doing swell! It finally got to be summer here so took a good bike ride with the neighbors yesterday. But nothing like you two. Today will be a good day to take out clifford. Alan, I was surprised that you let that moose go bye, they too make wonderful jerkey. bob