STATS
Location: Colorado
Miles: 36.72
Calories: 3,672
Top Speed: 29.3
Average Speed: 7.3 (Ugh..wind…again)
Elevation: 7,416
We left Guffey by 8 am and the ride toward Fairplay was wonderful. The road was pretty flat with some gradual incline, nothing too tough, in addition, after a good meal the night before, a pretty good night’s sleep in the “Assay Office”, and an adjustment to the altitude, I felt great. Lisa on the other hand felt lousy she seemed to be having more problems with the altitude and even had a nose bleed. But, we carried on. The scenery was beautiful. We passed an old sod house. I suppose it could have been used as a root cellar or perhaps it was lived in. If it hadn’t been behind a fence I would have explored it.
We continued our gradual climb when I came upon a “cow on the loose”. ‘Ol Bessie here had found her way out of the fence and was enjoying the tender grass and flowers on the other side. Eventually, she meandered across the road to see what goodies were over there. A little unnerved by my riding behind her she finally crossed the road back to her pasture. She walked along the fence looking for where she had escaped so she could “sneak ”back in.
Melinda’s Philosophizing- ‘Ol Bessie is a reflection of human behavior, people often escape the confinds of their life in the hope to discover what is on the other side of the road. Some find a new path or journey and never go back, others taste the splendors of the other side but eventually meander back to the herd. This journey has allowed me to think of things on “the other side of the road”. Do I have the courage to follow a new path, a new journey? Or, will I meander back to what I know, to what is comfortable, back to the herd.
I climbed a hill and there it was in all her splendor, the “Rockies”. How beautiful, I couldn’t keep my eyes off them. The next 5 miles was a gradual downhill. I could have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t worried about my patched tire failing, but fortunately it didn’t, but all the time I kept my eye on the mountains in awe of their beauty.
At the bottom of the hill was the small town of Hartsel. We had lunch and then we headed toward Fairplay, more beautiful scenery but were faced with an awful side wind and headwind. The last 12 miles into Fairplay was arduous. Blowing wind, with strong gusts surged down from the mountains. We had to stop every few miles to quench our dry mouths.
Fairplay was finally in sight. Late in the day and exhausted, we opted for a hotel room. The internet would not work in our room so we decided to, just go to bed, a good choice after a tough day.
Note: Fairplay has an interesting history. If interested, check out this link- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairplay,_Colorado
…I’ll keep you posted.
The Long and Winding Road - TransAmerica 