Day 33, August 16th...our last day biking as a team of 8. Hot Sulphur Springs to Green Mountain Reservoir

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I cannot speak for everybody on this viva la BEBA epic bike adventure, but as for me, I was a bit sad this morning. Knowing that today, however far we rode, would be the last day with all seven riders and the most patient, attentive, awesome sag we could ever have asked for: Lesli! These sad thoughts made for a somber beginning to the day. It had rained in the night and the forecast called for more rain as today progressed. So we got right down to business: packed up, pumped tires, stuffed paniers with electrolytes and  gummies, goos and energy bars, filled water bottles, attached flashing lights to helmets and bikes and finally made sure we got to one last photo opp. Our last day of riding together. Dee, the owner of the Ute Motel, was ready and willing to help us out with the group photo. Thank you Dee!  And now for the last day of BEBA part 1: Florence, Oregon to Silverthorn, Colorado.
                                                                                                                               Lauran...packing up
                                                                                                                  Stephanie discussing plans for the ride today
                                                                                                            Sue Sister making sure the tires are right for the ride
                                                                                                                                            The whole crew

Lesli made sure we all heard her loudly and clearly before we departed; "there is a lot of debris on the meager shoulders through the Byers Canyon for the first few miles this morning. Be diligent and careful please!" The canyon was beautiful and as promised, there was very little shoulder and some new debris that might have come down from the cliffs during last night's storm. We were glad Lesli gave us a heads up! As the road opened up out of the canyon into the countryside, the traffic picked up, but the shoulder was pretty decent. We were hopeful that the shoulder would be good for the entire ride.

 In the little town of Kremmling we all stopped and took a quik break where Lauran was finally able to say that she "went at the Kum and Go."  Shortly thereafter, we turned onto route 9. Ugh. More traffic and not great road conditions. Several miles later, just when the shoulder totally disappeared we turned off of route 9 onto county route 30. What a relief!  We were rewarded with safer biking and once again, beautiful vista's all around the lake. At least for a while...

As Sue Sister and I made our way around the curvy, hilly lake road, we both noticed how dark it was getting hmmm...and a few errant drops of rain started to pollute our lovely ride. Darn! Well, only a few more miles until we reconnect with route 9. Maybe the road will be better at the section of road where 30 intersects with route 9...and at that point we only had  23 more miles to arrive at today's destination: Silverthorn. However, the rain was not going to hold off, and when we arrived at route 9, the traffic was horrendous and the shoulder was non existent. Time to play it safe and call Lesli. Lesli was there within 10 minutes...now to pack up and ready ourselves for the rest of the crew.
                                                                                                           A beautiful mountain where routes 30 and 9 intersect
                                                                                                                   Ugh! Non stop traffic and no shoulder
                                                                                                                                   Lesli to the rescue!
When everyone showed up and saw the road conditions, there were no takers to continue on to Silverthorn.  Besides, the rain was really starting to come down...it is disappointing to not finish a ride, but better safe than sorry. 

Once we were all packed into the truck, we were quite the jolly bunch; laughing and telling jokes, glad to be in a warm, dry vehicule and excited about our next destination: Sue and Lesli's lovely home in Evergreen! A few days relaxing and enjoying in a new area of Colorado was going to be just the ticket. Lesli was her usual tolerant self, driving us over Loveland Pass, listening (or maybe not) to our silly nonesense, when a most disconcerting noise interrupted our raucous party. A loud hissing noise, a few seconds of silence, and then the thwop  thwop  thwop of a deflating tire. Uh Oh! Not even 1/8 of a mile before the Loveland Pass Tunnel, Lesli was able to pull off of the highway jammed with truckers and travelers of all sorts whizzing by us at high speeds...in the  down pouring rain. 
                                                                                                                   Right before the Loveland Pass Tunnel

 After several minutes of deliberation it was decided that AAA was a wise choice. And an awesome mechanic named Charlie, came to the rescue. He was speedy, efficient and cheerful despite the lowsy weather. 

While Charlie worked on the tire of the truck (which was still hitched to the camper), Pete and Lisa hung out outside and kept Charlie company. The rest of us scarfed down snacks in the trailer and jumped every time the camper moved...at the ready to jump out if the camper started rolling over the cliff.
In no time at all, Charlie had everything under control. We were back on the road and heading for Evergreen. As Lesli drove through the tunnel, we were all struck by how fortunate we were that the tire incident didn't happen literally 30 seconds later.
     
                                                                                              This metal item was found imbedded in the pickup truck's rear tire.

 Well, to end our exciting, action packed day, Lesli got us safely to Evergreen to her and Sue's lovely home. We spent some time unpacking and unraveling all of our stuff and getting settled in to our temporary new home for the next 5 days. 

What a beautiful home. And what a great way to unwind and gear up for the next portion of our epic adventure!

***We will miss you Sue Sister, Stephanie, Lesli and Lauran!!!!!
Stay tuned for part two! 
Oh la la!






Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 27, 2022 at 9:26 AM

    Suzanne is shorter than everyone even standing a a step. miss you!

    ReplyDelete

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