Cuchara - Trinidad, CO - Big Mountains, Small Towns.

June 17, 2022

Cuchara - Trinidad, CO

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Cuchara has a one block business district. The trash truck arrives at 5:25 AM. I think each business must have ten dumpsters, all filled with glass bottles. By the time the truck left our area, I was wide awake.

Our room at Dodgeton Inn included breakfast. Mike was totally accommodating on the hour. He served a varied fruit cup, including kiwi. We also ate three cheese omelets and bacon. I would have had two omelets, but decided it was good to not overeat before riding up a pass.

I thought we would have a little time to digest, but Oren said he was packed and leaving. What! I thought we would at least start together. I threw my things in the bags, and headed downstairs. I beat Oren out the door and to the corner. I pushed my bike up to the highway. It was going to be enough of a shock to my legs to start on a climb. I didn't need to start on the even steeper main drag.

Oren passed me two miles down the road. The miles ticked off pleasantly. I stopped at mile 3.5 to eat a Perpetum tablet, and to use a convenient potty. I reminded myself that I needed to stop on the climb. I think that was my problem yesterday (that and overheating). Yesterday I was thinking it was only 11 miles to town, just ride it. I didn't allow for the elevation gain, and take any breaks.

This was a pleasant pass to climb. It wasn't super steep, just steady. There was an extended climb through aspen groves.

I totally missed the part of the elevation profile that showed the extended ups and downs after the summit. Each uphill, my thoughts got uglier and uglier. This is no fun. Why is there another climb? Isn't the point of the summit to have a downhill? Mentally, I had finished climbing at the summit. I didn't want to climb more. Whine, whine.

I passed the town of Stonewall, where we had stayed in 2017. I looked for Oren at the store. No. I debated stopping myself. I was riding so slowly, perhaps my two bottles of water, and two bottles of electrolytes wouldn't be enough. No. Surely that's enough?

The road surface was overall good, but did have sections with cracks, and also some sections of new pavement. The temperature was still cool climbing the pass, in my favor. Besides the pointless ups and downs, the only negative was the strong side wind. Yes, we knew that was going to happen. Damn.

I caught up with Oren! He completely changed my attitude by validating the difficulty of the ride. Thank you! It was indeed hard. Having someone else say that outloud made me feel much better about the day.

Today was all climbing, or all descending. There was little flat riding. Looking at the elevation profile, with almost 5,000 feet of descending, you would think it would be a grin inducing downhill. Definitely not. Perhaps it would have been an easier experience without the wind. It wasn't easy. But, we were moving along. Once I saw Oren, the miles seemed to pass more quickly. A good attitude is important for a good day!

I tried valiantly to keep up with Oren. I could see his tail light in the distance on occasion.

We passed many small communities, squashed into the narrow valley. They had varying degrees of prosperity. There were many falling down buildings. I saw an abandoned sandstone brick elementary school that was striking. It would make a wonderful B&B, if you could only come up with a draw to the area. Fishing? Do fishermen like to stay in B&B's? I think they probably camp . . . I don't know why. I'm not a fisherwoman. The next town had a large, new school. I think it might hold more than elementary kids?

Finally, when I did mental math on how many miles to go, the number was less than 20 miles. That means I was almost to town. Oren had wryly pointed out that at mile 45 (with 9 miles to go), we would get another section of climbs. At that point, we were mostly out of the green valley, and down into a barren area. There were at least two significant granny gear climbs in that last nine miles. I did not care! I was almost there. Hurray!

Worth noting is the traffic. All the way to the top of the pass, I saw perhaps ten vehicles? As the day continued, we had a few more cars, but not many. After we passed the New Elk Mine, I estimate 75% of the traffic was semi trailers from the mine. Jacinto thinks that number is high. All of the semis gave us plenty of room and were exemplary in their courtesy.

I don't know where the traffic was coming from, but along that nine mile stretch before town, suddenly we gained a large shoulder and much more traffic. Oren and I had discussed that we didn't actually go into town, but turned right on a road before. We didn't go into more detail than that. When I approached Trinidad Lake, ridewithgps prompted me to turn right. It was another climb up to the big dam. From the top, I could see the interstate and commercial buildings. I was almost there!

I was riding across the top of the dam when Oren called me. I thought he was calling to say he was at Wendy's. No. He was in downtown Trinidad. His routing had taken him on a different road. He hadn't noticed the sign for Trinidad Lake at all. Oren ended up doing four bonus miles, three of those being a significant climb. He wasn't happy.

I called Jacinto and asked if he were following a route. Yes, he was. But don't worry, he would find his way there.

I was ready for chili and french fries. I negotiated the busy parking lot next to the interstate. Regular gas is priced at $4.99 a gallon here.

Wendy's had a line and was hopping busy. I waited at least 15 minutes to make my order. The employees were doing their best, but they were slammed. When I finally got my food, Oren was sitting at a table waiting. He didn't even try to order food until the line died down.

We checked Jacinto on Strava. He was crossing the dam. I saved some of my food for him, but he ordered more. We sat at Wendy's for a very long time, talking, before we went on over to the Holiday Inn.

That poor guy was busy also. We finally got checked in. We've done laundry in a machine! The first machine wash for my clothes in two weeks. Now we are walking to Tequila's for dinner.

Jacinto is happy the TV has HBO. We are going to watch Bill Maher tonight. Oren says he will probably be asleep by 8 PM, and not be able to watch.

OK -dinnertime.

Side note - Jacinto was missing one sock from our laundry. I suggested Oren look through his clothes, and/or Jacinto should check the laundry room. No, we will do it when we get back. Guess what? No sock anywhere. Luckily he has multiple pairs of socks.

Mailboxes on the Main Street of town. They are painted colorfully. Isn’t that considered defacing USPO property? I like them though.

There is a 20 minute loading zone sign behind the guys.

We rode through extended Aspen groves today. The better to distract us from the agony of the climb.

For a rural Highway, I think there are more churches per mile than any other road I’ve ridden. Many were abandoned.

This building was close to the railroad tracks and seems like it would be a railroad building. The steeple is throwing me. I can't include a link here. A Facebook friend did some research. A father built this church for his daughter to take wedding photos. That's some dad! roadsideamerica.com has the story.

This Tesla charging station had even more vehicles when we left Wendy’s. A friend with an electric car says that only Teslas’ can charge at those stations. No other manufacturer’s cars allowed.

The verdant view we had most of the day.

Looking back down the road from New Elk Mine.

Jacinto’s photo from the top of the dam.

Today's ride: 55 miles (89 km)
Total: 588 miles (946 km)

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