Meeker - Rifle, CO
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Oren and I were out the door at sunrise. My phone had a last minute surprise, saying that there was 100% chance of rain in Meeker! Indeed, the sky looked threatening. That was a plus for me, as temperatures we cool.
We had a gradual uphill for 25 miles, then 17 miles of downhill to town. Oren quickly out paced me. The pavement was smooth, the shoulder wide, and the traffic non existent. We haven't started this early the entire trip. I've forgotten how nice it is early in the morning.
The mountains on both sides of us were unusually green. They must be getting plenty of rain here.
The climb was gradual, but I was ready to be home. It was hard to enjoy the day, and not spend my riding time mentally ticking off all of the things I need to do after arriving.
The best part of the day was seeing a small herd of elk cross the road right at the crest. They were silhouetted ahead of me. 1 -2 -3 -4 - 5 - all crossed the road safely. Good. Wait. Here comes one back? What's with this? Did she forget her sunglasses? It hadn't changed it's mind mid road, as they sometimes do, especially when traffic is coming. The elk had definitely crossed the road, jumped the fence, THEN reversed direction. Ah, ha! Here the elk came back. It was a mama elk, looking for her baby. That was a fun little story with a happy ending. It's the kind of thing that you need to be going bicycle speed to see.
Just after the crest, we hit some road construction that had traffic down to one way lanes. That was to our advantage, as the road had not been improved here. The pavement was old, and there was no shoulder at all through the canyon. Because traffic was being held up, I had only two groups of cars pass me on the entire downhill.
We never ride the road to Meeker, because of the poor sight distance through this canyon. This is my first trip riding it into Rifle. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.
Today is Saturday. The post office is open only from 10-noon. I decided to ride straight to the post office and gather my mail. I envisioned needing to ask for a box, but it was a manageable amount to bungie cord to my back rack.
When I got home, Oren was fastening his bike on his carrier. He was on a mission to start the long drive home to Arkansas.
I checked on Jacinto, he was just getting started. Typical. He wasn't wet yet. When I looked at the Strava map later, I saw that he had bicycled up very, very steep (20%?) Stephen's Hill behind Wamsley School! He said if he was ever going to be in good enough condition to ride up that hill, the time is now. Loaded!
We've been to the store. Jacinto's requested chicken soup is done. Dinner time is still 5 PM, at least for tonight.
I have an appointment to take my bike in on Tuesday morning. I think the wheel needs trued. I also need a new brake lever.
It's going to be grand to sleep in my own bed tonight!
Thank you for following along.
| Heart | 4 | Comment | 1 | Link |
thanks for hanging in there and closing out your journal properly. I’ve enjoyed every day of “my” ride thru the passes of Colorado and the canyons of Utah! Whatever shall I do ? Your tour is over and the Tour of France is as well. Think I’ll go ride my trike.
spoon
2 years ago
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| Heart | 1 | Comment | 1 | Link |
spoon
2 years ago
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