June 7, 2022
Twin Lakes - Buena Vista, CO
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We have stayed at these cabins before, oddly. on the very same day in 2018. My photos from that day show vibrant green grass and better cared for grounds. Last night there were motorcycles going back in forth across the lawn in front of the four cabins. No wonder the grass is so patchy!
We set the alarm for 7:30, but were awake earlier. There is a guilty pleasure to lounging around and starting leisurely. I ate oatmeal once again for breakfast. It's getting old already, on day 5.
Looking out the window, it had rained last night, and was misty this morning. By the time we were stirring ourselves to pack and leave, the sky was blue, and it was 66 degrees.
The motorcycle riders were ready to leave as we were. I stopped and asked one man if they had received messages to bring your own pillow. I didn't see any of them with pillows strapped to the backs of their bikes. The man I spoke to said they had not received a message to bring pillows, but they had shoehorned six men into two cabins. There was only one bed per cabin, and they are quite small. He said he had slept on the floor and had not had a pillow. Just a blanket to wrap in. That doesn't sound restful. All of the men appeared to be from India and spoke with accents. I wish I had asked where they got there motorcycles. Surely they were rented stateside? Today they were headed over the Million Dollar Highway (near Ouray). I let them know about the extensive road construction between Gunnison and Montrose, with two hour delays.
Jacinto and Oren were waiting for me to finish talking. So odd, me finding someone to talk to! We headed off together. Leaving Twin Lakes, we had a little climbing to a bluff above the lakes. There was a generous shoulder, but it had big cracks. We took the lane when possible. Six miles later, we were down to the intersection of Highway 82 and 24. This piece of 24 had a generous shoulder all the way to Buena Vista.
We came upon some one way road construction, where they were repaving a piece of the highway. A CDOT dump truck happened to be right behind me, giving plenty of pedaling room to get through the construction zone.
The Indian motorcyclists passed us, honking. I waved vigorously and smiled widely as they passed. Short interactions often make lasting impressions.
Three miles before town, we saw a mountain of a climb in front of us. Such a mountain, that we all stopped to regroup. We talked about lunch. I presumed we would shower first, but Oren was ready to eat as we got into town. We decided on Chinese, there is a Chinese restaurant going into town on our side.
The visually giant climb turned out to be nothing. Then we had an extra downslope into town. Buena Vista is set in a visually stunning valley, ringed by 14er mountains (so called because they are 14,000 feet tall). There's still some snow on top. I'm sure we will see snow roadside on our climb up Cottonwood Pass tomorrow. It will be the highpoint of our trip, at over 12,000 feet.
I thought lunch was excellent. The spring rolls were freshly made and the General Chicken had just the right crunch. I would have had more food though. I'm hungry again already, and it's only 2:30. Jacinto is laughing at me, he says the food was average, but I was hungry. That's why I thought it was excellent.
Our lodge was a couple of blocks away. I had asked for an early check in. It's one of the no contact places with a lock box on the door. I originally had a Best Western reservation here, but got over ruled in favor of saving money. I wish we had thrown caution to the wind. This is an old 50's motel that they are in the process of remodeling. Judging from the holes and snags in our carpet, and the state of the tile in the bathroom, our room is still on the list to be done. Oren is in room 12, it is much larger, with a nicer bathroom. A couple of door down, a man is working on a room and it is completely gutted. I wonder what the room number is and if I can request it for our stay in September. I've already checked all of the other lodging in town for that date. There must be a festival, the town is booked. This is fine. The sheets are clean. We have a total of six pillows, with our two extras.
We are having major consultations on our day tomorrow. It's over 4,000 feet of climbing. We have to carry food for dinner, and breakfast the next morning. Plus, be sure to carry enough liquids for the long climb. Weather looks favorable. I don't dare give details at this point, for fear of angering the weather gods. Oren wasn't able to get a reservation at Taylor Park, so we are sharing our two bedroom cabin. It will be a tight fit with three bicycles.
Oren and Jacinto are off, scouting out dinner options, and going to the grocery. Oren nixed returning to the Chinese food. I guess I was the only one who was really hungry. As I was giving them a list of things to buy, Jacinto said, "We are only eating dinner ourselves, not having a party". We all had a laugh about that. I still asked for chips and salsa. That's always an excellent snacking choice after a good ride.
It will be interesting to see how the day goes tomorrow, compared to when I rode up Cottonwood in September. I tried to give the guys the pep talk about eating well and bringing enough to drink. Jacinto cut me short, saying that we are all experienced cyclists, we could make our own choices. True . . . . what I said was he could always stick his attractive cyclist leg out, hitchhiker style, and waggle his water bottle, if he runs out of water.
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2 years ago
2 years ago
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2 years ago
2 years ago
These were actually pretty nice for only $4. although I'm sure they wouldn't have held up over time.
2 years ago
Today's ride: 25 miles (40 km)
Total: 177 miles (285 km)
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2 years ago