I can't get photos to load. We will have to wait until tomorrow.

I had a rough day today. That surprises me. I've done this route twice before, and today was the most favorable conditions (no wind). 

Oren was staying in town, at the top of the hill. He said to allow 15 minutes to get to him. It took me 16. The loose plan was to ride together on busy Highway 160, and until LaVeta. Then we would probably eat something together. We anticipated a short, slow day because of all of the climbing. The reason we have this short day is the last time (2017) Jacinto and I rode this route, the wind was a real issue. We crawled into LaVeta, and would have been happy to stay there, but we had reservations in Stonewall, on over the pass. The cabin there was nice, but the food was definitely not. This trip we erred on the side of windy, and decided to stop in Cucharas, past LaVeta, but not so many miles.  In the morning we have six miles to the top. Then it is 48 miles of mostly downhill, but some significant climbs. I'm looking forward to giving that road another chance. That was the fateful day I had a bad shimmy incident with my P-38 recumbent. It is the same day dear friend Spoon crashed his trike and broke his leg. The shimmy incident scared me enough that we rented a uHaul and went home, aborting the tour. I will try to come back and add a link. The internet here is dismal.

Anyway, I want to ride this road again and get a good perspective. I think it's a great little secret road. Not many cyclists ride Highway 12. Services are a little scarce. The geology is extra interesting, with many interesting rock formations.

Today was warm enough that Oren didn't wear his jacket at the start. That's a first. Riding through Walsenburg, the downtown seemed more prosperous than the last time we came through. Most businesses appeared open and in good repair. I like all of the old 50's (?) buildings with curved walls and glass block windows. 

The ride on Highway 160 went better than I expected. The shoulder was extra wide the entire distance. No wind. I saw one pronghorn. He ran across the highway in front of me, luckily when there wasn't any traffic. 

I got behind Oren, but he waited for me at the turn into LaVeta. Highway 12 had no shoulder at all, and was an older surface, but not too many cracks. We had a little traffic, which made me sigh. We've been very lucky since Highway 24 around Leadville. Cars were polite, but we had to pay attention.

We stopped in town at the little grocery store we stopped at on Oren's previous ride. LaVeta is a happening little tourist town. It's everything Walsenburg isn't. Advertisements on the grocery window are for yoga, natural medicine, new age enlightenment, that sort of thing. The sign on the grocery window requested masks. We dug ours out. Employees wore masks, but we were the only customers with masks on. The two skinny shelves of Gatorade were not refrigerated, and Gatorade was the only brand they carried. They did have plenty of kombucha in heavy glass bottles. There was a nice selection of fresh fruit and veggies. Oren and I both purchased apples. I bought a warm Gatorade to pour over my ice. He bought a refrigerated drink.

I told him as we left not to look for me. I would be taking photos and being slow on the continued climb. That was certainly the truth. I don't know what happened in that 11 miles. I had no go. The only excuse I can think of is that it was hot. Rather, I was hot. The high for today was 76. It's been a cool spring, and a cool tour so far. 76 feels hot. How ironic. Jacinto pointed out we are headed to Utah, it will be much warmer there. Yes, indeed.

I plugged along. I only used the granny gear on the last uphill into town. Besides that, I was slowly reeling in the miles. We were back in lush, green country. I had plenty of time to admire the views.

Just before town we passed Yellow Pine Cabins. I wanted to stay there, but they had a two night minimum. However, we are here on the one day a week (Thursday), that they have live music with an all you can eat country BBQ. We are walking over. Google says it is .5 miles. I think it's further. But, we have a reservation, and are going. Oren is not a country music fan, except for Willie. Willie gets a grudging ok. Oren is taking one for the team. 

We were sitting outside of the store closest the highway when Jacinto rode up. Oren had beat me in by 15 minutes. I didn't go in the store, but Oren said it was very well stocked. Jacinto bought us drinks. A can of V-8 was only $1.39. The prices are going down as we travel! I ate a leftover burrito bowl from breakfast this morning. Oren and Jacinto agreed that 12:30 was early enough to have a little lunch and still be hungry for dinner tonight. They wanted to go right to a restaurant, but I said let's go see if we can get in our rooms.

Well - we are in. I'm not sure what I think of this place. It's run by a friendly older than me man named Mike. Our bikes are shoehorned in the garage. He's fixing us bacon and eggs at our desired hour in the morning. We are up a steep flight of stairs to a spacious room that needs a really good cleaning. Oren's room has two beds and a full kitchen. We don't even have a fridge, but are sharing his. Mike says he understands bike riders and needing to get out early, as he used to ride also. There's another man staying here. I'm not sure if he's a cyclist, but think he is because he mentioned passing the Bicycle Across Kansas riders on his way here. 

I took a long nap while the guys went and shared a plate of nachos. Cucharas is a one block town. There is nowhere else to build. I guess this is as large as it will ever be. It's charming. I doubt I will think the climb tomorrow is charming. I am interested in my experience overall, because of the whole shimmy thing. In a way it seemed a shame to not keep going today, because of the favorable wind. Tomorrow the wind is strong from the south.

I hope our dinner tonight is delicious. Jacinto says we need to starve, so we can get our money's worth. They shared a small order of nachos when they went to eat. Jacinto says he is hungry. I know I am.