September 23, 2021
We Almost Ended Up In the Slammer
FairPlay to Buena Vista
FairPlay sits at 9,900 ft above sea level. The last time I tried to sleep this high was in Leadville at 10,000 ft 12 years ago, and it was difficult. But last night I slept well and woke up refreshed and ready to go.
Jacinto drove over from Rifle to join us yesterday for the evening before returning to work this afternoon. On the way he hiked a 14’er, something he does regularly. While hiking he photographed some mountain goats, resplendent in their fluffy white winter coats.
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This morning it took 3 tries to find a breakfast spot. The first, the Kakery, which promised, among other things, fancy cupcakes and exotic tamales, was closed for a wedding. We then looked at a takeout place, but we ended up at the Brown Burro. Kelly really wanted to eat here because it is a favorite among TransAm riders. We all ordered breakfast stuff except Kelly, who ordered a smothered burrito sans tortilla. We all liked our dishes except Kelly, who said it was one of the worst burritos she has ever had. I think it was because the breakfast crew was on duty; the burrito makers work the lunch shift.
Jim and I rode today. We turned left out of the motel parking lot onto Hwy 285, which runs from this area of Colorado to Denver. Two-lane highway with occasional passing lane; smooth shoulder that varies from 6 inches to 2 feet inside the white line. About 10 miles of it had a badly placed rumble strip inside the white line. The traffic was moderately heavy and fast, with many trucks and trailers.
At 9:30 am it was in the mid-50’s and warming up. The first 19 miles were a slightly undulating 1-3% downhill, with a soft cross-tailwind. We cruised this part at 18-20 mph. Along the way we came across a herd of pronghorns. When we stopped to look at them, they spooked and ran a bit further from the road, then stopped. When we started back up, they ran along with us for a short piece. Stunning creatures!
At 19 miles we started climbing Trout Creek “Pass”. We were done climbing this “pass” within a mile at most; it is essentially a 300 foot roller going south. Of course we stopped for a photo:
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However, going north, Trout Creek is a real pass because now ( going south) we rode a real screaming descent for about 15 miles-almost all the way to Buena Vista. The heavy and rapid traffic passing us was the only thing that detracted from the quality of this descent-it was a real gas!
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At the bottom, Jim’s route had us turn right off the highway onto a side road. The sign at the turn indicated we were entering the Buena Vista Correctional Complex. I pointed this out to Jim but he insisted it went through and would keep us off the highway for a bit, so we rode on…for about a minute and a half because an official Correction Facility truck came speeding toward us and a masked official stopped and asked us pointedly what we were doing. We told him we were heading to town so he told us to go back to the highway, that this road did not go through and only went to the correctional complex. And he waited until we turned around and rode back, watching us to be sure we left properly.
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So we turned onto Hwy 24 and rode into Buena Vista, arriving at the Super 8 a few minutes before Kelly drove up. Our rooms weren’t quite ready so we had lunch at Bread & Salt to kill some time.
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Once we checked in and cleaned up we went shopping for food to carry to Taylor Park Trading Post, our destination tomorrow, since the only restaurant there is apparently closed.
Tonight we will head into what passes as downtown for dinner. Jim and Kelly have a date tomorrow with Cottonwood Pass - summit at 12,126 ft; 4,364 ft of climbing in 34 miles. I’m glad it’s them and not me…
Today's ride: 39 miles (63 km)
Total: 191 miles (307 km)
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