Last night we saw Spoon et al off at a wonderful Italian dinner in Poncha Springs. Today was R&R and one more R (get Ready) for the next big tour.

Oren was the only holdover from the first tour - if he's doing Colorado he's going to do it right! Who wouldn't like to have three weeks of Colorado Rocky Mountain vistas? Ken and Bill would be joining us in the evening.

Jacinto doesn't believe in rest days - he took off to ride to the top of Poncha Pass and then hike the Rainbow Trail which branched off of Poncha. I thought he'd be gone all day and I'd be bored silly. Nope.

Oren and I had a long chat in the morning, then I did a bunch of nothing while he looked for the cause of three flat tires he'd had on the rear of his Schwalbe. It turns out Oren did have just the tiniest nub of a wire poking through the casing on the inside of the tire. He worked on it outside and saw the glint of the wire. Ah, ha! It didn't matter what Oren did the rest of the day - he found the culprit!

Jacinto was back in no time. I didn't even have a chance to get bored. Oren and I had just returned from lunch at the Mexican restaurant next door and here came Jacinto. He had had a good ride and hike.

My goal for the afternoon was to clean the chain on my bike, but I didn't get it done. Poof! There went the afternoon. We did do laundry. Ken and Bill drove in and we went to dinner at the County Bounty. We've eaten there any number of times, mostly because it's a big restaurant and convenient, but I've never been too impressed. They've changed the menu and perhaps the chef. Or maybe I was really hungry - but my food (feta and spinach stuffed chicken) was excellent.

We ran by WalMart and got a few things - grapes and carrots and a little cooler to keep my milk cold - then went back to get organized for the morning. The wind has really been howling the last few days. I planned to get on the road early to try and beat the wind. Better to get up at 5 AM than battle at 20 mph headwind to town, IMO.

Jacinto's leg had been giving him fits last week. That was easier to deal with when we had a SAG vehicle to check on him. This trip includes some very heavy duty climbing - he wasn't sure about his leg. We decided he would take his car along and hike a nearby trail or bike as the locale and his leg allowed. He actually got quite excited about that idea as there is plenty of good hiking in Colorado. He has an Audi wagon and wanted to keep his bike inside for security instead of on the roof rack. We would have room to act as luggage transport if everyone packed judicially. Oren graciously stepped up and said we could drive his spacious Ford F-250 truck instead. It has a covered bed, perfect for the bike and luggage. Thank you, Oren!

Because this trip is going to be tough, it will be extra nice to not have to carry anything beyond our daily needs. Each day Jacinto will drive the truck with the luggage to our destination and then either hike or bike back towards us.

Around 8 PM I finally got to the chain cleaning. We both bustled around getting ready for the morning. Jacinto's plan was to drive straight to Twin Lakes, drop the luggage at the lodge and then go hike his first 14er - Mt. Elbert. The trailhead was less than two miles from town. How convenient!

We were tucked in bed with lights out and water bottles filled by 10 PM. Rest days certainly go quickly.

Heart

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