2015-06-30 Day 2: The Hoover Vacuum, Canon City to Guffey, CO
Post date: Jul 2, 2015 2:54:00 AM
Miles today: 36 Total Miles: 90
Today, I did my best impression of a Hoover vacuum cleaner. Problem is there is just not enough air up here in the mountains. I never want this Blog to be about the rigors of the ride but bear with me for a paragraph. Today was an exceptional day. I learned just how challenging it is to climb 4700 feet with a fully loaded bike when you are not used to riding at elevation. Of the 36.5 miles today, perhaps 35 of them were uphill at an average speed of 7.1 mph. After 5 hours, both of us were completely spent. We opted to stop at the town of Guffey, Co (population = 29) about 1 mile off the route at 8600 feet. We stopped not because we wanted to....we stopped because we physically had to. I have never had my legs feel like they feel right now. I don't like it.
The ride maps promised us a restaurant and a bed and breakfast in this town. We pulled up to the cafe and were greeted by a "Closed on Tuesday" sign. Tuesday. That's today. Oh. No. We carry food for just this situation so not a problem. What we really needed was water - lots of it. I asked a guy on his porch if water was available anywhere in town. We graciously filled my water bottle. He said it was well water but safe to drink. I sucked down half of it. The lady at the post office gave me some bottled water because she said the well water was not safe. Then she said we should see "Bill" at the garage telling us that Bill always takes care of the bikers who come up into town.
We pulled up in front of the garage and were immediately greeted by 4 other TransAmerican bikers (2 from Spokane, WA, 1 from Virginia, and 1 from Massachusetts). Bill walked out looked at me and without even an introduction said, "Oh a biker....Would you like a cold beer or a pop? There are burgers and dogs over there on the grill." Turns out Bill has been feeding cyclists for free for years. In fact he hosted the original group of cyclists in 1976 when 3000 cyclists did the inaugural ride. Said he just loves cyclists. Bill owns about half the town and put us up in a very rustic cabin for $10 each. I have included some Guffey pics. It is a quirky place.
So the Rockies kicked our butts today but all ends well here in Guffey.
