Beautiful Telluride Colorado!

Today was a great morning! We got to sleep in and I think it was a great thing for our bodies and minds. So since we slept in that obviously means we decided to take a break day today! Upon waking up Chance and I cane downstairs to eat breakfast with Will. Melissa made us the most delicious breakfast of waffles, bacon and fruit! Then we sat around for a bit and packed up our bags. We then said goodbye to Melissa and her son Will because they would be going out of town for a swim meet and to pick up the other son Jake. So Chance and I rode our bikes into the beautiful town of Telluride! The views are absolutely amazing, probably one of the most fantastic views I have seen! So in town we took the gondola up to the Mountain Village. Mountain Village is where a lot of celebrities and wealthy people reside for shorts amount of time during ski season. Let me tell you these houses are left empty most of the summer which is absolutely nuts. So we walked around the village for a bit going in and out of shops while taking in the breath taking views. I keep talking about the scenery and the pics will be up soon hopefully! Then we made our way back down the gondola to Telluride where we headed to get some lunch. Our lunch destination was this cool little place called Smugglers. The food was good and Chance had one of their home brews and had only good things to say about it. From there we headed to the library to catch up on our internet doings. Then it was time to head back to Mark and Melissa's to get our bags and find a place to crash for the evening. When we got back, Mark was home and told us to just stay here again which was more then we could have asked for. All we wanted was to camp in their yard but he said " you sleep in a tent every other night, a bed is much better for tonight." We then made some noodles for dinner, checked our maps to see how much longer we thought we would be riding and took showers. Again, we would like to thank Melissa, Mark and Will for their wonderful hospitality and great stories and conversations they shared with us. And for you Will, I will get you in a game of Egyptian rat slap when we come back this way :) Thank you so much! We would like to thank all who continue to read and donate, as you all know we are riding for the American Cancer Society and with your help we can help to make a difference. So please tell all of your friends and help spread the word!

We should have just stayed in bed!

Well today started off like any other day. We woke up did our normal routine and thanked our new friends for letting us stay in there back yard and for helping us out so much! We were just about to leave and Harris offered us a ride "if we wanted to cheat we could ride with him to Ridgeway" but we declined and hit the road. The first 10miles or so weren't too bad, but than the wind began to blow and it only took a couple miles and my legs were shot. We both began to regret not taking this ride. It was only 26 miles but it would have put us pretty much right at the bottom of Dallas Divide with fresh legs but we didn't and Kelly began talking about how she wasn't going to make it up the mountain and how she would do anything for a ride over and I was actually pondering the idea myself but I told her we would discuss it over lunch. By the time we had got to Ridgeway it was settled we would try to find a ride over the pass or we would have to pull up short in Ridgeway. I don't think we would have made the pull over the pass. So we ate at Kate's Place and met an interesting fellow. I'm pretty sure he was a gypsy drifter and definitely a relic from the 60's. When we were done with our meal we road back to the gas station to see if we could find a ride. Kelly lucked out on her first try. We met this guy named Joe, our saviour for the day. He was a blacksmith and was filling up his propane tank and said he would be going to Placerville which was over the pass and about 14mile from Telluride. We asked if we could pay him and he said he'd take a 12pack if we didn't mind so we grabbed a 12pack and loaded our bikes and we were off. We cheated, we both admit it but I think in all honesty it just ads a new angle or twist on the whole adventure aspect, hitch-hiking and I guess that's the thing to do in the mountain towns so we fit right in. It was nice definitely a much quicker and easier way over the pass. It didn't look like it was a difficult pass but a very long drawn out one and on the back side there was road construction that would have made our life hell. There was only one lane and dead stop traffic that we would have had to try to avoid since the cars were part way in the shoulder. The ride was nice and greatly appreciated. We had a great conversation with Joe about his interesting career as a Blacksmith. I didn't even know that that career was still really around with all the modern manufacturing. So I guess you learn something everyday and it was really interesting. We went back to his shop and he showed us all his tools, he actually made most of them himself, even cooler. He told us about his family, two children and his wife Courtney who is the director of adaptive sports in Telluride, way cool! It was just a great afternoon spent talking and learning about new things. Finally we had to get back on the road and finish out the last 14 miles and man I'm glad we got that ride because I don't think that we would have made it even if we made it over the pass. We had to climb Keystone hill and that should have been considered a pass in it's own right. It was long and step and I was exhausted but had to remain strong because Kelly was done and ended up having a bit of a mental break down about a mile from the top. It took a bit to get her back on the bike but she pulled it together and showed her true toughness and I'm glad I didn't have to stay were she wanted to quit. It was on the posit side of the guard rail and the edge of a cliff, probably not the safest place to camp. When we finally got to the turn off where got on the bike path we were so close to victory I could taste it and my legs were screaming for it to be over. We pulled into Melissa and Mark's house, absolutely amazing! It would probably be my dream house located in one of the most amazing spots in Colorado! They were absolutely nice people, even though the dog didn't like me, I guess I wont take it personal since I saw the dog about eat the Fed Ex guy, haha. We met their son Will, great kid, good luck at your swim meet! Their other son Jack was at ski camp at Whistler, luck duck! It was so nice to be done today. They had to go to Will's swim club dinner so we took showers and tried to journal but I just couldn't keep my eyes open and I was out. I woke up just before they got back. We spent the rest of the night hanging out talking and getting to know each other. Mel made us an amazing dinner and afterwards we play some crazy card game that I think Will made up and ofcourse he one, cheater! haha jk. When it was time for bed I was more than ready and it felt good to crash in a cool bed. The room was completely dark and we could see the stars out the window and they were just amazing. Over all the day couldn't have worked out any better. We continue to meet amazing people along the way and hopefully make friendships that will last a life time. Thanks so much Joe for the ride, you were a life saver and thanks Melissa and Mark for being so hospitable and letting us enjoy your amazing house with you! Take care everyone and thank you for supportin us along our journey!

Windy is all I can say.....

This morning we woke up in the hostel and it was nice to sleep in a bed again. Carolyn got up before we left and gave us some no bake cookies she made and we said our goodbyes. We got about 4 miles out of town and Chance realized he forgot his phone so we started to go back. I got behind and didn't hear Chance tell me to stop and some how on his way back from the hostel we didn't cross paths so I was at the hostel and he was back down the road. So eventually I caught up with him. The morning ride was actually quite cold and we kept our jackets on for some time. We went through some very beautiful mountain and lake areas that were rolling hills pretty much! We have some great pictures so I can't wait to get them up so you all can see them! We stopped about 15 miles into the journey and had one of the cookies Carolyn made for us and they were delicious! Then we were off again. We had a pretty nice climb up the Blue Mesa which was a bit rough but we also had a 4 mile downhill that was crazy. But because of the winds I actually had to peddle downhill quite a bit. So we stopped right out side the small town of Cimarron, CO and had lunch. The lunch was pretty good. The man there told us we would have a pass that was about 4 miles long. I was very disheartened by this and not looking forward to it. So after eating lunch and drinking our Mt.Dew we were off to our destination of Montrose,Co. The climb was not really that bad. Yes, it was tough but it was way way way better then Monarch Pass. So we stopped at 2 miles up the hill to take a break, I was really tired and would not have minded just laying down right there on the side of the road. I figured with semis and RVs passing at 60 it was not the best idea. So we kept going. At the top we took a picture and then it was downhill again 4 more miles. This time down was kinda scary for me because it was super windy and kept blowing me sideways. At the bottom I met up with Chance and we rode the last 7 miles into Montrose. Once we entered Montrose or you can call it the desert of Colorado we headed to the tourist info center. There we met Jodi and Yvonne who were helping us out. Yvonne was so kind and is allowing us to stay in her back yard tonight! What can we say the nice people just keep showing up! They enjoyed hearing about our journey! So they sent us in the direction of the library where we are now to do a few tings. Once Yvonne is done with work we will head over to her house for the evening and get up tomorrow and do it all again! Thanks for reading and please hope for a safe ride for us!and continue to support us by reading, writing and spreading the word!

Up and Over Monarch Pass....

Well today was the big day. By the big day I mean it was time to go up and over our biggest pass for the whole trip. We got up, ate some breakfast packed our bags and we were off. We were told to go on a bike path that would go to the road we needed but the bike path we took was a dead end so we had to go back. The ride from Salida out was a constant uphill not very much at first but as we got closer to Monarch pass we hit a grade of 6.5% for quite a while. This pass felt like it was never going to come to an end. It also was harder because we went up so much in elevation so our breathing was a lot harder than normal. We thought we were close to the top and we both see a sign that says "Monarch Pass Summit 6 miles." Chance said he almost cried and I am pretty sure I stopped right at that sign and maybe let a few tears come out.. So we stopped and took a break, had some gold fish and a bathroom break and then we were off. As most of you know Chance travels a lot faster then I do so he was off and I could not see him. I had been having problems with my tire leaking but it was holding air ok so we did not change it. So about 3 miles from the summit I picked up a little piece of wire and there went my tire. Chance was who knows where in front of me and I was not going to push my bike the whole way. So I ended up pushing my bike about a mile and then I tried to wave down a truck to help me out. Everyone just thought I was waving at them and they would wave back. So I walked a bit more. Finally a nice guy named Stac stopped and gave me a lift to the top which was not much further. We ran into Chance and he was just about to the summit. He told me right before that he thought he was going to die and went off the road feeling dizzy so he had to take a break just .5 miles from the top. The ride up was kinda scary at points because we had no shoulder for a lot of the time and some cars did not go around very well. But we made it to the top all 11,310 feet. So at the top Chance changed my tired while I went inside to sit down because I was not feeling well. Eventually we ate a snack of pretzel and cheese and our mt.dew. Sat around for a bit talked with some of the workers and then it was going to storm so we wanted to get off the mountain before it hit us. So we took our few pictures and then we were off. We did not get out in time half way down the rain came and it was really cold. I was shivering and I could not feel my fingers nor could I move them. So we got to the bottom of the mountain and stopped at a place to eat some real food for lunch. The morning ride was intense, to put it simply it took us 30mins to go from Salida to the beginning of the pass and 3 hours to go up the pass and 20mins to fly down it! At the bottom we ran into two guys who are riding their motorcycles on dirt roads from Mexico to Canada. They were very interesting guys and we ended up eating lunch with them and talking a bit more. From there we headed out for our destination of Gunnison, Co. The ride in the afternoon was awesome despite the rain we hit again. So we flew because it was pretty much downhill and we increased our average miles per hour from 7 to 11.6 mph which is awesome. We rolled into Gunnison right before the rain and lightening hit.. We stopped at the tourist place and asked where we could camp or stay and where a bike shop was. They told us where the campsite was which was 10 miles farther and it was quite a lot of money. So we decided to stay and the new hostel in town called Wanderlust. It is really a cool place and it is nice to shower and relax. It seems more homey then any other place you stay! We also stopped at the bike shop to pick up a tube and hit the post office to mail my huge book home. So now it is time to go grab some grub and get some rest after our 68 mile day and huge climb up Monarch Pass. Thanks to ya'll who read for the support!

Canon City to Salida, Co! 7/12/09

Well it was up with the sun today... Actually we were up before the sun and left camp as the sun was coming up. The morning was the hardest part of the day besides the wind. We had a 7 mile uphill climb up to Royal Gorge area. It was not too bad, rather gradual but still we were breathing a bit harder then normal. We made it to the top quite quickly. We then had a great downhill with spectacular views of the Rockie's as well as the Arkansas River which we rafted yesterday! The ride for most of the day followed the river so it made for pretty flat/rolling terrain! Our only enemy was the wind. It as about 9am Mountain Time and I was starving. So we stopped in Texas Creek at a small diner for lunch. I had a wrap and Chance had a burger. Sadly, they didn't have Mt.Dew so we had to have a Dr. Pepper instead, we need our caffeine to help us make it through the day. After lunch again the ride continued to be beautiful with similar terrain. There were a lot of points where we had no shoulder to ride on and an RV actually ran me off the road. Luckily, there wasn't a large drop so I only ended up on the gravel. We took small breaks here and there. About 15 miles before Salida Chance started talking with lady named Shelly and once I got there I chatted as well! She was very nice and filled our water and gave us some snacks for the road. Once we left the sky started to get darker so we knew the rain or storm was coming. We rode quickly hoping to get to Salida before the rain came down. we were pretty lucky and it only drizzled on us. We then pulled into Salida where Chance had a bad encounter with a rude man driving a truck but it's all good and worked out fine. We were told to go to Absolute Cycle once we got into town, so that is what we did. we picked up a few thins we needed and talked with one of the workers for a bit. He then told us there was no camping near by but there was a hostel we could check out. We went to the hostel and nobody was there so we went over to Amicas to eat! It was recommended by Aaron our rafting guide from Canon City. Chance and I both had pizza and it was rather good! After that we ran into a group of guys who are mountain bikers and asked us all about our journey and took a pic with us. So, we made our way back to the hostel called Simple Lodge and met the hosts. John and Julia greeted us and we come to find out they were originally from Minnesota and moved out here a couple years back! The hostel is really great and we got a good deal! It is decorated really cool and they are super friendly ( just like all people from MN!) So Chance and I showered up and headed down the road to check out a few shops, get some ice cream and some groceries. Now back to the hostel to relax for our big day tomorrow! We will be going over our biggest pass tomorrow called Monark pass which is roughly 11,000 feet and we will be going up hill for about 15 miles or so with a nice down hill! Wish us luck and continue to pray for good weather! Thanks for all of your support! We are looking to have Colorado behind us in just a couple days here!

Canon City Break Day! 7/11/09

Day of Adventure!! Today we woke up ready to white water raft. The amazing company we chose to raft with was the Whitewater Adventure Outfitters otherwise known as WAO!! So we made our way down the the office where they were so hospitable yet again and were very accomodating. We met a guy from Wisconsin who was on a month break from work and riding his motorcycle around to many different places. He was quite interested and again very proud of us for our bike ride! We met our guide Aaron the night before and were looking forward to getting in the boat. I have rafted before but this was a first for Chance and it was great to see the excitement before, during and after the trip. So we loaded the bus and headed for Big Horn Sheep Canyon to start our white water adventure. We got in the boat and we were off! Aaron was a great guide and we all worked as a team to successfully get down the river. In the morning we got to stop at one point and get in the water no boat and white water swim if that's what you want to call it! That was pretty cool! I kinda hit a rock though and it pushed me under water, but it's ok I was pretty thirsty and the water was cold! Then it was time to take a break and eat some lunch. The food was delicious and really hit the spot. So, we signed up for the all day trip and so we still had half the trip to go. The last part of the trip was throught The Royal Gorge!! The sights and rapids were simply amazing. We had a few close calls with falling out of the boat, I guess the tow Dougs liked to try and get Chance out of the boat but he stayed strong and kept himself in the boat. Then my turn, we came up on one larger rapid and it pretty much popped me up and almost out but because of my super strength I stayed in the boat:) Then the trip came to an end! We were both shrivled up prunes but had a BLAST!!! We got back to the WAO headquarters and talked with our guide for a bit. He then invited us out to get a cold drink with him and some of the other guides! So he was super nice drove us there and back! They are all very cool people! Thank you Kathy and Tony at WAO and Aaron for being a great guide and letting us keep our lives and for everything else you did for us!! If anyone wants to raft in Colorado let us know cause WAO was an amazing outfitter!! It was then time to clean up make some dinner. Again, it was too hot to sit in our tent so we sat on some chairs to read and write journals. Night Night from there.

Colorado Springs to Canon City.. 7/10/09

The morning was wonderful. We woke up with cooler weather and ready to ride. Jerry was eating breakfast with us in the morning and we said our goodbyes and we were off. The first bit of the ride was pretty nice, a lot downhill with slight inclines here and there. We went past Fort Carson on our way out and stopped at the grocery store to eat a sammy before we hit the road to Canon. Oh yes, I forgot to mention but I bet you all already would know, we had nice head wind again today. When I say nice I mean very mean and strong. So it was into the beginning range on the Rockies so that means more up hill and for longer periods of time. Now for Chance it was good for him because on the downhills he flew down them but for me, the stupid wind just tired to push me back up the hill so going down hill was actually very tough for me as I had to peddle quite hard to try and catch Chance. But all in all it was ok and not too difficult. Eventually we pull into the town called Penrose, CO to fill up on cold water and take a short break before out last 11 miles into Canon City, Co. While we were outside a nice family from Missouri came up to talk with us and were very happy with the adventure we decided to take on, they even asked to get a picture with us which in a way was odd but also very cool! So we had finished our snacks and it was time to go out in the sun and wind to Canon. We were very hungry so we stopped at the first food joint we ran into and that was Chilis. It was pretty good, the server gave me the wrong food, but that's ok. After dinner we made our way to Wally World (Walmart) to get some snacks and beverages for the night time. The rafting company that we were going to be rafting with the following day was ever so kind. Kathy and Tony allowed us to camp on their property and it was nice to chat with them and some of the guides while we were there. We then said our good byes and set up camp. This night was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo hot, we were sweating in the tent and it was almost unbearable, but we stuck it out and it finally cooled down later in the evening and made for much more comforatable sleeping.