touring two: Colorado!

As we biked through Cortez we quickly came across the Kokopelli Bike shop. It looked like a really nice shop and we made it our first stop. We looked around for a while and found some replacement tubes. It was nice to finally be in a real bike shop as we have not seen one since San Diego. I got some warmer cycling clothes to prepare for our now fairly northern route. We talked with Keith at the bike shop about what route we may take from Cortez since we were still not sure which way we wanted to go. We had the option of staying on 160 through New Mexico or following one of the Adventure Cycling maps through more of Colorado. Being a native of Colorado, Keith thought that we would enjoy staying in Colorado, and the more we heard about it the more we started to agree. We asked where a good place to stay would be and Keith made a few recommendations for that too, and then offered to let us stay with him. He said that he had plenty of room and a studio. The other people in the shop indicated that we would be comfortable. We thought about this and decided to do some shopping at Wal-Mart and get a snack at McDonald's while considering it. We headed back to the bike shop and decided to take him up on it. His place was just a short bike ride from the shop through some very nice parts of town that we had not seen before. We made it to Keith's very nice and unique house, he showed us around, and let us know that we were welcome to camp in the yard or stay in the studio's loft, whichever we preferred. He has the cleanest and nicest bike shop as part of the studio. After getting settled, Keith took us for a tour of the surrounding areas in his classic Mercedes-Benz. It was an excellent tour and we were able to see a lot of the town that we would have otherwise left undiscovered. We made it to a stunning view of the McPhee reservoir - the second largest in Colorado. After the trip we had dinner, and Keith showed us his bike collection - we were in awe. We had a nice evening discussing bike adventures and confirmed that we probably did not want to bike to Mesa Verde on our loaded bikes.

The next morning we packed up and had some delicious coffee (we had a most excellent host and a very nice time). Things could not have been more enjoyable. After hot showers, a bed to sleep in, and a relaxing morning, we were ready to see what else Colorado had to offer.

Chris having coffee with Herman:

View of the snow-covered mountians in the distance (for now, at the start of our trip):

After a couple hours of biking we made it to Dolores, CO. It was a really charming little Colorado town. We spotted the "Burger Depot," and though we did not really feel like we need a break, it smelled too good to pass up!

We were right! They have really delicious burgers and fries!

After heading out, we continued our course along the Dolores and San Juan rivers. Though we were steadily climbing upwards, the scenery was so beautiful that we did not even seem to mind. It was fantastic to bike along water, mountains, and giant pine and birch forests.

We arrived at the Rico hotel after our beautiful ride. It was originally a Miner's lodge about a hundred years ago, a very charming place to stay. We checked into our very small (but very comfortable) room, and walked around town to find someplace to eat. We found the Dew South cafe, and enjoyed a delicous New Orleans styled dinner and desert (with home made chocolate macadamia coconut ice cream!). Coincidentially, we ran into two other people that were also biking across the country. We had been very close to meeting them, but never got to talk with them, since when we were on the Reservation. They were traveling with their son and his girlfriend, who were providing support while following in a car. It was very nice to talk with them. Below is our hotel.

Here is a snapshot of our elevation profile. The first point is where we started, then we accidently shut off the GPS program, but then the course picks up again in Dolores after we stopped for burgers. We climbed over 3,000 feet with almost no flat or descending sections. The trip was about 50 miles long.