Aurora to Conifer to Buena Vista

Yesterday I said goodbye to Paul, Jen, and Scott and rode off towards the mountains alone again. I got a late start around noon and only made it as far as Conifer, about 40 miles away (but a few thousand feet higher I think). Turns out Conifer isn't much of a town and doesn't have any ordinary hotels and no campgrounds at all. The sun was going down and I was beat tired, so I stopped at a fire station and asked if I could pitch my tent around back. They said yes! Then just after I got done setting up my tent, one of the firemen poked his head out a back window and invited me to join them for dinner. How nice! The spagetti dinner was very tasty, and while eating I had the pleasure of watching them make fun of a fire-fighting movie that was on cable. One thing I learned was that in a car fire, the gas tank exploding is not a real danger - however, the shock-absorbers in the front and rear bumpers can explode and shoot their pistons 100 yards. So next time you are near a car on fire, get far away. :)

Today was a great day. I went over 3 mountain passes (Kenosha, Red Hill, and Trout Creek) on US 285 and covered about 91 miles. The distance surprised me - it was easier than I thought. The first 2 passes were pretty tough, but then from Fairplay to Buena Vista was 36 miles of mostly downhill with a tailwind. I was asking myself what I had done to deserve such a great situation. The scenery was gorgeous, the shoulder was wide, the pavement smooth, downhill, and a tailwind to boot! There was a small bit of uphill before Trout Creek Pass of course, but no more than a couple miles. Then the downhill from the pass into Buena Vista was amazing. I could see the "collegiate peaks" (Mt. Princeton, Mt. Yale, etc) across the valley as I was descending the curvy road at 30-40 mph. Awe. Some.