Distance 43 miles, average speed 6.8mph
Oh dear, Dirtbaby had a few too many liquid carbs the day before….. her face was now as pale as her white cycling shirt today! When we look back, we realize that between us, we drank a six pack of beer, two additional pints of beer, a bottle of wine plus 2 additional glasses of wine and 3 margaritas over the course of the day before! It’s never easy riding with a hangover, but even worse when you have to go up a 24 mile climb up over a 10,800 ft pass! Still, you gotta keep moving, so with Sherman spinning in more ways than one, we set off slowly out of Salida. A few miles out, Numb Stuff comments that his back brake does not appear to be working properly, and he wonders if the disc pad is worn. As luck would have it, we see a bike rental and shuttle service on the other side of the road, so pop over there to see if they have a mechanic who can help. Here we meet Matt and his dog. Matt is a keen cycle tourer, who has cycled in USA South America and Europe, so is only too pleased to help. He finds all that is required is to tighten up the screws on his brakes. Numb Stuff doesn’t use his brakes all that often, but it is nice to know that when he does, he will stop!
After the repair stop, it is a 5 mile cycle up the paved road towards Poncha Pass, then a right turn onto gravel, followed by 1 4 mile climb to the top of Marshall Pass. Just like Boreas Pass a few days ago, this gravel road follows the path of the old railroad built in the 1880s, as can be evidenced by the old railroad ties that can still be found along the road. Numb Stuff picks up one as road booty.
The gradient is pretty consistent, it is just a case of chugging along and making sure you keep in to the side of the road, as there is a lot of traffic. Dirtbaby feels terrible but manages to struggle along.
Finally, we hit the top (Continental Divide crossing #16), to be greeted by a family who give us a bottle of iced water each (thanks!) and unusually, a rather tame fox, who looks like he has seen better days! He is not at all fazed by Numb Stuff’s attempts to take his photo, and even obligingly changes his pose several times.
Thankfully, the road is all downhill to our camp tonight, which is in a proper campsite with showers. Here, we find When Harry met Larry, and also Steve, who have been here since 2pm (well they did set off at 6am!). We take advantage of the restaurant here, then take an early night as there is rain forecast for the night and tomorrow morning.
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