Getting used to the Colorado height would be key, I knew. That's why I decided to ride my bicycle from Denver to Durango in one week. Take it easy. Take a motel when I feel the need, sleep outside as well. Eat pancakes in the morning and hamburgers in the evening. Visit some landmarks and towns, like Pikes Peak, Salida, Hartsel, Absolute Bikes, ... and make it in time for the CTR Colorado Trail Race.
This story isn't a chronological one, I've put some pictures here that describe the week before CTR. Lot's of sunshine, big roads, and the ever changing landscape and clouds.
Enjoy!
Just above Buena Vista, sunset & sunrise from the 1st row.
Frustrated in their attempt to climb Pike’s Peak on November 27, 1806, Zebulon Pike and his party of 15 trudged on through South Park looking for the Red River, southern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase. After crossing Trout Creek Pass, the explorers came again to the Arkansas River, with food perilously low. On Christmas Eve two hunting parties shot eight buffalo, and Christmas Day was spent near the mouth of Squaw Creek (one-half mile to the south) feasting on buffalo and repairing equipment.
Early in 1807 Pike crossed into the San Luis Valley at the Great Sand Dunes and built a log stockade (reconstructed as a State Historical Monument) on the Conejos River near present La Jara, where he was taken prisoner by the Spanish.
And why is Pikes Peak called after Mr. Pikes?
Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent14,115-foot (4,302.31 m) fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, 12.0 miles (19.3 km) west by south (bearing 263°) of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The mountain is named in honor of American explorer Zebulon Pike, who was unable to reach the summit. The summit is higher than any point in the United States east of its longitude.
Just before I left I received a new shirt from Le Col. Very comfortable, excellent fit, and absorbs the salt very well.
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