Deby the unstopable

September 9th/09 - Durango, Colorado
Mileage: 144.26 km
Total mileage: 2387 km
Ride time: 7:21 hrs

Staying at the Super 8 Hotel tonight. We got into Durango at dusk and started asking about campgrounds, but no one could help us. Funny, you live in a city all your life, but don't know where the campgrounds are.

Bicycle touring is always a challenge. So much of what you need to know depends on local information, or lack thereof. We cycled around Durango for a while (beautiful place) and then as it darkened, got off the road before our untimely demise. Gets dark faster and faster the further south you get.

Leaving Dove Creek this morning you could tell the farming improved eastward. Probably more rain and for sure a better irrigation network. The hills rolled by and the shoulders widened. Nice riding. The sleeping Ute mountains loomed up to the south as we neared Cortez and the La Plata mountains could be seen growing in front of us as we continued eastward.

We had lunch in a park at Cortez. Peanut butter and honey sandwiches, you can never get enough. As we ate I could see the clouds gathering. It looked as though our pleasant day was going to involve some hardship before the day was done. I hoped that we could make it through the La Plata mountains before the storm came.

We left Cortez and just before getting to Mancos the winds began. We struggled into Mancos and the pass in front of us was totally obscured by rain. We procrastinated a bit at Mancos and then made the decision to continue. After all, how bad could it be.

The climb began, the rains swirled and the winds roared. Pushing forward at a slow rate I thought my speedo was going to start going backwards any second. There was little relief from the elements and we pushed forward like a couple of canoeists going upstream.

Finally, soaked to the bone and suffering from the initial stages of hypothermia I made a crucial decision. One of us was going to survive. Knowing that a service station was only 14 kms away I bolted. Up the pass, through the intensifying gail, against all odds I made it. Teeth uncontrollably chattering I pulled into the Oasis of warmth and coffee. Ten minutes later Deby stumbled in the door, soggy and expressionless stating nothing except "I need food".

We had coffee and sugared up and began to come back to reality. The next assault from the elements was to come shortly.

As Deby was getting ready, I spoke with a guy inside the station. He told me that if we were heading to Durango to dress warm for the rest of the ride. He said that from the station to Durango was 11 miles straight down. I was jubilant. I went outside and told Deby what the guy had said. Deby looked at me with that same expressionless face and simply said, "he's lying!" She started out and I never saw here again for 11 miles.

The descent was fantastic. I could feel the air warm foot by foot as I dropped to the valley floor. When I met up with Deby in Durango we were both warm, dry and comfortable (so glad I was wrong and the guy wasn't lying!!!).

Things always get better and so ended another perfect day.