What's Fred Up To Now?: Day 24 - Tuesday June 12; Guffey,CO to Fairplay, CO (48 miles)

It got pretty cold last night in my bunk house. I hardly slept at all - just couldn't get comfortable on the wooden fold down bed. It was just too narrow. This morning I put on most of my cold weather gear and still nearly froze to death the first couple of miles. I left Guffey at 6:45 AM and the first two miles were in the shadows of the adjacent mountains, including the first mile which was back down to the hill to CO9. Once I reached the open meadows where the sun was shining, it warmed quickly and after five miles I took off my cold weather gear. It was still chilly, but bearable.

It was 12 miles of steady climbing to reach Current Creek Pass at 9,404 feet then down about 400 feet then back up almost 400 feet. I'm like RJ from last Falls Southern Tier ride - once you've gained the elevation, you really hate giving it back up knowing you're going to have to gain it back again. From the pass, I could see most of the three miles down and back up on the other side. Anyway, once I reached the top of the second climb, it was a pretty sweet downhill most of the way to Hartsel. There was an abundance of wildlife on this section; elk, antelope, deer and many small critter. There were also a couple of golden eagles.

I had a nice late breakfast in Hartsel. Then it was off for the final 20 miles to Fairplay. This section was a gently climb but by noon there was a 15 mph headwind with gusts to about 25 mph. The scenery was spectacular as I was climbing to the base of the mountains that have Hoosier Pass. It was a tough go though and I was bushed by the time I arrived in Fairplay.

Tomorrow is a 12 mile climb to Hoosier Pass at 11,500 feet.

I spoke with my son-in-law tonight and the wildfire near Ft. Collins continues to rage. The current plan is for me to continue on to Laramie, WY then have someone pick me up there Saturday afternoon and drive back to Ft. Collins. That is fine with me. Leaving the TransAmerica route and going to Laramie then Ft. Collins was only a necessary way to get to Ft. Collins without having too bike down Poudre Canyon which has narrow, windy roads and is not used by many bicyclists.

A few photos from the day follow.