Buffalo Pass Campground to Del Norte, 8/9

If we were to divine the fate of our day from Daren's peanut butter and jelly sandwich... I'd be afraid, very afraid.  But-- we're not superstitious!! and it turns out we didn't need to be.  Jody gave us a lift to the start of this ride, cutting off a bunch of highway miles.  We enjoyed 4 miles of flats through a beautiful canyon before beginning a 2,000 ft. climb to Carnero Pass.  Early on Daren and I spied cyclists ahead and I suggested we try to catch them.  We sped up and caught Joe and Rhea-- a young couple from Madison, Wisconsin who are doing the ride entirely unsupported.  They started a few days ahead of us at the Canadian border and have ridden straight through to arrive at the same point we did on this glorious day.  We rode with them the rest of the day-- they seemed glad for the company.  Joe was impressively hard core-- he regaled us with details of his hikes along the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and most recently the Continental Divide Trail.  He's only 26!  He and Rhea had never mountain biked before, and Rhea had only done 2 long rides before embarking on the Continental Divide mountain biking trip (she's a mere 21 years!).  Their cycling and camping gear was condensed to less than what Jody and Daren ride with on an average day (and they're not carrying a tent, sleeping pads, sleeping bag, days of food, all the water they'll need, etc.).  Impressive youth.  

We were riding in some pretty intense heat after the climb and encountered some sand that nearly killed me (to avoid certain death I planted my calf onto my large front chain ring) and by the time we were ready for lunch, we could only find about 12 inches of shade on the side of the trail where a National Forest sign was posted.  



The end of the ride was along flat highway and we found Jody and Silas staying in a charming campground near the Rio Grande in Del Norte, CO.  Joe was having some mechanical difficulties that Daren had the tools to address, so we bid our friends adieu while they ran errands and settled into their camp-- knowing they'd drop by our camp to get help with Joe's bike after dinner.  You'll hear more about our new friends in future posts...