Magnificant

It gets cold above 8,000 feet. And boy was it cold when we woke up in Guffey. I reluctantly crawled out of my sleeping bag, threw on everything warm that I had, ate, packed, filled up water, and rode. Downhill. It got colder. By the bottom of the hill that took us back to the transam, the thermometer on my dad's bike was reading in the 30s. We stopped briefly to warm up our hands and then began pedaling. Uphill. Things warmed up. We got out of the shadows of the mountains, and things started feeling nice. We climbed to the top of the pass, and it was by far one of the best moments we've had out on the trail (others include the descent into Damascus and Tom's hospitality in Crozet). We had been pedaling pretty hard, and to get to a pass where everything opened up and we could see the snowy peaks laid out before us was amazing. It's one of those things that words can't describe and one of those things that you can't ever forget. Just me and my dad at the top of a 9thou+ pass after 2500 miles. We went over another little bump on the altitude map, and then coasted down to Hartsel. The coast was lovely. Still cool, and we've gotten further from the dessert. The grasses that fill the pseudo-valleys constantly look dew-covered, and so the bases of the hills in the distance looked like they were fringing an eerie green lake or a mist-covered lawn. Gorgeous and serene. There hasn't been much traffic lately (specifically from the end of the raft companies outside of Canon City to Alma on the south/east side of Hoosier Pass). In Hartsel, we chose the wrong place to get a second breakfast. It was an ok looking restaurant (wood exterior, in between a saloon and an icecream shop), but the lady there was a pain. She wasn't flat out rude, but she wasn't far from it either (and she refused to refill our water bottles). Water really isn't that costly, and our bottles don't hold that much. Growl. From Hartsel, we went slightly uphill through a valley to Fairplay (surrounded by snow-capped peaks). We ate again, spent 2 minutes getting out of the rain, and cleared Alma shortly. Right outside of Alma (at 10,500ft or so), we started the 4 mile climb up to Hoosier Pass (awesome). We've continued to see other transam-ers (and a ton of recreational cyclists - good job Colorado) and at least had an idea of what the climb would be like. It really wasn't extraordinarily tough - especially compared to some of the Kentucky hills. At long last, we reached the highest point of our trip at 11,542/11,539 feet (depending on which sign you believe). Hoosier Pass was great, though the views on either side were slighly better than those at the top. We stopped for an orange and to call various family folk who were planning on visiting (none of whom thought we would actually make Breckinridge) and sat back for the 11 miles downhill into Breck. Once we crossed the divide, it seemed to get slightly more humid, and the creeks seem a little larger (+ with more whitewater). We got to our destination in the early afternoon, checked in to a B&B, got some dinner, met with some extended family, and slept. Or at least tried. Though the altitude hadn't affected me thus far, I found it difficult to get to sleep and woke up not being able to breath. Turned out to be the feather bedspread and the good-smelling laundry detergent, so I ended up sleeping on the couch with a thin quilt in my not-clean (but not horribly dirty) clothes. From Guffey to Breckinridge was a wonderful 69-mile ride. We also saw the Adventure Cycling support van (for a supported tour that started May 14 who we last saw in Carbondale, IL). We've been leading this group for the last few states, and to quote my dad, "I think we're doing a damn good job to stay ahead of those fully-supported weenies."
Today, we left Breckinridge relatively late, took bike paths to Silverthorne (18 mile ride), and spent the day with family we haven't seen in a while. Though the bike paths weren't my favorite (hills, bumps, wobbly people), it was absolutely wonderful to get to see my aunt and cousins. We hung out and went to the outlets nearby. Twas good. Tomorrow we go to Hot Sulpher Springs, and from there to Rawlins, we're pretty locked in to certain towns(not many services/places to sleep). Within 3 days, we should be in Wyoming. I kinda like Colorado. Wouldn't mind staying here, but there are people to see and places to go (i.e. Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, Glacier, etc).