Day 45, Hot Sulphur Springs to Frisco, CO

Miles – 62

Miles From Start/To Finish – 1,954/2,274

Ave Riding Speed – 3-27 mph

Hours Start to Finish – 7.25

Weather – Mostly Cloudy and 84

Kim and I woke up from at 6:45am in our king-sized bed occupying most of our non-a/c and rustic tung and groove motel room with the fan providing great background noise for a great night’s sleep. I started the coffee with the motel 4-cupper and Kim walked across the street for some cream with coffee. She returned empty handed. The gas station was not open. She settled on a cup from the motel pot with the powdered creamer and sugar to go with her leftover pizza for breakfast. I’m a fan of leftovers, especially cold pizza for breakfast.

We rolled out of town on Hwy 40 headed west for a short spell. We immediately zigzagged through a rock walled canyon with the Colorado River down 40 feet to the right and the train track right next to the river. The route opened up to sage brush prairie with the foothills off to the sides. The road shoulder was great and the traffic was light. We passed through Parshall 5-miles up and rode into Kremmling 12-miles farther. We stopped at the Kum’n Go for some yogurt and a banana. We were standing next to our bikes enjoying an abbreviated breakfast snack and Kim asked a lady, who was walking to her car, if there were any services on the way to Frisco, our destination 50 miles up. She said there would be nothing so we should stock up on water. She also said the road heading there had no shoulder, so be careful. We thanked her and appreciated her advice.

Heading out of Kremmling we hooked up with Hwy 9 heading south. There was a little shoulder for a few miles then we had to ride the white line. Traffic was picking up and drivers were giving us some room. 13-miles up we approached the Green Mountain Reservoir. I knew the route was supposed to take us around the south side of the reservoir and through Heeney, but we were on the north side. I rechecked my map and somehow, I missed a turnoff to Hwy 30. Backtracking is out of the question as I feel like they’re wasted miles. I’m also the guy that doesn’t ask for directions. The route we were supposed to take met back up with Hwy 9 about 8miles up. By this time of the morning traffic had picked up, heavily, which made the no-shoulder, white line riding, road pretty treacherous on some of the switchback loops. We pulled over every few miles just to regain our nerve and looked for a traffic opening and continued on.

Hwy 9 was a steady climb, with a few humps, but we powered through them until we reached Silverthorne. Coming into Silverthorne we knew we were in ski country. There were some pretty beautiful neighborhoods along the hillside to the west and the east, each with their own entrance. We hopped on a bike path and Kim mentioned that she thought it would take us all the way to Breckenridge tomorrow. Off to the right Kim spotted a Target store. She’s been without her computer for a week due to her charger going bad. We stopped in and $80 later, she was back in business. While Kim was in the store, I was checking our maps to see how we could get on the bike path heading to Frisco. It happened to be one block further where we took a left to get across the Blue River and onto the Blue River Trail.

It was like riding through a maze to get us up to the height of the Dillon Reservoir, but we appreciated not being on the highway. Think of Lombard Street in San Francisco, to envision the path climb, only steeper and longer. We finally rose to the top of the dam to a wonderful yellow lined paved bike path and rode along the edge of the reservoir. The view to the west and a few hundred feet down was Silverthorne. Adults and children, were enjoying the views by walking or biking. The path along the reservoir took us the 9 miles into Frisco. It was beautiful and a refreshing.

When we reached the opportunity to take a right off the path and into Frisco we rolled through a neighborhood and happened to be within a block of our Motel, the Summit Inn. We checked in at 3:45pm and the manager was kind enough to put us on the first floor so we wouldn’t have to carry our bikes up the steps. We dropped our bags and headed across the highway to either pick up some groceries or sit down for an early dinner at one of the many restaurants. As we walked through the parking lot of our motel I noticed a bike shop. I headed in there while Kim checked out a distillery themed restaurant next door. I walked in and asked if the place was open in the morning as I wanted to pump up our tires with a real pump and pressure gauge and we also need some electrolyte tablets. The manager said they open at 8am, so that will be our first stop in the morning.

Kim returned, reporting that the distillery wouldn’t work for us, so we walk across the highway and strolled through the deli at Safeway and decided to pass. There was a Mexican food themed restaurant around the corner that sounded like a refreshing change of pace and it was recommended by the bike shop manager. It did not disappoint. We split a margarita and Kim ordered some tacos and I had a taco salad. Dinner, including the chips and salsa was spectacular.

On the walk back to the motel we stopped at the Safeway again for yogurt, bananas and microwave popcorn. The microwave popcorn fills a void, but it’s nothing like mine that I make at home. I make popcorn at least every other night, especially in the winter. Sometimes Kim and I will have popcorn for dinner. Of course, we’re hungry later.

When we got back to our room Kim tested out her new computer charger. Bingo! It did the trick and she’s back in business. Kim has a little headache tonight and hit the sack early. Could be from not drinking enough water or the altitude. We’re currently at an elevation of 9,097 feet.

Tomorrow we’re heading 20 miles up to Hoosier Pass, at an elevation of 11,542 feet, riding through Breckinridge halfway there. Should be quite a ride as we hit a milestone for the adventure. Hoosier pass will be the highest point on the TransAmerica Trail.  

Kim heard from someone on Facebook yesterday that the Kare 11 news story in Minneapolis, about lobular breast cancer, the Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance, our fundraiser and our adventure, was picked up by WBIR 10 in Knoxville, TN. Kim messaged her back to verify it and sure enough our story made it to Knoxville! Pretty cool to raise awareness across the country and we couldn’t be happier. We hope the trend continues!