Days 28-31: A Time of Renewal 

With my bicycle carefully stowed in the back on a rented Subaru, I took the opportunity to spend a couple of days in hotels.  During this period, I had the chance to tend to serious bike maintenance, including pulling the brake pads.  I couldn’t be more pleased with the performance of the bike.

This downtime also gave me a chance to allow my sun-baked and cracked skin a much needed break. 

After talking with Kim at the Pronghorn hotel, I was able to crack the code on barbers in Rawlins. I found out that most folks in Rawlins get their hair done by appointment only. I got a decent haircut from Rich at the Back Country Barber Shop and Salon, the one place that takes walk-ins.

While walking around the neighborhood of the Pronghorn Motel, I noticed that deer wander the town like stray cats wander the big city.  I enjoyed very close contact with two very large deer while working on my bike in the parking lot.  They just wandered over to check me out and continued on their way.

I had other close encounters with deer while driving on the highway, slowing to try to discern their intentions.  When their intentions weren’t clear, I politely honked the horn. They often shot me that deer-in-the-headlights look but seemed to be savvy enough to wait until I passed before they crossed the highway.

While recovering in Rawlins, I enjoyed dinners at Four Season Chinese Restaurant (Hunan beef) and Big City Bar and Grill (the largest chimichanga imaginable–and, yes, I ate the whole thing).

My metrics for June are as follows: 1,187 miles; 157 hours on the bike; 57,600 calories burned; 49,400 feet of climbing; max speed 44 mph.

After a couple of days, I got tired of staying in hotels (I did enjoy watching old movies on the Turner Classic Movies network).  I decided to find the highest campground I could: Denver Creek Campground, which is at 8,800 feet.  Before proceeding to Denver to surrender the car, I stayed there two glorious nights.

During my drive to the high mountains, I passed numerous TranAm’rs going both east and west and west to east.  At the Colorado sign, two westbound touring cyclists had stopped, clearly showing some exasperation with the sustained 25 mph headwinds they were battling. Most of the westbound TranAm’rs who I encountered complained about the headwinds coming across.

Here’s me at the Colorado line:

Even though I was behind the wheel of a car, my habits reflected the perspective of a bicyclist.  On SR 25 in Wyoming, there are no shoulders.  Whenever I approached cyclists heading my direction, I gave them a lot of room to maneuver.  In one case, a group of cyclists were approaching the crest of a steep hill and I couldn’t see the oncoming traffic, I slowed to their speed and put on my hazard lights.  After clearing the crest, I passed them and they waved in acknowledgement of the courtesy.

When I arrived at Denver Creek Campground, I quickly chose a site, knowing that campgrounds were filling fast with the approaching July 4th weekend.

I spent an afternoon enjoying the wildlife: black-billed magpies (very large and apparently carnivorous birds based on my observing them on the roads feasting on small roadkill), broadtail hummingbirds (very curious birds with iridescent red streaks on their neck), snowshoe hares, and Wilson Warblers (very striking yellow birds).  Ground squirrels and chipmunks were everywhere.

After the sun dipped behind the mountain, I built a fire in the fire pit from wood that I scavenged from the adjacent hills.  The temperatures quickly dropped.  Here’s a picture of my campsite:

Here’s the Subaru I rented with my bike and gear stowed in the back:

During my first night of camping at this high elevation, the temperatures were forecast to go into the 30’s.  When I woke up before daybreak, the exterior of my tent was encrusted in about 1/4 inch of ice.  I must be getting used to the cold because I spent a good deal of time that night star gazing, seeing my first shooting star of the trip.  I thought that seeing the cosmos at 8,200 feet was breathtaking; this night’s observation had that beat by far!

During the second night, the temperatures dipped into the 20’s.  Again, I was dazzled by the stars, particularly the cloud-like band of the Milky Way.  Despite the bitter cold, I treasured this special opportunity to camp in the high mountains.

I awoke to another very cold morning at 0630. By the time I had secured camp at 0730, the temperature had only risen to 30 degrees.

Right before I was ready to leave, a large family in three vehicles showed up. A gentlemen asked me if I was leaving. He smiled with delight when I told him yes.  As I drove to Breckenridge to drop of my bike and gear, and then on to Denver to turn in the vehicle, I noted that every campsite was busting at the seams.  I was glad that I decided to get to Denver Creek Campground early and choose to stay for two days.

After dropping the bike off, I drove down into the Denver Basin to turn in the rental vehicle and meet my wife.  After spending almost 30 days in rural areas, I was a bit taken aback by the vastness of the Denver sprawl.