HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!
On paper today's ride should have been an excellent downhill dash losing tons of altitude from Fairplay (elev ~10,000 ft) to Canon City (elev ~5300 ft) with only one minor climb over Currant Creek Pass. What I got instead was . . . wait for it . . . HEADWINDS. Not just any kind of headwinds - these were up-canyon, up-hill headwinds that had me at times in my climbing gears going downhill, sometimes as slow as 13mph.
These were demoralizing headwinds.
The girls on the other hand had an excellent day taking in local scenery and goings-on on this 4th of July.
| One final high pass in the Rockies - Currant Creek Pass at nearly 9500 feet (you can see the little ribbon of road at the middle right) |
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Chicken Fly: Guffey Colorado. The competition is executed thus: the competitor chicken is placed by the contestant inside
the back end of a mailbox affixed to said platform. Chicken egress is prevented by a large plunger placed into the breach.
The mailbox door is then opened and flight initiated by the competitor thrusting the plunger forward whereupon the chicken
flies forward. Flight distance is then carefully recorded by a panel of skilled judges.
I'm pretty sure this is all PETA-approved |
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| Another of the excellent sights in Guffey, Colorado - not sure where this paddy wagon is headed but it can't be good for the detainee |
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| Final descent into Canon City - those boomers in the distance exploded a few hours later . . . luckily we enjoyed the spectacle from inside the Whitewater Bar & Grill - margaritas in hand! |
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| A cool shot of Royal Gorge just outside of Canon City - that suspension bridge is the highest in the world at 1053 feet above the Arkansas River. You can see the river rapids WAY below. |
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