USA-Ride Diary

Wow - it feels like a long time since we have been able to get on here and put up some updates! We have come a long way since we last wrote, and have also climbed a lot of feet. We have taken in some truly incredible sights too. The scenery here in the Rockies has been / is far too difficult to describe. We took a side tour to the Black Canyon, and that was incredible. The biggest shock that we have had since being up here in the mountains is the cold weather in the morning. It has been a case of layering up with thermals and fleece, particularly on the downhill stretches. Some of the uphills have been lasting the best part of 40 miles…so once we get to the top, the next part is where the fun begins!
We have also had our first ‘issue’ with the locals…while travelling through one of the canyons to Salida, Colorado, Ben was hit by the wing mirror of a truck as it tried to pass needlessly close! When expressing his displeasure with the driver, the brake lights slammed on, and out jumped the driver, exceptionally angry that an Englishman should utter such words in his country! Lets just say words were had, in both directions, before the bike was remounted and the journey continued.! Some of the drivers really are crazy!
However…now that we are in to the mountains, and indeed making good progress through them, we feel like we are somewhat making good ground. We were very impressed with the effort when we saw on a map at the Continential Divide exactly how far across we have come to date…having said that - there are still plenty of miles and plenty of mountains to come!