DAY 38
Hot Sulphur Springs, CO to Walden, CO
How many days is too many days without showering? Or how many days is too many days to wear the same sweaty bike shorts? It's a complicated answer. Well, if you have two pairs of bike shorts, you wear a pair then put them in your magical panniers and don't take them out until a day later. They're cleaner than when they went in the panniers the day earlier, right? But seriously, we need a shower and a place to do laundry... Badly. After putting in big miles the last few days, today's plan and ultimate goal is to complete a respectable 61 miles into Walden. There we can clean ourselves and our stand-on-there-own, sweat laced clothing.
Hot Sulphur Springs, CO to Walden, CO
How many days is too many days without showering? Or how many days is too many days to wear the same sweaty bike shorts? It's a complicated answer. Well, if you have two pairs of bike shorts, you wear a pair then put them in your magical panniers and don't take them out until a day later. They're cleaner than when they went in the panniers the day earlier, right? But seriously, we need a shower and a place to do laundry... Badly. After putting in big miles the last few days, today's plan and ultimate goal is to complete a respectable 61 miles into Walden. There we can clean ourselves and our stand-on-there-own, sweat laced clothing.
 Becky not completely convinced that starting the days ride in freezing rain is a good idea |  |
 Riding into the storm |  |
Following the creek up the pass
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During a traumatically cold wet morning Becky exclaims "Keith, I just want to say, I don't think what we are doing is very safe." Noted we continue on. Two hours later the clouds part, the roads dry and the temperature warms. We're left with a near perfect day. 30 miles in, at the top of Willow Creek Pass, me and the guys begin to hint at going just a little further than our planned stopping point of Walden today. I was fully joking, but still immediately greeted with hostility from Becky. She didn't find any of our jokes humorous. She had been bullied into riding extra miles too many days in a row and was not amused at our playing at her expense. The truth is we all needed a short day to allow our bodies time to rest and recover. That and to shower and do laundry as well.
Willow Creek Pass
Rolling into Walden by 1:30, it was a good feeling to know that one, we didn't have to sit our soar bums on our bike seats again today. Two, that there was a laundromat in town, so we didn't have to hand wash our clothes like usual. And three, the town pool offered showers. Two out of three isn't bad. The pool was closed for the day, no showers. If you put clean clothes on a dirty body, does it make you feel clean? Answer... Yes!
Turned out to be a beautiful day!
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Cramped, but free camping at the Walden city park
Stats:
Miles: 64.13
Average speed: 11.4 mph
Max speed: 35.6 mph
Odometer: 2610 miles
Miles: 64.13
Average speed: 11.4 mph
Max speed: 35.6 mph
Odometer: 2610 miles
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