Day 21 We Rest, Chris Visits

Caption: This is the route down from Monarch Pass, note the winding road we rode.

Today (Saturday) It was really good to sleep in. 7:30 seemed so late. I ate at the hotel breakfast bar, which was pretty minimal, but after breakfast out for so many days, a bowl of hot oatmeal and cup of coffee was more than ok. Then it was time to wash my bike, clean the drive train, and lubricate. The woman at the desk was perplexed when I asked her if there was a spigot somewhere outside the hotel that we could use to set up a bike wash station. She had no idea and went off to find the maintenance man. Jeff was washing his bike and told me there was something on the tire that he couldn't scrub off. It was the cords! He'd worn through the rubber.

Around 11:30, Chris came rolling in on his motorcycle. My cycle friends were all happy to meet him and commented on the familial resemblance. Chris suggested that, to get around, I bicycle and he follow behind on the motorcycle, but I had a better idea. I just wore my bicycle helmet. Him in front with long pants, a protective jacket, leather gloves, and full face mask helmet. Me in back in shorts, a windbreaker, and a bicycle helmet. Sorry, no photos were taken. Chris and I went to a steel foundry museum, which was very interesting and made me glad that I didn't live back then. (Unless I could have been John Rockefeller who owned a majority share. Living back then would be ok if i were Rockefeller.) Then we went to see the Indiana Jones movie, which was, well, amusing. Harrison Ford is a bit too old for the role, many of the scenes were obviously on a set, and all of the left over special effects from the first two Indiana Jones movies were taken out of the box to use in this one. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Then we had dinner, and Chris sped off to Denver. It was really great just to have some time with Chris, and even more so when I'd been away from home for so long.

Important note: I may not post every day. We have a lot of long rides coming up and if the choice is between an hour of blogging and an hour of sleep, Sleep will win out.

Tomorrow we load at 5 a.m. Up at 4:30, eat after loading, hopefully on the road by 6:30.