Oh no, not another Dillon on the map.
It was a chilly morning. When I started it was 42 degrees outside. I had to stop to put on cold weather gear because I was so cold. I wore my cold weather gear for the first 27 miles to Kremmling, CO. This is the first time that I rode west since I rode from Portland, OR to Astoria, OR. For the most part this section of roadway parallels the headwaters of the Colorado River. Yes it is the same river that carved the Grand Canyon in AZ and peters out before it reaches the Mexican border.
From Kremmling it was a sharp left turn to go back south. At this point the traffic picked up. It was mainly people returning to Denver from a weekend in the mountains. So traffic was heavy. At one point I missed my turn. I noticed a SUV pull over and a guy get out of the SUV and they guy flagged me to stop. The first words out of is mouth was “Young man, I am a retired police officer and I advise you to go back and get on Old Highway 30 because there is no shoulder on this narrow road.” Old Highway 30 and CO 9 go on opposite sides of Heeny Lake. One is for through traffic and the other is for locals. I missed the turn. My maps showed that I was supposed to turn onto Old Highway 30 but it was not well marked. This guy also told me that he was going to ride part of Old Highway 30 on his bicycle. I took this guy’s advice and went back less than 1/2 a mile to get back onto my route.
The route was bumpy but had very little traffic. I did meet the retired police office riding his bike and he turned around and rode with me for 6 miles. Tim, the retired police officer, used to patrol this part of the state when he was active but before moving to Colorado he was a police officer in Detroit. He thought he landed on a different planet when he moved to Colorado more than 30 years ago. When Old 30 and CO 9 came together we said goodbye and once again I thanked Tim for getting me off of CO 9 where there was not a shoulder. Soon after entering CO 9 the shoulder returned and stayed all the way to Silverthorne.
My plan is to stay two nights in Dillon which is 19 miles from Breckinridge. I spent two nights in a place called Dillon in Montana already. It is just a coincidence. In Silverthorne I had to make a pit stop at hardware store to get some screws. One of my panniers was coming apart because one day earlier I lost a screw. Good thing I had extra straps to hold them together.
My home for the next two nights is a cheap hotel, but actually pretty nice one with indoor pool and hot tub. It is also close to an REI where I need to make some purchases.
Today’s stats: total mileage 70.5 miles; average speed 12.7 mph; max speed 32.6 mph; elevation gain 2825 feet; elevation loss 1929 feet.
Once again, thanks Tim!