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Day 4 August 16

August 16 day 4

 Everything was recharged, our electronics, our bodies, our minds. 

We pedaled out of town under vast blue skies.. it was a cool morning but looking to get into the 80s. Everyone was in great spirits again. Right after we crossed the Colorado River, we turned eastward and rode up a very gradual climb dirt road. Dale, stu, Jeff and Jim kept telling Ron and Bernhard, “now this is what our past rides have been!”

We eased our way constantly climbing up past a mirrored reservoir that seemed to wrap around the valley in all sort of directions. We stopped for a snack at a campground but the mosquitoes decided we were the snack. Our stay didn’t last long. Continuing uphill we rode looking for a place to have lunch. 

As we came down a rather steep road, at the bottom was a tree with a little white bike in it and a cooler below full of water for bikes riding the divide. Coincidentally, the owner was just getting ready to leave and turned back around to see if there was anything we needed. When we told him we were going to stop for lunch, he welcomed us up to a picnic table that he specifically shared with bicyclists. Ute Steve was his name and was full of information about the area. 

After lunch we headed skyward to Ute Pass topping out at 9500 ft elevation. 

Naturally the view from the top was of a range of the Rockies. Our downhill ride was great too!

Ron got ahold of his family and friends with spotty reception. Turns out both could meet us. 

While we were waiting, Stu had a group meeting and told us things were not going well at home. Naturally family comes first so we were very supportive of whatever he chose to do. 

Ron mentioned that his cousin was driving up from Denver (60 miles away) and would be able to give stu a lift to the airport. 

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