Skies are still somewhat clear
I made it over the Rockies. Just in time. They are forecasting for snow for the next four days or so at the higher elevations.
I started the day about 35 miles from Berthoud pass (11,315′) in Granby. The forecast was for snow and winds 50+ mph starting in the afternoon. I started going at about 07:30. It was windy the whole way to the pass but at mile 20 the wind picked up. I was inching along uphill at about 4 mph in my granny gear into a 20+ mph headwind with gusts that would almost knock me over.
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I was also having problems with my GoPro camera. My memory cards keep filling up after half an hour. I went through several cards and then gave up. Somehow last time I moved my files off my memory cards it did not actually erase the cards. The cards said there was nothing on them, but I didn’t check how much free space there was. All of them only had less than a gigabyte free. I reformatted all of them in Denver.
Near Evergreen, CO
At about 11:00 at mile 28 I stopped as the wind got even stronger and I was so slow I could barely stay balanced in the gusts. I had another 7 miles and 1500′ or so to the pass. I figured I had three choices: a) continue and take two plus hours to get to the top with the wind and weather getting worse the whole time, b) go back 28 miles to Granby and get a ride the next day with the people I stayed with (they were going into Denver the next day) or maybe even get stuck there for the weekend, c) hitch. I chose C. First SUV that I put out my thumb to picked me up.
He drove me up and over the pass then to about thirty miles from where I was going. It was below freezing on the pass with massive gusts pushing his large SUV around and blowing snow. The other side of the pass (where I would have been cruising down) was pouring rain sideways. He was a wine cellar manager. If you have a private wine cellar with about 10,000 bottles or so he can help you manage it. Interesting talking to him about the business plus how he said Asia has caused some major changes to the wine market. The wine auctions in Hong Kong have the most ridiculously high prices.
After I got dropped off, I rode another 8 miles with strong headwinds and snow/rain. A massive front was coming through. A pickup truck pulled up next to me. He said, “You want a lift? There is really bad weather coming.” He dropped me off 200 feet from my friend’s place. Later that night to wind was nuts. Glad to be inside and not riding.
My second ride of the day
I plan staying the weekend and letting the front go through before heading on towards Kansas.
Start: Granby, CO
End: Littleton, CO
Today’s mileage: 36.3 miles
Total miles so far: 1421miles
Average speed: 8.7 mph
Max speed: 30.8 mph
Travel time: (07:30 to 15:15) 7.75 hours
Total travel time: 190 hours
Weather: cloudy, 35-65 F
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