The mountain passes between Durango, Silverton and Ouray CO were epic. My birthday ride esp was challenging, as anticipated, the road sloping up for most of the 50 miles we rode that day. Cars squeezing past, skinny curves and vertigo-inducing drop-offs. Killer views. People leaning out the window shouting “YOU'RE CRAZY!!!!” That night we made camp at Molas Pass at 11,000 feet, the snowy, ragged mountains surrounding our little camp. We had a brownie as birthday-cake (pics will be in the photo section soon), pumped drinking water from a mountain pond (zapped it with our Steri-Pen) and watched the sun go down on a perfect day. We were pretty dirty, and our dinner was certainly less than gourmet BUT we’d just tackled a stretch of road that I’d been dreading for weeks and it just wasn’t all that bad. That’s all she wrote. 30 and stronger than ever. Slept like a rock.
The next day was easier but even more remarkable. The Million Dollar Highway into Ouray over Red Mountain Pass proved to be even more stunning. The rocks, mountains, cliffs, colors…man was it DRAMATIC! I was half riding, half gaping. Again, some crazy-ass drop offs. We mostly rode in the middle of the lane—if I have to choose between annoying a motorist and certain death, well, I choose to annoy. No guard-rails. The pic of Zach above hardly does it justice. You just feel small, you know?