Camped last night on Kebler Pass rd where I stayed lst trip. Had view of peaks to west, lightning moved in and improved the scenery. A bit of rain fell. Nodded of after 9:00. Great night’s sleep. Drug my feet leaving in AM to allow rain to evaporate. Sunny day but chilly, perfect for grind of road climb up to ST for trail 401.
I parked @ lower TH and pedaled up the road. Liking the asthma med as I can power pedal and still have some breathing comfort. passed truck w/ UT plates, guy was gearing up to go. he caught me @ the pass and complimented me on my climbing prowess. He is from ST George & knows OTE in Hurricane. From pass the ST climbs almost another 1,000′ before dropping traversing the mountain sides. Trail is non tech. What makes it outstanding are the wild flowers and views down stream. Just gorgeous. Rain forecast didn’t happen but biting black flies took up the slack. Had a horse fly bite thru my glove. Flies were so bad @ parking lot that i drove back into town w/o changing clothes.
Shower @ Hostel and life is back on track.
Walked up Main st again and stopped in @ Big Al’s that is a Turner dealer. Gattis, a wrench id’ed me. he knows Wes from Sycamore Cycles in brevard and wants a Pisgah jersey. Visited awhile. Owner rdies a Spot, gattis is scheming to get one & Loise has one on order. Horray for Turner! Have Formula brake pads.
Gattis gave me a ride idea that is between Gunnison & Monarch Crest. Grace is driving to Kansas City, MO for the night. I meet her different gang Sat at monarch Crest for a ride. These people are not her inner circle gang. This means driving back east for the crest then retracing my path west to UT. Grace is spending about 3 weeks up high conditioning for Leadville.
New ride idea will work. Tomorrow is Doctor park monster road ride for 45 min downhill. Then drive towards Monarch for Fri ride @ White Pine.
Big mountains w/ bare peaks. Still small patches of last winter’s snow. Wild flowers in bloom. Yesterday I lived in the aroma of blooming lupines. Today they were not as smelly noticeable. I saw some Columbine which was the unknown flower I saw @ Winter Park.
Crested Butte is up there, around 9,000′ w/ big mtns around.
Drove over to Taylor River for DR Park ride & stayed in FS XG. Smokey fires.
Nice pic.