we headed north toward Royal Gorge. we had mixed feelings about going there as we had found out the fees to get in were just a bit on the price-gouging side. we went ahead to check it out anyway. it really seemed like a site worth visiting, so we decided to pull the trigger on the fees. dana, trying to work out a discount, ended getting us comped into the park ! sweet ! rode the tram across the gorge, and walked back across the bridge. what a spectacular sight ! we stopped for a pre-pre--pre happy hour beer and pizza to get us going for the rest of the ride.
the ride continued upward into higher elevations rather gradually. we encountered a couple of long and steady climbs of 1 to 2 miles. nothing as steep or brutal as the ozarks, but managably steady. we ended with close to 4000 feet of gain today.
since we took so long at the royal gorge, we realized we were a bit short of time, so we decided to head to guffey for food. water and a possibly a place to pitch camp. we ran into much more than we expected !
a great day, great ride, great sightseeing and finally, a FANTASTIC evening !
the gang at the Bull Moose Inn gets today's Good Samaritan Award. we pulled into guffey hoping to find food and water and perhaps a stealth spot to pitch the tents for the night. the only sign of life was this BBQ smoke spewing from the back of this supposedly closed restaurant. we checked it out and found this group of family/friends cooking up a storm to cap off their day of renovations of what will be a new restaurant/bar opening in 4 weeks. they invited us for dinner once we got settled, and then we found bill (of bill's boneyard notoriety :) ) who gave us a nice place to pitch our tents. a quick baby wipe cleanup (yes, this was another no running water location...) and we were on to a BBQ feast that rivaled the great meals of this tour. PLUS, they were testing out a new frozen marg machine, so of course, we had to help with that. so, with what looked to be a bleak ending to this otherwise fine day turned into a great time !
just another example of the generosity and kindness people continue to extend to us out on the road.
TO ANY CYCLE TOURISTS PASSING THRU GUFFEY - STOP AT THE BULL MOOSE !
today: 44 miles
to date: 2860
Buff! Mike told me about this a few days ago. You're the man! see ya buddy.
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