Day 39 – Breckenridge, Colorado to Fairplay, Colorado

Thin Air

Sunday was the day for the climb to the top of Hoosier Pass, at 11,539 feet. I was staying in a dorm room at the Fireside Inn in Breckenridge. My friend Donald, who was going to ride with me for a few days, was driven by a friend the night before up towards Breckenridege, but the unavailability of rooms in the town left him to spend the night on the side of the road two miles below the other side of the pass.

Donald loves to bike so he got up early, rode over the top of Hoosier Pass and down the 12 miles into Breckenridge, which of course meant that he had to do the same 12 miles again, but this time uphill.  He sent me a text saying he was at a coffee shop in town.  After having breakfast with a group of hikers at the Fireside Inn and saying goodbye to Nikki and Andy, the owners, I left and met up with Donald.

I had traveled over a 9,000 foot mountain pass a week or so earlier, but this was the first time that I spent the night at this altitude.  The first eight miles of the climb weren’t too bad, but for the final four it became steeper and with switchbacks. Donald was easily leaving me behind and I was breathing harder than I had in a long time on the trip, maybe the hardest ever, due to the high altitude and thin air.

This would be the final crossing of the Continental Divide and the fact that I wouldn’t deal with this altitude again was good to keep in mind. I kept up a consistent speed of around 4.6 mph until I rounded a corner to see cars parked on the side of the road, which signaled the top.

After a photo and a few minutes at the top, we started off for the fun side of the pass. I need to go back and count, but I’m guessing I must have climbed sixteen mountain passes since the start of the trip.  I’m happy to leave them behind for now.

The rest of the day was simple.  We sped six miles downhill, stopped and had lunch, and then another six miles to the town of Fairplay–where all the sudden it sounded like a very good idea to stop for the day and watch the afternoon and evening football games, with the idea of doing 75 miles on Monday into Canon City. So only 24 miles on Sunday, one more mile than the shortest day of the trip.

During the night I woke up many times and noticed the altitude, as the city of Fairplay is at 10,000 feet, was still affecting my breathing. I was looking forward to dropping down to 5,500 feet on the next ride.