I must break with tradition and not tell you the time we started today (8.00 am oops couldn’t resist it), but begin with the wind. No not the one you immediately thought of then but the real honest to goodness blowing kite flying one.

Dawn over Como

This wind was blowing from the south exactly the direction we were cycling. A headwind all day, nice!

Como as we cycle away

The tent dried nicely and off we went, hardly a breeze first thing. The pavement flew by beneath our tyres, then after 5 miles it stopped and a good track started. The wind had now increased and was making cycling difficult, plus the added bonus of a sandstorm every time a vehicle passed by.

That long road

What should have been a very nice easy day turned out to be the opposite. Even downhill we had to pedal and the slightest up saw the lowest gear on our bikes used.

We did endure being sand blasted on the final section, the wind was gusting that strongly it was picking up the sand from the road surface and pelting us with it, it was just like you see on tv in the desert films (I like Lawrence of Arabia, others may just stick with the Scorpion King).

If you could overlook all of this then the scenery was again magnificent, the Aspens beautiful, the skies massive, the mountains brooding etc etc etc.

The last section of track ran through the town that never was, streets were planned even some amenities built but nobody ever came to live there.

A childrens playground in the town that never was

It was a 4.5 mile section of Highway 24 next all the way to Hartsel, this was unpleasant as it was 65 mph traffic without any shoulder. Too many cars passing too close, even though in Colarado it is state law to leave a minimum of 3 feet gap when passing a cyclist.

Hartsel is a small town at the junction of 2 main roads. It has a gas station (american is now just rolling off my fingertips, just like a car tire with colored sidewalls rolls along the road) and a bar / diner. We asked where to camp and after much umming and aaring pitched it opposite the bar (always good) next to a digger and trucks.

Time for a large burger and fries or salad plus a cold drink. The gas station supplied us with crisps and chocolate.

Tent and a truck you cannot go wrong

As I sit here in the tent typing this it is absolutely pouring down with rain, but we are comfortable in here.