We woke up to the same conditions that stalled us the day prior. Heavy snow flurries. However, we were determined not to let the weather delay us any further.


From the reservoir we immediately began climbing. The first twenty one miles of our ride would take us to the top of Willow Creek Pass. The first and last five miles were steeper grades. The middle part was relatively gradual and not too challenging.


After ten miles we reached Sawtooth Gulch Campground. It's closed indefinitely due to a flood. However, there are still usable campsites and vault toilets, no water. We stopped here for a rest. Another three miles up the road is Denver Creek Campground. Large campground, it was still under snow though.


Eight miles later, exhausted, we reached the top. There were no campgrounds up here and much of the ground still has a good amount of snow. So we decide to push on to Walden, thirty three miles away. Our reward for the climb and motivation to push on was the thought of a hotel room and pizza.


After we reached the top, it was time to head down the pass. There were a few steep descents and most more gradual. It's mostly ranches and farmland on the opposite side of the mountain. I need to reduce the weight in my front panniers because as I was going downhill my handlebars/front rack was pretty shakey.


Definitely a long and challenging first day. We traveled fifty-three miles and climbed almost 2,000 feet. In a diverse mix of weather; snow, sun, rain, headwinds.


Taking an extra day to rest up in the hotel. Enjoying the jacuzzi and local food. The next couple days we're going to reduce our miles to increase our leg strength. Especially since we didn't have much time to train prior to our departure date.

We had intented to drive up to Silverthorne on Sunday and begin our ride Monday morning. However, packing and cleaning took a little longer than anticipated. So we decided to drive up on Monday instead. Thank you Kyla for the ride!


Since we were behind a day we skipped Silverthorne and drove a little bit further from where our second night would have been. We camped under a pavilion at Windy Gap Reservoir. In true Colorado fashion we found a pre-roll in the pavilion and enjoyed the view of the reservoir.


In the morning the sun peeked out, encouraging us to get moving, so we got up and made some coffee. We discovered that it had snowed over night. We debated if we should climb up Willow Creek Pass, how much snow would be on the ground up there, how much colder would it be. Then the sun disappeared and flurries bagan to fall. We decided to wait until tomorrow, when the weather is expected to be clear.


Much of the day was a mix of rain, snow and sunshine; sometimes all at once. We're looking forward to heading out tomorrow.

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I can't believe that we embark on our journey in just seven days. I  never imagined that I would have stayed in Denver for so long when I got here a year and a half ago. We've gotten rid of all the furniture and our household possessions are dwindling. This is my last week at work and we're anxious to get going.

We start our trip with short millage days. Partially because the weather is calling for afternoon storms. Mostly because we only got one practice run in before the start of the trip. However, we don't own a car so we bike everywhere we need to go currently, so our legs are mildly prepared. We anticipate a challenging first week, but we're prepared and ready to take it on.

The weather doesn't seem to be on our side with late April storms rolling in. We will probably be riding through rain/snow the first week. Luckily there's two hot springs on the first weeks route and we may just have to take advantage of them.

I've added new Post Office drops if anyone would like to send us some treats!

Check back in a week for the start of the journey.

​Thank you for following along!