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I woke up around 9 am feeling like I could use another nights sleep. The headwinds were taking their toll and I was just exhausted. I took my time getting out of there and around 10:30 got back onto route 70 heading east. I was a few hundred miles west of Denver and that seemed like a reasonable goal for the day.
The going on this stretch of 70 is real nice. The speed limit varies from 70 to 40 and the scenery is nice enough that 40 seemed pretty reasonable much of the time. In particular the Glenwood Springs area about 70 miles west of Vail is very scenic. At that point the road follows the Colorado River and across the river the cross-country Amtrak passenger train keeps pace with you during the slower stretches of the road. Again, this stretch of the road is long, slow sweeping curves and not too much traffic, a great riding road.
By early afternoon I was getting hungry so I set my sites on Vail for lunch. Like Barstow, Vail was a big disappointment. The center of Vail village is closed to vehicular traffic (not necessarily a bad thing) with all the parking out on the edge of town. This meant that there was no place I felt comfortable to leave my bike with all my gear. There were lot's and lot's of tourists and outside of the village center there were absolutely no services (except gas stations) so unless I parked the bike and walked a half mile into the village there was no getting lunch in Vail. I was also left with the distinct impression that lunch would be a pretty expensive affair, so I bailed. Unlike Barstow I understood why people lived there, the place is beautiful but it's also about 4 steps up the economic ladder from where most of us exist. Beautiful town, very exclusive.
I got back on 70 pointing east, feeling hungry and a bit annoyed that the rich folk had hijacked Vail. Not too much further down the road I found the town of Frisco. Now this is a great little town. It too is very expensive but at least you're allowed to drive down the streets. I found a good brewpub where I had a buffalo burger and a nice local IPA. I followed lunch with a little stroll through some of the shops and a double espresso. After chatting with the very cute girl running the stupidly expensive furniture store next to the coffee shop I was back on the road.
By this time darkness was only a couple hours away and the sky was filling up with thunderheads again. I pulled into the little town of Idaho Springs just west of Denver as night and rain fell around me. I grabbed a room at the 6 & 40 motel where I spent a very satisfying evening watching HBO and eating cheeseburgers with the heat cranked up listening to the rain pour down outside. |
