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Sunday, July 19: Didn’t sleep too well last nigh. I kind of chalk that up to 1) the mind racing thinking about leaving CO and getting it rolling in a totally different environment, and 2) I think I was so tired from the prior week of mt passes that I just couldn’t sleep. This is pretty common, getting so tired that you just cannot fall asleep. Anyway, I just rolled around for a good hr before I fell asleep, and then the rest of the night was just restlessness and waking up each and every hour. So getting up early today to ride….ha, not a chance. We got up at a very leisurely 6 AM and that wasn’t even enough. Drew was also a bit mellow about getting the ball rolling. He and Judy rousted enough to walk across the street and got us all some good coffee. 


We decided to get on the bikes by 9 AM, which gave us plenty of time to go out to get a bite to eat for a change, and then tear down and get Drew and I dropped off where I stopped yesterday. Bill would drive Drew’s car to where we’ll end today, then ride out to meed up with us. Judy would stay in Dolores and ride in town rather than out on the backcountry gravel roads. So that was our plan. We debated about where to go for breakfast, and I was a proponent of this place right next to our motel, whereas Bill had read some good reviews of “That Place” restaurant, and suggested we walk several blocks to it. Judy was neutral. Well, Drew broke the tie, agreeing with Bill that we could easily walk the several blocks for a place that had good reviews. That Place was our place, and off we went. 


And by gosh, That Place was just awesome. We were all blown away by how wonderful the breakfast was. I publicly ate my words and dug into this amazing breakfast burrito. Judy and Bill got their “Real Magilla” oatmeal, and Drew got a fabulous omelet. Wow. I was just packed by the time we stumbled out of there. Judy and I will be returning to That Place for dinner tonight, as we’re staying a second night in Dolores - just because the motel is so nice and the food and market options are really good. It’s worth driving back the 35 miles from where we ended today. More on this later. 


Got packed and Judy drove Drew and I back to yesterday’s end, at the junction of FR 535 and Rt 145, 13 miles north of Dolores. The weather was perfect - cloud cover and temps in the high 60’s to low 70’s. I pretty much knew that since I’d changed the route yesterday to make today’s ride with Drew possible, that I’d kind of have to sacrifice riding on some pavement for a few miles, and that was indeed the case, as there was just zero berm of any sort going north on 535. All the was, was chest high weeds and cobbles and rocks all along each side of the road, so I just sucked it up (right, riding on asphalt is just so sweet!) and did the 5 miles up 535 to the FR 532 junction. This was a very gradual climb, and on asphalt, wow, it’s just so danged easy. 


Made the turn, a L, north on 532, and we began this very gradual climb up to the top of the foothills. This topography is just so different that what I’ve been riding through for the past week. This is gentle, middle ring climbing, through aspen glens, pine thickets and open range. It’s kind of like going all the way back to when I was first entering CO from KS, hitting plains, then foothills, then mts. Only difference here in Western CO is that instead of plains you have canyon lands, and it’s a portent of what lies ahead in UT. This was just the perfect day to relax and ride easy knowing that nothing BIG looms in the future. We did this 180 on 532 and did our “pass” for the day, this short, 5-10 min switchback climb to the top of the tablelands. From there it was just some big ring riding on the top of the table to the next junction. 


We went R, north on Rt 31, and then within a mile did a L, west on FR 514. This was another really super road where you’d get these whoop-de-do’s for a bit, then a massive false flat descent where we could ramble at over 20 mph. It made me think about yesterday, where at 2 hrs we’d covered a pathetic 10 miles. Today…we were nearly 20 miles in at the 2 hour mark, and part of this was because of that long, sweeping false descent on 514 through the San Juan National Forest. Man, this was some really pretty riding. I think Drew was really enjoying it to, just being out there in the backcountry away from everything. It’s just so sweet on a mt bike doing this. I call it hiking on a bike, getting away from it all but having wheels under your butt. And when you’re not worrying about surmounting a mt pass, it’s just so enjoyable. Now there are just a plethora of gravel roads out here in the San Juan National Forest, and you could spend months exploring all these anastomosing tracks, but we just stayed on our 514 and continued west towards Cahone, a small town located on Rt 491. 


Our next turn was a L, west on FR 521, Ormston Point Rd. This would be our descent back into the Dolores River Canyon. And again, this was wonderful, rolling table top topography for a stretch. The, about 3 miles into this 11-mile road, it began to descend, gradually at first, and then moderately, and finally it just went into this switchback crazy descent down, down, down into the canyon. I cautioned Drew to use those hydraulic brakes by feathering to reduce speed rather than getting it rolling too fast and then grabbing the brakes and just washing out a wheel in the extremely loose gravel. We also needed to engage the front and rear suspension to make the bouncing across the washboard sections less severe on the steep descent. Bouncing could prove fatal in such loose gravel conditions, and this road was just awash in loose gravel.


He did a great job, and we ended up at the bottom of the Dolores River Canyon in no time. From there, down along the river in the Lone Dome State Wildlife Area, an old ranch that was sold to the BLM, we crossed the Dolores River and got on Rd S. Then we climbed Rd S out of the canyon west back up to the table top. This was what I call a “kicker” climb, a climb that kind of finishes off the day with some pretty heaving breathing. Didn’t take more than 10 min to get to the top, but it was a wonderful kicker nonetheless. So we got to the top and dead-ended at the junction with Rd 16. Went R, north on 16 into some rolling farm country at the top of the canyon. Man, it’s just do different that what I’d been riding through. I looked back to the east and saw the dark outlines of the high mts of Southern CO. Man I had truly ridden through CO almost exclusively on gravel. That look back at the mts really felt good. And as I waited the minute for Drew to pop up over the top of the climb I thought back to those passes….Hermit, Marshall, Poncha, Los Pinos, Slumgullion, Cinnamon, Ophir, and Lizard Head, all behind me. Man that felt satisfying. As they say, “beauty has it’s price,” and in CO this is so true. 


We continued north on 16 to the junction with Rd R, then went L, west on R for a couple of miles to meet up with Judy. Bill, as it turns out, had taken a wrong turn up near our descent into the Dolores Canyon so he never hooked up with us. But he did get on FR 504 and he had a really wonderful ride. Not more than 5 minutes after we met with Judy at the van Bill pulled in in Drew’s car. All accounted for and the end of a great day. The stats are as follows: total ride was 42 miles with 2400 feet of elevation gain. Yup it was a mellow day, but a MUCH needed day. 


Since we’d had such a nice time in Dolores yesterday Judy & I decided to stay a second night rather than push on to Dove Creek, despite the fact that Dove Creek is closer to where I ended today. A mean, why take a shot in the dark when we know what we have back in Dolores? The vibe of the town, the motel, the restaurant - That Place. Just couldn’t pass up a second night there. So Drew and Bill came back to the motel where Jude and I got another room. They showered and we all traded hugs and hand shakes on a great time together. I was so lucky to be able to share some of the American Dirt experience with these guys. I think they had a really good time. Thanks fellas for a fantastic time together!


Later in the day Judy and I went back to That Place for dinner, and again, it was just fantastic. The owner is a cook who does everything from scratch. It’s little things like this that prompt me to highly recommend R & R (recreation & relaxation) in Dolores, CO. This place is a really keeper! 

Tomorrow we’re in UT. And the journey continues…..