Day 2 - Cortez to Durango 64 miles

June 10th, RTR Day 2, Cortez to Durango

Todays' ride was shorter in miles, but was a long climb and hot.  The nice thing about starting in mountain valleys is they are shaded long past sunrise...which can be chilly.  It was in the 100s when we arrived in Cortez on Sunday and the low overnight was 47.  It was cool starting at 0615 am, but everyone on the ride was shedding arm/knee warmers and jackets by the 1st rest stop - 8 miles out.  Once the sun rose, the heat did too.  The route was east today, riding right into the sun from 06:15 through 2 PM and I have the burn to prove it!

Cortez has it's own beauty, but different, that of the high desert.  The vistas are great, with Sleeping Ute Mountain (pictured) in one direction, the Mesa Verde cliffs, La Plata and San Juan mountains in others.  Our mission for the day was to go through the  La Platas to Durango via Hesperus Hill.  64 miles, 3440 total ascent, 90+ degrees in Durango on arrival.

The day's drama was equipment and both incidents were self inflicted.  I was on a Trek Damone, a demo bike which is somewhat comparable to my bike, only better.  I was cruising downhill about a quarter mile from rest stop #2, when something felt funny and I looked down only to see a rear flat.  No boom of a blow out, just flat.  I walked the bike in, but had to wait at the bike store tent for about 50 minutes for a flat change.  Each rest stop has a bike store with a repair tent - Wheat Ridge Cyclery, Bike Source, etc.  Lesson learned, change my flat and buy a tube.  The second challenge was that I couldn't clip into the right pedal for most of the day.  Since we were climbing, I lost the pedal a lot.  I didn't stop at another bike shop tent until the last stop, which had no line and a mechanic in a cowboy hat.  He suggested new pedal cleats, which he had, and I was as good as new.  Side note:  The mastercard fraud unit decided my travels were worth putting my credit card on suspend until I called to let them know I was traveling through small towns in Colorado.  Lucky I had cash!  Fixed the credit card blues as soon as I arrived in Durango - yay!

At the last rest stop, the burrito man was there, so I sampled the lunch burrito - OMG the green chile!  I was so hungry.  Today was also a water burner - from Mancos to the top of Hesperus, I burned through two bottles, the last drops just as the rest stop came into view.  Bonking was definitely within reach - as close as I have come.

There was a final hill to climb from the rest stop, but a great downhill into Durango.  My bike computer wasn't fully charged, so I will miss knowing what high speed was reached.  Once over the pass, the scenery was so different - very green and gorgeous on the Durango approach.

So...showers...in addition to using the high school locker room or recreation center in each town, RTR provides shower trucks as pushing 2000 riders through a high school locker room is challenging.  Granted, some of those are staying at motels and quite a crew of RVs and trailers pass us each day as many riders have friends and family following along.  The showers are actually pretty nice - about 8-10 showers per half semi trailer and they always have hot water.  Just hot and humid inside.  Outside each truck are "get ready" areas with sinks and mirrors - zoom in to see!  BTW, modesty sort of goes out the window on the 1st day.

I cruised into the festival area about 2 PM, turned in the demo bike, searched in vain for chocolate milk (I was craving it) and met up with my Durango resident friend, Marianne.  She is graciously hosting me!

The Sherpas provide electricity, but shut it down at 9 and I didn't get a full charge last night.  So conserved my phone battery for any possible emergencies and didn't take a lot of pics on the ride.  Tomorrow is 86 miles from Durango to Pagosa springs, on a zig zag path that heads south to the CO-NM border.  The forecast is hot, hot and more hot.  I am trying to get on the road by 0530 tomorrow to minimize the heat exposure - depending on light.  Check out the detailed route at http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/166406364/

Cheers to a good night's sleep and I am not too sore for the next stage!

-Steve