ST: Day 47

Daily Miles: 97

Total Miles: 2563

Avg: 12.2

Max: 33.6

Time on the bike: 07:51:32

I slept like a rock and was up at 5:45 AM refreshed. My headache and general un-wellness seemed to have gone away and I was happy I was feeling better. It must have been the Chinese food ‘Combo C’ that I had for dinner last night, which came with lo mein and not one, not two…but 3 entrees! It surely was all the protein contained in the barbecue pork, sweet and sour chicken, and general toas that did the trick and nurtured me back to my old self. 

The sky was clear and sunny and even though it was only 35 degrees when I started riding it didn’t feel so bad. I had some more climbing to do and progressed slowly up and down the mountains for the first 25 miles. I crossed the actual Continental Divide and the official CDT route, which was pretty cool. 

Eventually I made it to the long decent down into the basin. It was around 10 miles of all steep downhill. I soared down the mountains and lost altitude quickly. If it weren’t for a pesky headwind I would have been soaring even faster. 

I hing a right onto highway 70 near the bottom and it was another 30 miles of very flat riding to reach Duncan. I could see big mountains all around me in the distance as I traversed this baren and flat place. There were short shrubs and joshua trees that littered the surrounding landscape, and juxtaposed with the potter blue sky and small puffy white clouds it was a surreal and intersting experience. The road was as straight as it was flat and I could see it stretch into the distance for miles. The pavement shimmered with heat a few inches above it, making it look warped and hazy, like you could maybe fry an egg, even though it was only 55 degrees outside. 

After 77 miles of riding I reached Duncan. It was my planned stop for the day but it was only 2:15, the weather was great, and I still felt really good, so I filled up all my water bottles and headed back out for more miles. 

I climbed back up into another mountain pass and it was just terrific. It felt great to be in actual mountains and be riding through such beautiful scenery. There wasn’t any ranches or homes, just wide open space and an occasional cow or two. 

I’m camped a little ways from highway 70 in some secluded bushes, about 17 miles from the next town. Other than the occasional car it’s actually nice and quiet here. There are mountains all around me, a sky filled with stars and not much wind. 

I am satisfied.