Tough day. Slept well with no animal interruptions or otherwise. Rejoined the road and was quickly out of the forest and into a landscape which was unlike anything I’d ridden through so far. The rolling scruffy hills could have been the Peaks or the North Yorkshire Moors. Despite the relatively flat terrain, progress as this point was slow due to the rough roads with mile after mile of washboard gravel. 

 

The unusual surroundings got stranger by the presence of randomly located trailers and informal dwellings at various states of disrepair. These eventually turned into more established houses but still at sporadic intervals across the hillside. I was later informed this was due to real estate agents in Denver selling lands with promises of ‘mountain views’, despite this not being the picture postcard Colorado mountains. 

 

I made it to Hartsel, where there was the promise of late breakfast. An interesting establishment where the waiter was borderline annoyed that I’d walked in the door. Still, stocked up I pressed on north just as the wind really started to pick up. The remainder of the day was spent battling savage head and cross winds which slowed the pace even further to a crawl. The only upside being the shitty roads were no longer enemy number one. The 30 miles between lunch and Como were up there with the toughest of the trip so far.

 

The highlight of the day was stopping at the Como train roundhouse to be shown around by a really friendly volunteer. The line was built to transfer gold from Leadville to Denver and the road I’d be taking from here was the old train line over the mountains. On the other side of Como, the rough scrubby desert was replaced by Pine and Aspen trees as I began the climb of Boreas Pass and began looking for a spot to pitch the tent. I found a flat spot which was pretty close to the road but I was too shattered to go any further. Felt pretty sick after finishing but did manage to get some food in after an hour or so. 

 

It always seems to be the days which look easier on paper that throw up something unexpected to make them difficult. I was happy with how I’d managed to just plug away despite struggling to get above 10mph on the flat. 

 

Just as I was about to go to sleep I had a text from my sister Phoebe to say she’d gone into labour and wondered if there would be news by the morning.