Distance: 74 miles Dolores to Placerville, CO
Ride Time: 6:33
Average Speed: 11.3
Max Speed: 47mph
I did a lot of climbing today up to Lizard Head Pass at 10,222 feet over Telluride, CO. The Colorado Rockies are such beautiful mountains and whether climbing or descending they can be exciting. I passed four cyclists climbing the other side of the pass. I think their side of the mountain seemed steeper. I was sure glad I had disc brakes on my bike as I descended from the summit to the Telluride turnoff.
They were resurfacing the road between Telluride and Placerville. It can get rather sketchy when there is road construction and the lanes are even more restricted than normal.
All the campgrounds we found were full. We were out of fresh water in the trailer. Like most towns that we came to, this was also very small. There were only two stores – a general store and a liquor store. The lady in the liquor store told us about a water hose at the fire station to fill our fresh water needs and about an unimproved BLM campground just out of town both helped us settle down for the evening. We stayed beside a river where we could hear the water flowing and the breezes blowing. That makes for good sleeping.
ThruUSA2 