Days 18, 19 and 20

Day 18 was almost a nothing day, as far as cycling on this tour has gone.  Except for one important detail.

We rode straight and flat for a long time (who knew you could do strait and flat in Colorado?) and then we did a brief hike to another summit.  9000 feet? Meh, whatevs.

 And then we sailed.

We sailed down so fast that I have a new record: 75.3km/hr.  the road was smooth, the cars were infrequent and when I felt as though I had control, I opened up, as they say in the cycling world.  It was phenomenal.  

We stayed in Salida, which is a beautiful mountain town with 4 bike shops in the little downtown.  They love their cyclists in Colorado!

Salida was the first time I felt the effects of the altitude.  I had a hard time getting deep breaths and felt light headed a bit.  Nothing serious, but worth warning my riding buddies about.  

Day 19 gave us a beautiful, calm descent for over 80 kilometres.  No breakneck speeds, just continuous downhill.  We followed the river the entire way, and travelled through a canyon.  We climbed a bit at the end, and descended into Cañon City.  Another gorgeous day of riding, with a average speed of 29.9km.  That's on the faster end for me, since we were mostly downhill all day.  We dropped almost 2000 feet in elevation.  

Day 20 we rode from Cañon City to Colorado Springs.  The ride was thankfully short and surprisingly arduous.  I was happy to arrive after a mere 80km.  

I'm even happier to be hanging with this beautiful gal for the weekend.  College roomie reunion.