It was a great pleasure and relief to see the squirrels had done no damage. Jordan and Jeremy combated them by storing their bikes in the bathroom. I removed all the food from my panniers and hid the good stuff in the tent with me overnight. We rode down a hill to the campground yesterday so it was back up to start the day. More mountainous riding to our first stop in Cimarron. An older gentleman runs the gas station/souvenir shop/market and he didn't hear us at first from another room... but eventually came out to do business. Ate some stuff, rested some, and climbed Cerro Summit. Then it was onto Montrose where we stopped in at the bike shop, farted uncontrollably, and talked to a gentleman who had just tried a two-day tandem tour with his wife. We cruised over to the CityMarket (grocery store) and Jordan and I enjoyed the offerings of the salad bar at some picnic tables inside the place. Jeremy topped his spinach leaves with a variety of pasta options. Montrose was a vortex. Biker's Bermuda triangle. It was weighing us down. I felt sluggish and we exited the town at a less-than-inspired pace. Except for Jordan, who grabbed onto another truck and could've gotten towed clear to Sacramento if his kind heart hadn't caused him to wait for us.
We did some miles and stopped at a gas station, I was feeling awful. Spent some quality time in their restroom to not much success. We started riding again and I felt worse. We were about nine miles out of our destination when I told Jordan and Jeremy to just go on to Ridgway without me. I stopped shortly after that next to a guard rail. My bowels were tied up in a knot. A stormy sea inside my stomach. The flatulence probably killed nearby greenery. A guy on horseback came by and offered some shade and water but I just wanted to get there, so declined and limped on into Ridgway. We all met up again at the Library and I largely recovered. Jeremy got in contact with the Ridgway Community Church for somewhere to stay, and we rode over and met Linda, a member of the congregation. She welcomed us into the building and as it turns out, she's from San Diego too. Lived in Santee, and then Alpine, apparently making some short hops East before landing in Colorado.
Then we met Roger, the pastor, and were invited to his house to take showers. The hospitality was incredible. It was only a few blocks over to where we met Roger's family and scraped off the grime. We told some stories about the trip in the living room and then went back to the church, freshly scrubbed. Today was Jordan's birthday so went to a Chinese and Thai restaurant on Linda's suggestion. It was excellent. Jeremy and I picked up the tab as a present and we headed back to our home for the evening. Linda had already given us some DVD's to watch when we met a guy named Nathan who brought us a second stack. He came back a bit later with individual ice creams for all of us to celebrate Jordan turning the big two two. Can you believe that? People are radical. We were in shock, just totally astounded at another demonstration of generosity and kindness. Jordan and Jeremy went and had a beer at a tavern nearby while I clattered on the keyboard. We headed to dreamland on the couches in the youth room, a great close to a fine birthday. A thousand thank you's to Linda, Roger, Nathan, and everyone at the Ridgway Community church.
Start of the day.
Early morning.
Next time, mountain bikes...
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