DISTANCE TRAVELED: 43.09 Miles
AVERAGE SPEED: 11.15 MPH

          I woke up at 7:30 to find that all of the oatmeal was gone so I had to eat a granola bar. I packed up, filled up with water, and left at 9:15. We rode for three miles on dirt and the road was then paved for the rest of the day. For the next four miles, we climbed up Ute Pass. For three of these miles, I stood up and stayed in my middle chain ring so I could keep my speed at 4.4 mph. As we traveled up, we passed by a huge mine that destroyed much of the landscape with pipes to pump out waste water and material into holding tanks. Soon, I passed by it and continued up the winding road. At the top, I was able to see across a huge valley where white clouds hung on the distant mountains that Breckenridge lay on. Through the mist, I could just make out the rocks on the steep faces. (Picture124) The temperature had dropped so I put on my rain jacket and started down. I expected to descend for a short time and then continue on flat surfaces until Silverthorne. However, I was to soon find myself on a 5 mile 35 mph descent! At the bottom of the winding road, I waited for Mike and Scott and then rode 10 more miles into Silverthorne. We stopped at Wendy's, which was our first fast food of the trip, and then went to the local bike shop. It did not have anything so after a quick stop at the Pearl Izumi Outlet Store, we went to an outdoor store and looked at gear. They had many great deals on bikes and frames. Just as we were about to leave, Randy came up. (Picture125) He had been here for a week with his girlfriend and was still riding hard. After a long talk, we stopped at our first Dairy Queen of the trip where I had a Cookie Dough Blizzard. When we stepped outside at 4:00, it was very cold and looked like it could rain very soon. We rode 8 miles very quickly and after looking for the campsite, which was not easy to find, got in with only minimal amounts of rain. I set up my tent and then went to a local Mexican restaurant for dinner where I had a huge place of carnitas. (Picture126) By the time we started to ride back, it was nearly dark, so the 2-mile ride was very interesting. After writing, I got to sleep at 9:50.