Day 62: Friday, June 10, 2011

20 miles to just outside Guffey, CO

We decided to bicycle only a short distance since we had to climb about 3000 feet in that distance.  I still have my headache, but no insomnia (unless you count having to get up every hour because I drank so much yesterday!) other symptoms.  The climbs here are deceptive because they aren’t steep, but they go on for miles.  I kept thinking we would have a steep hill to climb, but we never did.  We knew we were getting higher by both the decreasing temperature and the surrounding views. 

Unfortunately, Vincent’s knee began to bother him significantly today.  So much so that I was at least 500 feet ahead of him all day-even on the climbs and I was carrying all the food, water, etc.  We’ve done just about everything we can think of and he may need to see if he has some internal damage or an anatomical problem.  Meanwhile, I plan to keep bicycling but am a bit worried about being able to carry enough water for longer trips.  There are large stretches of the route that have limited services.  I’ll think of something.

The other reason I am glad we had a short day is that I was able to contact, Hal Martin, a friend that I haven’t seen in years.  We worked together at NIH and he then went to the Bureau of Prisons.  When I bicycled past the Florence, CO Federal Bureau of Prisons Correctional Facility, it got me to thinking that Hal lived in this area.  Sure enough I emailed another friend who had his latest contact information and we are going to meet up for dinner tonight.  Thanks Mike and Ellen, who happened to be checking emails during their vacation in Europe.