We said goodbye to Molly's parents and Habitat friends today as we left Durango and the Rocky Mountains for good after one last big climb. The geography of southwestern Colorado changes dramatically, and as soon as we got over that last mountain the land got flatter and much drier. Many of us left our campsite in Durango in arm warmers, leg warmers, and jackets on top, but by midafternoon we had stripped down to our jerseys and were sweating terrifically. As we came into Cortez the landscape was just dirt, light brush, and mesas. I learned the hard way this afternoon about overinflating tubes when the air is cold and biking into the heat, and I blew out a tire while waiting on the restrooms at a random Aramark office building in the middle of nowhere (thanks for staying til I was rescued, Jen!). Fortunately, we're staying tonight at a home owned by the owner of Cortez Cycles, and I was able to pop over to the bike shop for a new tire.
On another cool side note, I ran into Dave and Shirley Hammonds, the pastor from the Church of Christ in Bartlesville and his wife, in downtown Durango yesterday evening. We knew that they would be here on vacation, and it was great to see them again and a happy coincidence. Safe travels!
Sadly, I don't have any pictures today because I forgot to replace my camera battery, but trust me, it was another epically beautiful day in the life of Bike and Build.
Bike odometer: 2643 miles
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