Day 38: July 29 Denver, CO to Bennett, CO 40 miles

Wednesday, 7/29/81
Bennett Rest Area, I-70, CO

I was going to get up at 4 AM and watch the royal wedding (Prince Charles and Lady Di) but I couldn't drag myself out of bed so I missed it. Got up at 8 and ate breakfast with Kathy's friends. Went to the bike shop twice before I got all the stuff  on the bike. It got so late, I had lunch, then called Kathy and said good-bye, then I left. 2:00 PM.

Rode through Denver from west to east for two hours. Rode frontage roads next to I-70 to Bennett rest area. Camped there. Hardly slept due to freeway and semi noise and off sleeping schedule. Stars and Milky Way were pretty.

Day 37: July 28 Denver CO 0 miles

Tuesday, 7/28/81
Denver, CO

Got my new bike today. The rear wheel was badly out of true and the pedals squeak. Gear cluster is 14 to 30. I haven't figured out the combinations yet. I found a bike path along Cherry Creek and followed it almost all the way home. T-bone steaks, compliments of Kathy's friend, were waiting for dinner at home.

Day 36 July 27, Denver CO 0 miles

Monday, 7/27/81
Denver, CO

My girlfriend called this morning. Couldn't send money by Federal Express, so she sent me $70 by Western Union. I took her $150 check downtown to Kathy so she could cash it. I forgot it, of course, so she just loaned me the money. We went out for a great lunch. Then I went to a bike shop and bought a pump, Y wrench, spoke wrench, water bottle, and chain tool. Then walked one mile and bought a handle-bar pack and a rear rack. Spent $140. Western Union didn't have my money, so I went home with Kathy from work. Her Canadian friends came over and we had a spaghetti feed and listened to Neil Diamond.

Day 35 July 26, Denver CO 0 miles

Sunday, 7/26/81
Denver, CO

No pictures today. Wrote postcards and read and watched tv all day. We had nachos for dinner.

Day 34: July 25 Denver, CO 0 miles

Me with a tree growing from solid rock

Friday, 7/24/81
Kathy's house, Denver CO

I called and located a 28-inch Panasonic bike this morning to replace my stolen one. Kathy and I decided we still had time so we drove to Cripple Creek. Stopped at Garden of the Gods, a collection of upright red sandstone monoliths outside Colorado Springs.

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods



That's me holding up that rock

At Cripple Creek, we descended 4,000 feet into the Mollie Kathleen gold mine. Tunnels, dynamite, tracks, ore cars, and everything. Cripple Creek looked like it should, but all the old buildings were full of gift shops. Had dinner there and talked with a burro. Visited Cave of the Winds on the way home. Very interesting.

My paternal grandfather lived as a boy in Cripple Creek during the boom years, so we had to make a pilgrimage there. He used to tell the story of being high on a step ladder, changing a light bulb, when a confrontation took place below him. As he gazed down, neither man drew his gun till you could cut the tension with a knife. When he couldn't take it anymore, my grandfather said "So shoot him!" or something like that and they did!

Cripple Creek Railroad Station

Kathy & friendly burro

Cripple Creek postcard

Cripple Creek, mine tailings everywhere

Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine

Day 33: July 24 Denver, CO 0 miles

Quartz cave imported from Mexico

Friday, 7/24/81
Kathy's house, Denver CO

Sabre-tooth tigers attack giant ground sloth

Slept in till 9:30. Wrote postcards and journal and worked on my bike till noon. Went to buy a lock. First shop was out of business. Second shop had a lock but I had no money. Three banks wouldn't cash my check, so I said "fuck it" and went to the Mint anyway. The line was too long so I went to the museum and left my bike in front. It was the best museum I'd ever seen. Went to a planetarium and when I came out, my bike was stolen. The museum guards let me use their phone to report to the police, There's a Panasonic dealer here. I guess I'll but a new one.


As I recall, the unfortunate series of circumstances were that 1) I had lost my bike lock (which didn’t matter until we got to the city), 2) I ran out of money (this was before I owned any credit cards—my girlfriend was wiring me money at certain intervals), 3) Kathy was at work, and 4) I wanted to visit the museum. I foolishly hid my bike in the bushes outside and it was gone when I returned—my fault, really.

Day 32: July 23 Big Thompson River Canyon to Denver 50 miles

Thursday, 7/23/81
Kathy's house, Denver, CO

Big Thompson River Canyon

Riding went very fast today. We rode out of the canyon into Loveland and in an hour, turned south to Denver. It was rolling, neither downhill nor tailwinds--no one knows why we did so good. Paralleling the Rockies' Front Range. Lunch in Lafayette. Made it into Denver around 3:00. We stuck together through town and out to the hostel where the guys are staying. Bret and I visited the State Capitol and I went to [my sister,] Kathy's. Most impressive State Capitol I've ever seen. [My brother-in-law,] Woody's in town on business so he came over and for dinner and we watched Neil Diamond videos.

Big Thompson River Canyon

I recall riding along one stretch where there were so many crickets crossing the road, that we had to crunch our way through them—yuck!

First view of Denver