Hey everyone!
Today was one of the hardest days that I had left on the trip. I rode with the 4 guys from yesterday and we started our long day of climbing early. We had about 48 miles of moderate climbs and then a 5 mile climb to Hoosier Pass which is pretty hard. We spent the night at about 9000 feet and the elevation has given me a headache. Throughout the day I could feel the elevation in my legs and I was having a hard time breathing. The wind was straight in our face all day and it was a rough day of riding. We made it to Alma at around 3:30 which was about 7 miles from the peak of Hoosiers Pass. Everybody was pretty tired and they were talking about stopping for the day. Me and another guys said we were going to go for it and try to get to Breckenridge. Everybody decided to go for it.
The first 3 miles were moderate into the climb. Then the real climb started and it was 4 miles of hell that took about 1 hour to complete. The only positive was the views were amazing. I wish I could have taken more pictures, but I knew I would not be able to get started on the bike again if I stopped. I pressed forward and finally saw the top. It was such a sence of accomplishment when I got to the top. I felt like I was on top of the world. We all took pictures for about 20 minutes and then the downhill was next. It was a pretty crazy down hill and about 8 miles in a man stopped us and gave us $45 to get some beers in Breckenridge. He was amazed wth what we were doing and said it was the least he could do. In town we ate a Breckenridge Brewing and talked about where we were going to stay. I wanted to stay in the hostel, but they wanted to steath camp in the woods. I split away because there were signs everywhere saying beware of bears and Cayotes. I am sure I would have been fine, but I needed to shower and wash some clothes. Overall it was a great day and I accomplished alot.