Conquering the mountains

Both literally and figuratively this is a high moment in our trip. At an elevation of 9,300ft this will be our highest and likely coldest night yet (winds are gusting over 30 as I write this). As well the mood is jubilant having conquered every mountain to our west and only downhills to the east ( for now).
The morning started a little slow as it was hard to leave amenities such as beds and expresso makers behind. Yet once we hit the road we pushed a little harder then usual sensing the elusive town of Pueblo to finally be within our grasps. Pueblo represents a serious milestone for us as it is on the other side of the rocky mountains and we will enjoy a rest day with our friends Casey and Zach as well as my sister Alexa who has flown out here!
After cruising down a fast windy valley we found ourselves on a remote country road with a serious climb ahead of us through gorgeous ranch land. Halfway through the ascent I started pushing hard my rationalization being I might as well put my climbing muscles to good use when I still need them!
Indications of some serious rain forced us to take shelter at a local bakery in Westcliff and devour all of their day old cinnamon buns and loafs of bread. The rain never came and when we left an hour later the sky was more ominous then pre break. Yet somehow we managed to dodge every storm in our final climb. I had the idea to sprint every steep section as any of them could have been our last. Four false summits later I was still (mostly) having fun. As we pedaled across the upper pastures our mood was exuberant feeling as though we were at the edge of the world and very content with how far we have come. This mood almost caused us to shoot down the 40 miles to Pueblo on the spot but then we figured we should enjoy the mountains for one last night! -Lucas

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