Since Salida we've been doing basically a pass a day. Some are easier than others, but we've just taken them one by one:

• Marshall Pass, 10,842 ft. Discovered in 1873 by Lt. William L. Marshall when he wanted to find a quicker way to Denver from Silverton because he had an amazing headache.
  
• Old Cochetopa Pass, 10,067 ft. Discovered 1869, Toll road 1874. This is the way Marshall would have gone if he didn't have a toothache.
  
• Carnero Pass, 10,166
  
• Indiana Pass, or Grayback Mountain, 11,910 ft. The highest piont on the Great Divide Route
  
• Stunner Pass, 10,541 ft.
  
• La Manga (10,250 ft) and Cumbres (10,022) passes
  

Otto Mears, the "Pathfinder of the San Juans," seems to have built nearly every road originally and operated it as a toll road. He built the first road over Marshall Pass and the first over Cochetopa. And he built roads all over SW Colorado.

Jeff sez: If your ever get depressed, go for a bike tour. You meet the most wonderful people and it completely changes your outlook on life.

In Del Norte we met Alex Colville, 71 years old, who runs Casa de Madera Sports. Why does he go to work every day at 71 years old to bring in $20-$100 total sales? Only because he's helping people like us who pass through. It's an aid station disguised (thinly) as a business. He will top off your bottle of white gas. (Everybody else makes you buy a quart or a gallon.) He has one BOB trailer in stock, but has never sold one. He uses it for parts so that when somebody comes in with a problem with their trailer, he can send them right on their way. Then he gets the replacement parts from the BOB trailer people.

Alex has entertained visitors to Del Norte with woodcarving, photography, and as a climbing guide since the 1970's. He can talk your ear off, of course, but in a very nice way. He's still climbing! How many 71-year-olds are still climbing 5.8 and 5.10 routes? He says he put up a lot of fairly easy routes when he was in his 50's just so he'd have something to climb now. And he can still climb all but one of them.

Alex even provided a place for us to stay right at the foot of Indiana Pass, so we could get right up there and start climbing the pass in the morning, breaking up the climb.

Just a quick entry because I don't have much time in the library in Del Norte, Colorado. We had a glorious ride over Marshall Pass from Salida, then down to Sargents. It was so beautiful up there, right near timberline.

Along US 50 we stopped at a ranch to ask if they would let us camp - and they set us up in a hunter's cabin, complete with running water and a *hot* shower! It was a delight.

Then on over to Old Cochetopa Pass, which was a hard, hot climb, but another beautiful day. We stayed in Luder's Creek campground and could have stayed for days - could be the nicest campground we'll see.

Today we rode over Carnero Pass toward La Garita and then found some really funky doubletrack to ride into Del Norte on. Could it really be the planned Great Divide route? We don't think so. But it was a lot of fun. Real Mountain Biking.

All are well!

I was able to join the Randy, Jeff and Ron on the first leg of an amazing self-supporting bike trip, which starts in central Colorado and will end at Copper Canyon in Mexico. The trip follows the Great Divide trail, which are mostly dirt roads through some of the most remote areas in the western United States.

The last three days we rode our bikes through mountain resorts, over mountains passes, along high alpine meadows and past miles of sage brushed high plains. Colorado is truly an awesome state with bright morning sun, ominous afternoon clouds, and striking sunsets.

Each person carries their own gear, food, and water on their bikes. Randy pulls a trailer called a Bob trailer, and the others use saddlebags called panniers. For the long trip each uses a mountain bike with front shocks and wide tires. For the three-day journey, I used my touring bike with road touring tires and no shocks. It was somewhat of a challenge staying up right through the 123 miles of dirt, sandy, muddy, rocky roads. But I rode cautiously when needed and rode fast when the roads were hard packed and clear. Coming down the passes my wrist ached from pounding of the washboards and my hands cramped from braking. The guys flew down the mountain past me but would stop and wait every few miles. It gave them a chance to inhale the vistas and me a chance to catch up.  read more here... lee mas aquí... »

Well, here's the financial report on our trip. It was surprisingly inexpensive to live on our trip, and we're pleased with the results.

We spent about $650/person for the entire month in Mexico (which also included $75/person for a deep sea fishing expedition and 4 days on the beach at the end of the trip.). Our airfare was extra - It was about $630 on Mexicana, and well worth it, since they took our bikes for free. (Most airlines wanted $75-100/bike each way. And Mexicana handled our bikes wonderfully in both directions.

Some example prices:

• Hotels cost $15 - $35. We had some really fine places for about $25. All the places we stayed had hot water and a private bathroom. A couple were near-dumps, but much better than some Randy has stayed at some times in the past.
  
• Donation to Virgin of Guadalupe in Manzanilla: $0.10
  
• Lunch of 4 tacos and 2 fresh-squozen orange juices: $2.50
  
• Shower at a hotel (not staying there): $1.50/each
  
• Shower in the market (cold water): $.50 to $.80
  
• Postcards: $.50/each. Mailing them: $1.00/each.

 read more here... lee mas aquí... »

Well, we got to Pie de la Cuesta (Foot of the sunset) on Wednesday afternoon and have been beaching it since. Pie de la Cuesta is a quiet, simple little village about 15 km outside Acapulco, and we found a little hotel we love. Lots of laying around in hammocks.

Yesterday we blew the whole day on a frustrating search for bike boxes (no chance) and finally got a cab and went to the furniture stores rummaging for boxes and we built our own boxes. We have to have them boxed for Sunday's flight, but it's not as easy as just going to the bike store and asking for one!

Sunday's flight should put us in the Denver airport about 6:20 pm, if all goes well!

Heading down the ultramodern autopista we had to find a quick place to stop for the night, because the sun was about to go down.

Nancy's infallible instincts took us off at a little unmarked dirt road that seemed to lead to a village. We followed it and were uncertain whether to go into the village or just plop down our tent nearer to the autopiista. We kept going toward the village because she was hoping for a beer :-)

What we found was amazing. Before we'd been there for five minutes the entire village had joined us and was studying us. There were at least a dozen young children, and there we were chatting with the whole community as the sun went down.

We thought we'd wandered into a hidden village in Guatemala or something, with the one dirt road leading from the autopista to the village. It turned out that this village was founded maybe 40 years ago by people from the mountains of the southern state of Oaxaca who came looking for land. When they founded it (and until 12 years ago, when the autopista was put in) it was three long hours' walk to get there from Tierra Colorada.

The amazing thing is that they're a seemingly isolated people group - "refugees" from Oaxaca, a little disconnected island of people in the middle of Guerrero state. The older people still speak the mountain language, and all speak with an uncharacteristic accent for the region, setting them off further from their neighbors.  read more here... lee mas aquí... »

Some of the wonderful things we have discovered could not have been discovered by gringos like us if we were traveling any other way than by bicycling.

Things that we have discovered:

• Markets called mercados. All fresh foods grown in the local farms, picked recently and sold at the markets by mostly women sitting on blankets and 5 gallon paint buckets. (price for lunch about 25 pesos or $2.50)
• Bathroom etiquette in Mexico: Always bring your own TP, do not flush it down the toilet because the systems can not handle it. Instead put it in the bucket next to the toilet and flush (sometimes) by pouring a bucket full of water from the 55 gallon storage barrel. (costs 2 pesos if TP is included and bathroom is tended and clean)
• Showers can be found in many markets. They're called regaderas publicos and can cost 5-8 pesos (50-80 cents US). What a treat to discover these showers when otherwise we have to take a hotel room to get a shower.
• Siestas: Mexican relaxing time between 2:00 and 4:00. Find the centro of town and find a park bench or a slab of concrete somewhere in the shade. (costs nothing and guaranteed to attract every curious kid around to come check out the bike tourist)
• Internet cafes: a great place to be during the hot afternoons or late evening or anytime one does not feel like riding the bike. The cost is about a dollar an hour (10 pesos an hour) and can be found in most towns with 10,000 people or more.