As usual for us, things continue to go wonderfully. First on the agenda was to stop for coffee (again) in Placerville before the climbing began. We cycled right up the my beloved before-mentioned bench and lo and behold, there lay two not-so-crisp dollars for us to purchase our coffees with. This kind of "magic" happens to us all the time and I just chuckle and thank the powers that be for the gift. 
Heading out of Telluride on highway 141 was a treat for us because it is an road we'd never been on before. The views just south of Norwood merited some picture taking. I'm guessing but I think that is Lone Cone on the right. Very pretty country.
Of course, as mentioned above, winter was now over and the heat was coming on. For me, this means managing the heat rash that I inevitably get when I cycle in the sun for hours. But I have a "cure" and that is, every 5 or so miles, I douse my legs and shorts with water to cool my legs down. It definitely works and makes it possible for me to push on thru the hottest parts of the day. Still, we seek out shade any chance we get. On average, we try to go 20 miles and break for a snack, then 20 miles and break for lunch and a nap, then 20 more miles and call it a day. Above is us at one of our typical lunch stops.
Highway 141 up to Gateway is a stunning ride. I really felt like I was in Utah. There were tons of motorcycles and very few big rigs on this road. Looked like we were cycling on the bottom of the Grand Canyon in some places. It's a very curvy road that followed the Dolores River for a ways. A river in which we had at least 3 "heatbreaks". A heatbreak is when you get too hot and you have to get in the river, fully clothed (that includes shoes, you can leave your helmet on too!). Then you just lay there and moan.
We arrived in Gateway which was exciting for me because I've always been intrigued with it on the map. It just seemed like it had to be cool. Well what it turned out to be was not what I'd expected. For those who have hiked the PCT, think Warner Springs without the hot springs. It's basically just a resort with employees zooming around in golf carts. Still, we were SOOOO excited to be there as it was 95F out and we were "knackered as". They have this store at the resort called the Outpost. The first thing I notice was that there was no access to the Outpost from the road. What kind of business makes it hard for their customers to enter their establishment? Lucky for us, we had bikes and could hop some curbs to get to the store. Inside, it's pretty darn nice as you can see from the pic. And get this, they had only one Ben and Jerry's left and it was my favorite flavor, "Chubby Hubby". Anyone who's done some long-distance travel can pretty well imagine how LONG we lounged in this oasis.
After over-staying our welcome at the Outpost in Gateway, we tried to trudge onward (and upward) but only made it 6 miles before both of us were bonking and literally shaking a bit. Not sure what was going on, but it was a record heat day. So we took another heatbreak and tried some more, but Kiki tapped out and said she just didn't feel right. Magically, this wayside picnic area appeared and we pulled in for the night. Sometimes you just gotta camp wherever you poop-out. The above picture show how critical picnic tables can be to an enjoyable camping experience. Once our panniers explode their contents, it's pretty easy to cover the tables in no time flat.
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That reminds me of one reason I love bicycle touring or long-distance hiking. You get to this state of appreciation for such simple things. Like the above picnic table, or often just good shade from the sun, or having cold water instead of tepid water. These simple things are usually taken for granted in normal life, not even noticed really. So we must rely on other things to stimulate that "make-you-happy" feeling. And yet, if you've got it all, well then it gets pretty tough to get that feeling at all.
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