Day 35 July 16th

Denver to Granby
It was a very tough day with lots of climbing. it starte off good with steak, pancakes, and hash browns at the hotel for $6. I was off on the road again by 10. I asked the guy at the reception what he thought about going to the Coors brewery which i would be passing right by. He said he didnt like domestics and never had any desire to go. I felt sort of the same way. The bike is running ok but it wont go into third gear which wasnt a problem today since it was mostly climbing but i need to get it fixed before Wyoming. The camelbak was ok but it definitely tasted like bleach still so i need to wash that out some more and drink only from my bottles. I had Subway for lunch after climbing Lookout Mountain. I refilled my bottles again at a McDonalds where i didnt buy anything but walked over to the fountain drinks and filled up with powerade and water. After the town of Idaho Springs it want a tough ride until a few mies before Empire where it started to get steep. In empire i stopped at a market and had to buy a half gallon of normal milk and a container of Hershey's syrup to make some chocolate mill. The climb after Empire was terrible. It wasnt as tall as teh other pass i did but it was much steeper, plus i wasnt in as good condition as before. I was definitely not used to the altitude and struggled for a few miles before putting y thumb out and hitchhiking while riding. The bike shop i stopped in said that mountain bikers do it all the time and then ride down on the other side for fun so motorists are used to doing it. It only took about 4 tries for someone to stop and pick me up. Mike lived on the other side of the pass in Frasier and he gave me a lift in his truck. Even his truck struggled up the pass. The way down seemed pretty treacherous with switchbacks on the side of the cliff and some really steep descents. MIke was kinda strange. He talked a lot about pot and how they are slowly starting to legalize it. He also said how he wanted to move to Penn State and sell pot to all the college kids there. But he gave me a free ride so i cant really complain.
It was only 15 miles from where he dropped me off to Granby and i found a hotel there by 7. When i was walking into my room a man and his son stopped me and asked what i was doing with my bike. I told them a little and they invited me to dinner with them. Steve and his son Christian were in town for the mountain bike national championships that Christian was in. They were both really friendly and had tons of questions about my trip.
104 miles tomorrow and crossing another continental divide at 9,500 ft tomorrow morning but i will be back on the route in less than 5 miles.