{"id":188,"date":"2023-06-27T19:41:50","date_gmt":"2023-06-28T02:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/socalbrummie.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/27\/day-9-10-salida-to-saguache\/"},"modified":"2023-06-27T19:41:50","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T02:41:50","slug":"day-9-10-salida-to-saguache","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socalbrummie.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/27\/day-9-10-salida-to-saguache\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 9 & 10 – Salida to Saguache"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Day 9 – Chillin in Salida<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Day 9 was a recovery day in the town of Salida, a cool place to hang out and chill. Salida has some funky shops and the Arkansas River runs through it so there are lots of activities such as rafting, kayaking, floating and a standing wave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arkansas River, Salida<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are also lots of deer in Salida, chomping on foliage in driveways. They don\u2019t seem to be bothered by people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deer Strolling in the Hood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was a nice relaxing day and gave Mike some time to recover. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day 10 – On The Road Again<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We checked out of the Woodland Motel and headed for breakfast at the Red Hen Bakery before our journey began to the town of Saguache, about 50 miles away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first part of the ride was a 2000ft climb up Poncha Pass, the same climb we did on Saturday (day 7). Due to our unscheduled rest day we have modified our route to make up some time. Todays ride is mostly paved and we have cut out Marshals Pass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climb Up Poncha Pass<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Of course, we had a headwind to make things a little more challenging but we made it to the summit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summit of Poncha Pass<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Poncha Pass is Highway 285 and a pretty busy road. Fortunately the shoulder was fairly wide and vehicles are mostly considerate of cyclists. The downhill was into the wind and we soon left the mountains behind and entered the plains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entering the Plains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The wind was brutal making riding a bike with full packs very challenging. We stopped for lunch in a small town called Villa Grove. Nothing was open except for a pottery studio and another form of pot shop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wild West Weed Shop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After lunch we headed back into the wind. This time we went on County Road 58EE to get away from the traffic. More wind. The horizon was one big dust cloud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dust Cloud <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n