The next day started with riding that was similar to the day before, well maintained forest roads. When the
road approached the Colorado river things started to get more interesting. We had more curves to carve and
the scenery along the river was beautiful. It was fun following the railroad for sections of the ride, and I even
had a little oopsie trying to get myself out of a tricky spot under the railroad tracks. Of course Alberto is
always ready to capture a mishap with his camera. We stopped for a mid-day snack at a popular recreation
site. We watched rafts full of people floating by on the river in the hot afternoon sun. As the temperature
was quite warm we too decided to refresh ourselves in the river before continuing.
The terrain really dried out near the town of Gypsum, it was a stark contrast to the lush forests we had been
riding so far. Once again we were wowed by the luxurious ranch houses we saw as we continued south from
Gypsum. Some very impressive properties indeed. Before we even realised we were tackling our first pass
of the trip, Hagerman Pass. It came up on us very suddenly and boy did that smack us back into the present.
It was pretty rocky by my standards and required full attention for picking lines and managing the steep
grade. Alberto was not giving his full attention though as he was following me too closely and almost ran me
down when I stopped suddenly at the top of a steep section before a small water crossing. I would not have
been impressed if he had crashed me into the water. By the time we reached the top we had shed several
degrees of temperature and small bits of snow lined the road.