Day 47: Rest day at Royal Gorge, CO

Thursday, July 5, 2012,  0 miles - Total so far: 884 miles*
    * Miles ridden on the TransAm route
    Odometer miles - Today - 10.7 Total to date - 934.3 miles  

Royal Gorge Bridge side trip - and just hangin' out


Most of the group spent the day on a rafting trip on the Arkansas River through Royal Gorge.  I decided my left arm didn't need to be paddling a raft, so I opted out.  Instead, I got up and took a side trip on my bike this morning at 7:30am.  I rode the 5 miles from our campground to the Royal Gorge Bridge.

The road to Royal Gorge Bridge - 4 miles from Hwy. 50.

The bridge is quite an engineering feat and the views are spectacular.  Unfortunately, the bridge is privately owned and is a very commercial venture with side attractions and a standard admission price of $26.  Fortunately, there is a discounted "bridge-only" admission of $16 if you arrive before 8:30am.  That worked great for me because the temperature was still very pleasant, there was no traffic on the ride up and the bridge was almost deserted.

This sign outlines the story of Royal Gorge and the bridge.

Me and my bike at the middle of the bridge.

The ride up included one quite steep climb of a couple of miles, but it is Colorado after all.  I figured this would be a good warmup for the next two days over the mountain passes into Hartsel and Frisco.

The Royal Gorge looking up river from the bridge.

Yes, cars are allowed to drive across the bridge.  The whole bridge shakes when they do.

A 180-degree panoramic view around the bridge.

Looking down to the Arkansas River from the bridge.

One more view of the bridge as I departed.

I spent about an hour looking around at the bridge, riding my bike across, taking lots of pictures in every direction from the bridge.  I really enjoyed it, so it was worth the money to me.  Then I rode back down and had breakfast at a cafe back at U.S. Hwy 50 just 1/2 mile down from our campground.

The rest of the day was spent trying to keep cool.  I did some things on the internet then went to lunch at one of the two restaurants across the highway with Simon (who unfortunately had to cancel out on the rafting because he was sick overnight). 

A group of rafters leaving for an afternoon trip from Echo Canyon Rafting, across Hwy. 50 from our campground.

As I write this at 3:30pm it's blowing and looking like it might rain, but the woman at the campground says it usually splits up and bypasses here.  It's interesting to watch the clouds build and the pockets of rain move around in the mountains.

Tomorrow will be a tough day so I expect the rest of the day will be an early dinner and early to bed.  More mountains tomorrow!