Day 11. To Aspen, Colorado.

We woke up at our usual time, 6:30am only to find it was a chilly 39 degrees outside. We decided to have a slower start and wait for the sun to warm things up a bit. We used the time to continue planning our tour of Colorado. By 9:00 things had warmed up enough to head off.

Before long we were heading up into the mountains,

We stopped in the old mining town of Leadville for coffee,

 As we drank our cups we could see tantalizing views of the the mountains,

Fortified by caffeine the day's ride started in earnest as we tackled multiple switchbacks and gasped in awe at the views as we ascended up and over the Continental Divide,

After crossing the divide and "conquering" the pass we enjoyed an exhilarating and less technically challenging descent to Aspen. This our first time at this swanky ski town, I was lucky to find a great deal on a modest hotel on Expedia and so here we are!

 The Bikes outside the Tyrolean Lodge

Plaza near the base of the ski slopes.

We have just had a very nice dinner at a "nutritarian" restaurant. Despite the premise it was delicious!

As usual we are now in a near state of collapse at 9:00pm!! Off to bed.