Tour de Colorado - Thursday II

So now we have a decision to make.  Tomorrow’s stage is a time trial in Vail and while we’d very much like to see that, there are some logistical challenges which are probably going to be insurmountable.  While the town of Vail is happy to have the tour run through, they’ve made it clear that spectators aren’t welcome to stay overnight unless they’re spending money on a hotel room.  No camping allowed. 

It would be possible, albeit unpleasant, to set up by the highway at the top of Vail Pass but then we’d still have the challenge of how to get to the course with the dogs.  This hill would be too much for us to cycle up with dogs in tow and leaving them in the truck just isn’t practical.

We also have an invitation to spend Friday night at the home of some friend’s in Estes Park.  This will set us up nicely for Saturday’s stage but it’s long drive from here and we’re still somewhat nervous about how the truck will behave.  So, after poring over the maps for a while, we decide to skip tomorrow’s stage altogether, drive towards home and break the journey around the halfway point, in Frisco or thereabouts.  We can then head home in the morning, have a quick shower and unpack a bit, then switch to the more reliable Subaru for the run up to Estes.

As it turns out, the closer we get to home, the more attractive a warm shower and big bed start to sound.  It isn’t even 5pm when we hit Silverthorne and home is only a couple of hours away.  Yeah, we’ve talked ourselves into it.

Let’s go home.