Aspen, CO to Manitou Springs, CO - 149 miles

When we left Aspen this morning it was 30 degrees:

Time to to layer up, get out the other pair of gloves, and turn on Lucinda’s heated handlebar grips. Wonderful ride up to Independence Pass (12,095 ft), except for a 20 minute delay due to road construction. I took a picture while we waited for the road to clear:

Stoped at a ghost town at top of the pass, evidently there was a sizable “gold rush” town in the 1860’s:

Headed down the other side of the mountain to Twin Lakes:

Of course, the police found me as usual:

Fake police car, with dummy cop to prevent speeding.

At this point the group went north and I decided to go directly to Manitou Springs. Wasn’t feeling well, maybe altitude sickness (it got worse when I went over the next pass at 11,000 feet). Stopped several times on the way to Manitou Springs. Lots of cars, narrow roads in places, people going fast and impatient if you are only going the speed limit. At one place I stopped, ate part of a sandwich and took a couple pictures looking back towards where I had ridden from:

Pulled into the hotel, checked in. No Pikes Peak today, not up for it. Hopefully, feel better in the morning.