July 17, Running Into Friends

Since the day before had been rainy, and Jeff didn't get even a full 30 miles in, the plan was to hit the ground hard today. However, we did decide to stop at the local Starbucks there in Frisco before heading out. What a treat that turned out to be! We were sitting there enjoying our cuppa, when Jeff looked up to see a familiar face! John and Brenda McManus, who were old tandem cycling friends of Jeff's, were buying a cup of coffee! He jumped up to talk to them. Seems that they spend a couple months every summer now up in Frisco. They love it so much that they are even building a home there!

The whole tandem cycling thing is why you may notice a trend of bicycle pics, or artsy bicycle things. It was a huge part of his life at one time! So, after spending about an hour talking to them, we went on down the road. They informed Jeff about a bike trail that goes from Frisco to Breckenridge, so that he wouldn't have to be on the highway. When he was about halfway to Breck, John and Brenda showed up on their bikes! Along with another friend of theirs from Frisco. That was really cool, running into folks we know from home. John, worried about Jeff's calories, gave him a couple bags of M&M's. I've never seen huge M&M's like that before!

 

Turns out the town of Frisco is quite cute! They have a really nice downtown Main Street area with lots of shops and things. It is smaller than Breckenridge, but really a cool place. It was a bit too trendy for Jeff's taste, I think, but I loved it. If it weren't for winters, I could live there!

 

 

While in Frisco, we discovered that the Summit Daily News office was on the main street. I went and picked Jeff up and we drove over there to talk to them about doing a story. The reporter we spoke to, Brandon Evans, had recently moved here from Decatur, Texas! Such a small world! He did a great little story on Jeff and Support for Firefighters. Check their website to see if it is still available on-line. It was published July 18. 

After that, Jeff headed up the bike trail towards Breckenridge, and I drove up and parked. Parking the Big Beast was a definite challenge in Breckenridge! But I found a big gravel spot and waited for him. He got some interesting pics on the trail. One of the things I love about Colorado is that it is so friendly towards people that are active outdoors! And there is a lot of history here....

 

Breckenridge was a very cute town, as well! A bit larger downtown area, but lots of history. Some really cute buildings, too! I loved the Starbuck's in the old yellow house. And they really appreciate the bronze statuary here, too! And Jeff found a running store, supposed to be the "highest" running store in the country. We had lunch there at the Smokehouse. Our friends and neighbors, Frank and Carol Finn, gave us a suggestion for a place called Embers. Unfortunately, they weren't open for lunch! Looked really interesting, too!

 

 

 

After leaving Breckenridge, we headed up towards the next pass. We went through a couple little dots on the map. Most of these places had signs to keep you from parking on the road. It is always a challenge to find a place to park the Big Beast and wait! Jeff also stopped at one of the local fire stations along the way up. They were great!

 

The Road Ahead was up, up, up towards Hoosier Pass. That is where we ended up staying for the night. There was a huge gravel area at the top, and the views were great. There was also a nice breeze. It was about 11,500 feet, so didn't do much for the altitude headache I had for several days!

 

 

There were no creative mailboxes for today, either. Perhaps they are on general delivery up there, too!