Day 3- Biking from Vail Pass summit

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Today was a great day. We rented bikes and were taken to the Vail Pass summit. The arrangement was to pick us up in Vail 2 1/2 hours later. We opted to instead keep the bikes the rest of the day and ride them the rest of the way to Avon and return them at the lodge. It was a 26 mile trip in total, and it was exhilarating! The early parts of the the trip were a snap - at one point I traveled a long time - perhaps at least a couple of miles without pedaling, just working the brakes as we changed altitude. We stopped in Vail Village and Lionshead to explore, shop and eat. We had absolutely outstanding German food at Pepis in Vail Village. Paula had cabbage rolls and Dan had jaegerschnitzel. From Vail to Avon, it got a little more challenging at points, and we had to share the road with vehicles at several points. What was incredible through the whole trip was the fresh smell of spruce, the gentle gurgle of the Eagle River which was our companion the entire trip, and the cool mountain air. It was a day to remember and today will stay with us for years to come.
Tomorrow we are planning to hike along a National Forest trail near the Vail Pass summit. Much like today but less distance and no bikes.

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Photos

At the top - beginning our ride
This picture was taken from the top of Vail Summit just before we began our 26 mile bike ride.

Paula at Vail Pass summit
Just a few minutes into the ride

Dan at Vail Pass summit
Just a minute or two into the ride

Eagle River near Vail Pass summit
This piece of heaven came to us about 5 minutes into the ride.

Paula at Pepis in Vail Village
Terrific German food, and German beer. Note the name on the beer glass, very close to Paula R. It was actually Paulaner Pilsener. Went great with the cabage rolls and the jaegerschnitzel.

Eagle River - pretty throughout
This was a continual friend to us the entire ride. This is near Whisky Creek, close to Avon in the last stages of our ride