The filet mignons were delicious and cooked to perfection, Quincy's was some kinda restaurant, pure 70s and doing it right. Crispy cold salads, loaded up baked potatoes, bread&butter, and a fine 12oz cut wrapped in thick sliced peppered bacon, dinner hit nice. We had a boozy Tuesday in Leadville after the late night cancellation deflation. Brown handled it well despite the long hours of preparation, he brushed off my lame attempts at finding meaning in the decision. Air quality was the headline reason, stress on the over stressed city resources was a factor. It was the right call, the Willow Fire smoked and smouldered 4 miles west of town as we drove in earlier in the day.
As usual, the town was calm. We headed over to where the race would have began, a steep hundred foot climb starts the Silver Rush MTB50. Riders push or carry their bike up the wall-like feature, no other race of any kind starts in this maniacal fashion. We unloaded our bikes and rode the paved 12 mile Mineral Belt Trail up and around the old mining operations of two centuries ago, 2 miles above sea level. At 10,200 feet, Leadville is the highest town in all of America.
After the ride, we went on an early afternoon bar crawl. The Manhattan Bar, the Scarlet Tavern, the Silver Dollar Saloon, we bellied up to their mostly empty bars, we drank beers, we bantered with bartenders. Our gratuities were generous, the financial woe of a measely winter and smokey summer was evident. At our final bar stop, the Silver Dollar Saloon, we sat in the booth Jimmy Buffet wrote the song Incommunicado on the day his friend John Wayne died in the summer of 1979...
Tell me where do I go from here
Think I'll ride into Leadville and have a few beers
Think of Red River or Liberty Valance
Can't believe the old man's gone.
After Quincy's we drove back to Gold Park #7, the night sky was clear and stars were bright, the Milky Way was showing off, and it was all fine, just fine.
