Today was a sad day for us. We would be returning to Denver to drop off our bikes with Ben. After a quick breakfast, we packed up our bikes, closed up the chalet, and headed out. Our final ride with Bill and Jackie went by fairly quickly. We left Ouray around 8:30 am and arrived in Denver around 3:00 pm. At a couple of our gas and rest stops, Matt was asked by locals about his bike. Funny enough, this happens rather rarely. Most people ask about my bike and ignore Matt's. ;)
When we arrived in Denver, we were surprised to see that very few bikes had arrived before us. Although our bikes would be travelling home with 2 fewer bikes (2 people had alternate plans once the Colorado trip finished up), only 4 other bikes were there when the 4 of us rolled up. We quickly repacked our luggage and only took only what was necessary for our trip to Chicago. We said goodbye to our bikes again and watched as they were loaded onto the trailer. We also said goodbye to Ben, Jackie and Bill. What a fantastic adventure. We had an amazing time. =) Thank you to Ben for organizing everything so well. It was an awesome experience! Thank you to Bill, Jackie, and David for putting up with us for the week. Again, great company and great food. We will meet again!
We caught a hotel shuttle back to Denver International Airport. We had lots of time to spare. Luckily for us, this meant that we found out our assigned gate had been re-assigned. We were also able to get upgraded seats (more leg room for Matt!) for no additional cost. After we got all of that sorted out, we grabbed a bite to eat, got Matt a caffienated beverage, and then waited patiently at the correct gate. Our flight was delayed by 15 minutes because the previous plane was late on its departure. We were still able to arrive at Chicago on time. Despite the forecast of miserable weather (rain, rain, and more rain), there was no precipitation when we arrived in Chicago, and none when we arrived at our hotel. But: it is raining now. I guess this is a sign that we should go to bed.
Hello, Chicago. And good night!
The gang from the Whispering Pines chalet:
