Colorado day 5: Hoosier Pass, biker chicks > me

I thought I was a stud. Finally a real mountain pass with switchbacks - Hoosier Pass. A good 2000 ft. climb, and I even managed some repeats of the last leg. Then we chatted with these chicks. Turns out they're biking coast to coast from Yorktown, VA to Florence, OR! Unsupported, on fully loaded touring bikes, Anna riding a Surly Long Haul Trucker no less! And I thought hauling my ass and my BMC up that pass was a feat - I'm just a poofter compared to these women. Plus, they're a mother-daughter team. From the web site it looks like Anna just graduated college, so that gives you an idea of their ages. Epic! I want to quit my job and bike across the country - who's in?
__After Hoosier pass we flew down to Alma and chilled in a nice cafe for a bit before we headed back up. The trip back up was a bit slower with a sandwich sitting in my gullet, but I made it, not too far ahead of Sascha actually. The ride back down the other side was even more fun because of the switchbacks. Wheee!
The Sigma Sport BC 2006 MHR is going back. It did the same thing with altitude today, namely not reading past 9,999 feet and then ticking down from 9,999 feet from Hoosier Pass after I rested long enough for it to go into 'sleep' mode and 'recalibate' itself to the last displayed altitude (the incorrect 9,999 feet). By the time we were back in Breckenridge the computer was displaying 8,xxx feet (Breckenridge is at 9,600 feet). I'd moved the computer from the bar mount to the stem mount in an attempt to get better heart rate monitor readings, and although it helped, the HRM readings were still unacceptably random. Maybe one of these days I'll find a bike computer that actually works for a price that's somewhat reasonable. Until then I'm battling it out with Cateye to fix my computer again.
__Back in Breck I was planning on going in to Denver to exchange my women's medium jersey (the one Cam ordered when she signed up for Triple Bypass) and return the Sigma. After contemplating dealing with Denver rush hour traffic, and how badly I wanted a loud club cut jersey that fits, I decided to hang out with Sascha in the coffee shop and blog/surf instead. I've become even more of a coffee snob - The Crown is a nice place to hang out, with comfy antique chairs, gorgeous carved wood millwork, decadent-looking pastries and a nice ambience, but they're open very inconvenient hours and have terrible coffee. Both Sascha and I were so disappointed with the coffee we were served that I went over to Clint's and got us some real coffee, which we consumed at The Crown. I figure we paid for our coffee and thus the privelege of hanging out here and sucking up their WiFi, even though the coffee itself went down the drain! I've also figured out an important key to making my own espresso: a good burr grinder. The espresso I was making was pretty weak, even though I was using a burr grinder (albeit relatively inexpensive at $50). After tweaking various elements to no avail, we decided to get some pre-ground espresso roast at Starbucks. This made all the difference! So apparently not only do I need to spend some decent coin on an espresso maker, I need to drop the same amount again on a good burr grinder! Now it's going to take TWO months for the equipment investment to pay for itself (just kidding - kinda)!