19 June 2005Ride the Rockies, Day 1
Colorado National Monument
45 miles
I can count on it like clockwork. I always forget something when I travel. Usually I'm lucky enough to be able pick up a new toothbrush or deodorant stick at any grocery or convenience store. But sometimes I mess up really bad and forget camera batteries or film or flash, and I end up missing some phenomenal photo. Or I end up sleeping on the floor of the tent or in the back of my car because I forgot my sleeping bag.
This time, I kind of took the cake. On the bright side, I did bring my bike. Oh, and my camera. The most important ingredients!
I was so worried I might forget my helmet, I left my shoes behind. I could have picked up a new helmet for $20 bucks or so. Yeah, it wouldn't have been as good as the one I'm using. But holy cow!!! Shoes, cleats, and the heartache (and footache and bodyache) of getting the cleats adjusted all over again... Oh, man! Do you have any idea how much biking shoes cost??? Now I'm going to be the Imelda Marcos of cycling.
We stashed the Lizard’s truck in Breckenridge. We had to purchase a parking permit from the Town of Breckenridge. A few miles later, we passed the official RTR porta potties making their way to Grand Junction. Now that's a treat none of the bus riders got to see!
We reported to the registration tent first thing Saturday morning and didn't have to wait in line. We were worried this year's jersey might be really ugly because neither of us cared for the logo. But they did a good job with the lame design. I like the jersey so much, I bought the matching shorts. :)Sunday morning, I left a couple hours earlier than the Lizard, hoping I might be able to finish the ride in time to make the final church service of the day at 1 p.m. I rode with none other than TV personality Larry Green for a while, and I stopped to help a riding medic whose chain derailed when she began the day's climb. I stopped a couple more times before reaching the top of the climb, just to stretch and make sure I wasn't pushing too hard and save my strength and endurance for tomorrow's challenge.
The most amazing thing of the day was watching people's reactions as they rounded the bend of the Grand View overlook. Two by two I watched eyeballs nearly pop from heads at the stunning scenery. Got asked to snap a photo more than once. Always happy to oblige!I trained on this leg of the ride three times during the preseason. The first trip was six hours. The second trip was five hours. The third trip got cut short because I got stuck in my cleats.
Although my average speed was only 11.2, according to my trip computer, I did today's ride in 4 hours and 2 minutes! I got back in time to shower and attend the 11 a.m. church service!!! I was so excited! My fastest speed during the descent was 31.5. I used the brakes a lot. But I don't have to replace them. Yet...
36 miles of screaming downhill tomorrow. If I can finish the grueling climb...
Wow, exciting! How I wish I am that fit :-)
ReplyDeleteBtw, I wondered why I often can't leave comment on your blog? It just sort of lock and refuse to receive any keyboard input.
I'm not sure why the comment block sometimes burps, but I've had it happen to me when I'm trying to comment on someone else's blog sometimes, and it's frustrating! I just close out of the browser, clear my cache and try again. That usually takes care of it, but not always, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredible experience - I would definitely have been one of the "eye-popping" folk, you're so lucky!
ReplyDelete