piece o'cake?

21 June 2005
Ride the Rockies, Day 3
Delta to Montrose
46.5 miles

Today's route was the reverse of Day 3 in 2003, a route I now know well. Last time, I did it on a mountain bike with suspension and knobby fat tires. Back then, riders kept telling me they'd give anything to swap tires with me for that particular ride.

Now I understand why. At least half the country roads we pedaled across were the equivalent of cobblestone. My back was not ready for a ride like this.

At the end, all the bike shop vans had long lines of rattled bikes awaiting adjustments and repairs.

I could complain endlessly about this ride, but there was one redeeming factor. About three miles out from the final rest stop, I saw a large group of cyclists and one of the patrolling police officers in the distance. At first, I thought it was the rest stop. Then I hoped it wasn't an accident. As I pulled over to see what had captured the attention of so many riders, one of the guys (with camera poised and ready to shoot) explained that I had missed the birth of a foal by 20 minutes. Darn cobblestones!!!

I didn't miss Baby stand for the first time. Mama was licking Baby, then nudged the young 'un. The pony sprang to its feet, wobbly and shy, but it stood!

I think I used up about 60 shots in the next ten minutes.

The RTR ambulance pulled up, and the riders told the attendants their services were no longer required; delivery was complete.

One of the adult horses got too close to Baby, and Mama threw a fit. All three danced around a bit, Baby fighting to stay balanced amidst the melee. Mama kicked the intruder, who may have been Daddy, for all I know, right in the rump with her hind legs and threatened to do it again a second time. The offender was doing his or her best to establish dominance, trying to kick Mama back but totally missing the mark.

One of the riders proclaimed, "Uh, oh, looks like divorce!"

Mama proceeded to lick Baby after the dust settled, and Baby finally caught on. Baby began licking Mama. Then, in a surprise move (to us), Baby licked the curious adult who'd started the ruckus. Bonding at its finest!

The rancher, who had missed the event, told us one of the babies prancing around in the grass was born last week. Then he pointed out one of the napping babies and said that one had arrived during the night.

I had considered sagging today just because I wasn't feeling 100%, and it would give me a day to recover from the Grand Mesa, which really did take a toll on me. If I had sagged, my back wouldn't hurt near as much, and my memory card would be empty. I'd have missed an event that probably will stay with me forever. Great calendar shots!

In my quest to capture obscure visual treasures in Colorado, I got pictures of a 20-minute-young foal in Pea Green, Colorado!!! Now that's original!

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