Sunday, September 15, 2013

Ride the Rockies - Before the Ride

Ride the Rockies - Before the Ride

The 2013 Ride the Rockies tour is a 545 mile trek through 7 cities in Colorado; Telluride, Cortez, Durango, Pagosa Springs, Alamosa, Salida, Canon City and Colorado Springs.  All of these towns (except Canon City) are beautiful and worth checking out the real estate to re-locate.  My riding buddy Michael Witt sent me an e-mail saying he was going to sign up for the lottery to enter.  I thought, sure, I'll enter the lottery with not a lot of thought if we got picked.

Then we got picked and the heart started racing.  Michelle was all for it and said "Go, have a great time."  It's a big trip logistically to get across the country with one's bike.  What follows is the 9 day blog entry.  There are lots of pictures and video worth watching.  It was truly a fantastic trip that I would encourage all you fellow bikers to think about.

It's the end of the second day out here in Telluride.  To date it seems like we came across the country for hiking instead of biking.  The whirlwind of activity started yesterday which seem like it could have been 1 week ago.  The journey started with a 3am wakeup call Friday morning to head out to Dulles airport for a 5:30am flight.  It was an easy flight to Denver, and then a puddle jumper over to Montrose.

Arriving in Montrose at 10am MST we were wondering what we'd be doing all day.  The plan was to stay the night there and catch a shuttle the next morning into Telluride.  We didn't have to wait long as the locals at the Hampton Inn told us about Black Canyon.  Kudos to the staff at the Hampton Inn as they were the nicest and most helpful people at any hotel that I have ever met.

Hardest short hike I've ever taken.  1 mile ~2,200'.
See the river way down there/
 The hotel drove us over to Black Canyon and we went into the Visitor Center to talk about hikes.  We talked to two rangers who apparently were doing the "good cop bad cop" routine.  They were telling us about Gunisson Trail hike which we think is about 2200' down a one mile un-maintained trail.  One ranger was warning us about going down, while the other was a lot less worried about the two of us athletic looking individuals taking the jaunt.  

Picture doesn't quite do this justice.  Entire hike was
crazy steep over loose rock.
That trail turned out to be the most technical hike I have ever walked.  It was practically a 45 degree angle all the way to the river over loose rock.  It was simply a ridiculously dangerous hike that neither Michael or I was going to turn back on.  Plus, I had the greatest ever hiking shoes on, CROCS!


As hard as that hike was, it was totally worth the effort once we reached the bottom.  The river and canyon were incredicbly beautiful.  The river was melted snow so my feet lasted about 20 seconds in the water.  There's a small campsite at the bottom of which a few people were there.  After one hour we headed back up.

Looking better than he did on the way down.  That water is cold!
Going up was so much easier than going down and about 4x as fast.  There was only one stressful moment with Michael and the chain.  One part of the trail was close to repelling.  It was that steep.  But as they say in Black Canyon, "What happens in Black Canyon stays in Black Canyon."

Picture from the bus on the way over to Telluride.
We rode the shuttle over to Telluride in the morning.  First thing was to check out the demos.  There is a Specialized Turbo electric bike.  Oh my, this was the coolest thing ever.  Battery powered and doubled your output.  It could sense how hard you were pedaling.  I was going 30mph up hill and barely putting forth the effort.  It pretty much a moped activated by pedaling.  Way cool!

Telluride is at the bottom of those mountains.  Incredible scenery.
We got our bikes and took a short couple mile ride and then cruised through the town.  It's bigger than it seems on the map.  It was a good time riding through and seeing all the activity and people.  We rode back to the campsite and registered for the ride and got our pristine lodging arrangements.

Diki's Grilled Cheese was all that and more.
There's a festival back in town so we walked back over for some dinner after a hour or two of meeting people at the campsite.  Festival food was on the menu including a gyro and the best grilled cheese sandwich in Colorado made by Diki.  AFter walking around even more, we took the gondola ride to the top of the mountain and walked around there for a bit.  Got some great pictures as you have 360 degree views of all mountains around you.  Just incredible.

Little town of Telluride.   Not a lot going on during non-ski season.
Not done with the activity yet, so we rode back down and enjoyed the festival people and band.  Got hungry again so had a pretty good burger.  And as we seem to always be on the go we threw in another 3 mile hike to see the tallest waterfall in colorado.  You could see Ingram Falls from the streets but you had to walk down 1.5 miles to see Bridal Falls which is the big one.  You can check the video.

Pretty good accommodations, I say.

Michael sporting his vehicle of choice.
We're now back to the tents at night and guess what?  Those pristine lodging conditions ..well, my air mattress is flat. No worries, got another one, brushed my teeth, leaving my feet disgustingly dirty for the night, and typing this first blog entry.

View from top of mountain down on Telluride.
Colorado is a beautiful state.  We've seen so many mountain views, snow, fields, and overall incredible nature that it makes one want to live out here.  Or at least visit frequently.  Checking real estate properties I found there are lots of houses in the $2 to $5 million range, totally within budget.

It's 10:29pm, 12:29pm if you count EST so I think I've had enough activity for the day.  Long bike ride ahead tomorrow starting with a 25 mile 3000' ascent.  Wish me luck 'cause I'm going to need it.

Ride the Rockies - Day 4 to Alamosa

Day 4 - Pagosa Springs to Alamosa


I didn't want to get out of bed.  I was cold, stiff and 5am isn't in my genes.  So I slept until 5:45am.  Then I was just cold and stiff.  What laid ahead for the day was the most difficult climb all week.  To the top of Wolf Ridge which is an 8 mile ascent up 4000'.


The first 10 miles were brutal for me.  Not the rolling hills, but the cold, my knee, my other knee, my butt and my spirit.  It was a difficult 10 miles.  I kept pedaling the ascent to the first aid station where I was craving the flapjack breakfast.  After that station is when the real climb begins.  4 miles of 7-8% grade.  In the end it was not as difficult as I thought it would be.
Wolf Creek is a long ways up.
Michael was feeling really well and cruised up the mountain ahead of me.  As it turns out, altitude sickness is nothing to shake a stick at.  For some reason he got it really bad at the top of the mountain and almost cost him his ride.  But he's tough and determined so he figured out a way to keep going .. but he was very close to SAG.

I stopped a few times for some photo shoots that you can see here.

10,000 feet is way up there.  About a 3,700' foot climb.
After the climb, comes the big descent.  I reached 50 mph and then backed off a bit.  It was a really steep road but also very bumpy.  Kenny no like big bumps when riding 50 mph.  Actually scared me a bit so I slowed down to low 40's.  As if that would have made a difference if I flew onto the pavement.

And here's the reward for the climb.
Easy ride to Aid Station 3 as it was all downhill.  Then the fun began.  Nasty headwind that was very difficult to deal with.  I got in a pace line a few times but even those can be hard with that wind.  Stay on the pedal, you'll get there.

This is Michael when he reached the top.  That smile was lost shortly after.
The potatoes at the last aid station rocked!  Why do they always taste so good.  My Mountains of Misery ride has boiled potatoes that are crazy good .. but maybe I'm just hungry.

Here in Alamosa is pure festival.  We've got a carnival going on at our location, bands, homemade fudge and jugglers.  It's quite the party. But here I am in the rec center trying to stay cool and blogging.

Video Time!

I found a Bald Eagle.


Aid station before Wolf Creek ascent.


Partly up Wolf Creek .. not there yet.


Getting close to top but not there yet.


Finally, the descent.


I love following streams.


Headwinds are not so fun.


Alamosa party was a great time.


Ride the Rockies - Day 5 to Salida


The ride to Salida was pretty easy.  The first 60 miles had about 400' of climbing, then a 1,000' foot climb up to Poncha Pass before a long descent.  Some people may think the Ride the Rockies event is difficult, but I'm putting my vote towards to Salida Run.

Flat, flat and more flat.
The Salida run is a sprint from the town up a ~1,200 foot hill and then back down again.  The local town participates with at least one Ride the Rockies runner.  Let's just say he didn't finish anywhere near the winner.

The race goes from the starting line up to that small building way up there and then back down.  It looks like it would take one hour to climb that hill.  Turns out the winner did it in under 10 minutes.


Here's the winner!


Here's the winner.

We enjoyed this town immensely.  There was also a professional kayaking competition the same weekend.

Video Time!


Flat ride to start heading to Salida.


Thar's smoke up there!


There's more smoke up thar! 


Getting close to Salida.


Here's the start of the crazies.


A little more of the crazies.


Leader reaches the top.


On the way down.

Ride the Rockies - Day 6 to Canon City



OK folks, the jury's in ... Canon City is a dump.  It's penitentiary town where every dollar comes from the 13 prisons in the county.  I stopped a guy on the street to ask him a question and he gave us the full story.  He came here after 15 years in Florida. Been here 2 years and he's still wondering why.

Riding the through the canyon.

I wanted to camp along this river.
95 miles through some of the most beautiful scenery all week.  Starting with the ride through the canyon, then along the mountain ranges, up and over Backscrabble Pass, through hell and then on to Canon City.   Fremont is hell on earth.  We rode through that city in 30+ mph winds, choking dirt storms, dodging tumbleweeds, incredible heat and barren wasteland.  I was thinking to myself, "What is this place?", "Does anyone live here?", "Why would anyone want to live here?"  Just wretched.

We met back up with Pam along the ride.
I heard the shoe-bomber is held here.  This place is horrid.
Getting close to finishing.

Video Time!


Getting started.


Random canyon video.



This was worthy to video.  Beautiful.


More video to make you want to move to Colorado.


Waiting for a slow downhill rider, Michael!



Hell on earth .. Fremont.  And windy.


Continue to Day 7 - Colorado Springs

Ride the Rockies - Day 7 to Colorado Springs


What can I say about the final 47 miles of the trip.  Well, for one it was blazing fast.  I felt really strong on this ride and didn't leave any energy in reserves.  Plain and simple just tore through the course and the 2,000' of climbing.

A rare downhill on the final day.
Bittersweet at the end.  I didn't want it to end, but I was happy to start towards home.
545 miles after the start.
So what are my final thoughts on crossing the finish line?  For one, I was looking forward to getting back home and seeing the family.  But I was also excited to be bringing the real estate magazines I picked up to show Michelle and list the house :-)  I definitely now have a taste for biking road trips.  We talked about a few during the ride including Ragbrai in Iowa and the Tour of Oregon.  Would love Michelle and the kids to come along on one of these rides.


Crossing the finish.



Ride the Rockies - Day 1 to Cortez

Ride the Rockies - Day 1 to Cortez


Just a little climb to start, then a looooong downhill.
Getting out of bed today was bone chilling cold.  Apparently the basin traps all the cold air and it stays that way until the sunshine comes.  Around 6am this morning I saw the sun hitting the tops of the peaks and could only hope it would creep down the mountain faster.  It really was a bit cold and lots of people were shivering.  

Once we got on the road it was about 2 miles before the big hill.  It wasn't long after that when I could feel my fingers again.  I was wearing shorts and my rain coat which keeps me pretty warm.  But the fingers!

It's a big climb up to Lizard Pass.  I probably stayed there for a good 1.5 hours.  There was a DJ up there who was pretty good.  He kept getting people to play games.  There was an egg toss, pretty entertaining when the egg smashes all over you.  There was a sprint run up the grassy hill to see who could get to the t-shirt first.  A cookie eating contest.  Plus a Dancing with the Stars contest.  Guess which one I played in?  Yep, Dancing with the Stars.  My dance was the Polka which I've never done before.  So Paula and I took on another couple and  here's what happened.


Let me first say that we are at around 10,500' in elevation.  We hiked 2000' on Gunnison trail 2 days ago.  We took a 3 mile hike last night along with treking around the mountain top.  And I just rode up a 15 mile hill.  I lasted about 20 seconds with that Polka lunging.  The other couple won.  Dang, I could have gotten a t-shirt.

Michael pulled his 2nd clown move of the trip today.  We get in line for the flapjacks for $5 big one's and he's paying.  I didn't even bring my wallet on the ride, why?  Check the next paragraph.  So Michael reaches in one pocket, two pockets, three pockets .. at this point I'm thinking I'm not getting any flapjacks.  True enough, wallet left in bag and I'm left with eating green bananas for 60 miles.

This was a long hill to ride up.  But then we got to go down.
The next 60 miles was told to us to be all downhill.  Most of it was but not all of it.  We stopped at each Aid Station or a little fruit.  A note about the Aid Stations, they aren't like all the centuries in Virginia.  Virginia Aid Stations are smorgasbords of calories, from sandwiches, m&m's, granola bars, energy liquid goo, nuts, and lots of stuff.  All of it is free with admission.  These rest stops have free green bananas, or oranges, or grapes, and several vendors you have to pay.  Even the all you can eat pancake breakfast was $5 at Aid Station 1.  So no, I don't like the aid stations here.  Even the end of the rides have zero, nil, nada, nyet, non free food.  All vendors wanting you money.  One strange comment from someone living in Montrose was that the vendors area ll asking "stadium prices" for their food.  I had to ask her about that comment.  I'm thinking $7-10 bucks is a steal for what we are getting.  Her idea was $4 for a meal like the grilled cheese from Diki in Tellluride.

We kept chugging along on the trip.  Turns out it got really hot to the lower 90's.  Finally arriving in Cortez was a blessing.  Tumbleweed Alert!  This is the desert, not the plush area of Telluride.  Even right now i'm trying to cool myself down by coming into the rec center with the a/c.  The cold shower was also great.

I met Jack and Twisty today.  They got engaged 2 years ago on this ride.  I heard "Will you marry me?" was chalked on the ground somewhere along the ride.  So they thought it fitting to have their honeymoon on this ride.  They are then going to travel to Italy for even more biking.  As if 513 miles in one week isn't enough.  Listen to me now, hear me later, I'm going to sitting on the couch come Sunday and not off on another bike ride.

I passed a woman riding her mountain bike with big knobby tires today.  I slowed down to talk with her about her biking choice.  She says, 'It's the only bike I have".  I suggested high pressure tires for her, then I rolled past her in 3rd gear.  It brought a nightmare to mind when I road my mountain bike with huge 29x2.2 tires on the Seagull Century with Danimal.  That ride was much hard than it need to be.  We're planning on riding again this year but I'm going to have my road bike .... Danimal, I expect you to keep up.

View out our Cortez dining choice.
Cortez is a different kind of location from the Telluride site.  Telluride had the whole town involved with activities.  This place is just the rec center and the tent ensemble.  Nothing much to do.  Perhaps walk over to the McDonald's so I can get internet and upload a few videos.  Although I have to admit the a/c is really feeling good to me right now.  Remind me why I'm in a tent and not the gym floor?

Bonus time: George Hincapie was giving a talk to the crowd.  He took some pictures after the talk and check out this video!

So now my mission for the remainder of the day is to stay cool.  So how did I end up taking a hot chartered bus into Cortez to sit in a now crowded pasta place with a lobby about 85 degrees?  I'm medium well going on well done.  This is a pasta place so I'm guessing the pasta comes out steaming hot!


Ever wonder what a clown move looks like?


Good look at an aid station.


Next aid station at bottom of hill.


Gorgeous red rock.


Taking shelter from the sun.


This is George Hincapie


Ride the Rockies - Day 3 to Pagosa Springs

Ride the Rockies - Day 3 to Pagosa Springs


I really have no explanation for how good I feel after today's ride.  Yesterday's ride made me feel really bad, tired, sore and generally overwhelmed.  In hindsight, it was an extremely hard ride with all that climbing.  I was stressing big time last night in the tent about this long ride (86 miles) today and I was stressing even more this morning on the early climbs.

Out of the gate was a long 14 mile climb that wasn't all that taxing.  I was taking it pretty slow because I didn't want my knee to blow up and then hail the SAG wagon.  Getting to the top was a big victory for me because I had no pain.  That was some foreshadowing for the rest of the ride.
Lots of open road in Colorado.
I didn't take it too fast for awhile but that changed later on as I was feeling better and better.  To be honest, later in the ride I had the attitude of "ride fast until I bonk".  To my infinite surprise, it never happened.  I really was pushing the ride since it was gradual declines/inclines and flat segments.  I got in a couple pace lines going 30+ and loved every minute of it.  I also tagged up with a tandem.

Go Michael Go!
A word about tandems.  All bikers love them on flats.  They are so fast and you get behind them and cruise without a lot of effort.  I got several miles out of one tandem until they pulled into the aid station.  Highly recommend you try it sometime because it's a true joy of riding.

Around mile 70 I sat down for a protein laced smoothie.  Most incredible smoothie I've ever had.  I even got a seat in the smoothie tent.  Check out the video below.



We rolled into Pagosa Springs and I couldn't be happier.  Still, I couldn't believe how well I felt.  This place is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.  I got a few videos of the scenes and one of them shows how happy arriving today made me.
Does anyone ever look good in biking clothes?
Parked the bike and for the first time I felt well enough to go straight to the shower truck.  A word about the shower truck, Awesome!  Showers on wheels.  I didn't use much hot water and came out with the best shiver I've ever had.  Now into the high school for some charging and typing!

Video Time!


Good start to the day.  Here's a property I'd like to buy.


Aid station, who needs an aid station with 5 hour energy?


I love smoothies and country views!


17 miles to go and slowing down a bit.


Entering Pagosa Springs and I'm quite happy.  I love KFC!


More Pagosa Springs entry.


Truly amazing story to recover the cap.

Ride the Rockies - Day 2 to Durango

Day 2 - Ride the Rockies (Durango)


I've been having a debate with Michael about whether Colorado is considered the "Southwest".  I think yes, he says no.  Either way what we both agree on is that it's hot.  93 today, 95 yesterday, scorching.  This ride is every bit about managing one's capabilities beyond just the riding.  Like today, the ride was 5 hours with the last 2 or 3 in that heat.  Now it's a game of managing oneself to avoid heat exhaustion.  I'm hanging out in the school charging my devices, writing this blog, and mainly just keeping from the heat.
The secret to an easy ride.  We are looking kinda shabby.
I was walking down the hall and this guy was talking to his wife and all of a sudden he kinda screamed.  He said he was cramping really bad.  I've never cramped before, but this ride will do it to you.  I rode by a 69 year old man today who's shirt says "Death Before Sag".  He was on a mountain bike and carrying all his stuff; tent, sleeping bag, food & water, and clothes.  He's riding RTR and Tour of Colorado back to back.  I can't imagine how difficult that would be for 2 weeks.  Also passed the married couple again, Twisty and Jack.  They were on singles today instead of the tandem and doing quite well.

This ride is big enough, ~2000 riders, where you can see the same people but you also meet new people all the time.  I talked with a couple from the west side of Massachusetts.  They're recommendation is the Grey Lock Century.  I looked it up and it's equivalent to the Mountains of Misery ... so I think I'll skip that one :-)

This is known as a bike corral.
The ride today was 64 miles with about 40 of it uphill.  There were long crushing inclines that weren't too steep but very mentally taxing.  You'd get around a bend and then you'd see the road go up more and bend off in another direction.  It was difficult to keep well spirited during that time.  I often plan to take a video if I can just get to the top!

These videos are part of the really long incline.  A shot from the bottom, a shot from the top looking back down, and a shot of the downside of the reward.

Entering Durango was a lot of fun since it was all downhill.  I got up to ~45mph on the descent.  Durango seems to be a bigger town than Cortez and certainly Telluride.  We'll probably take the bus and go in town but I need to wait for the sun to go down.
















Saturday, September 14, 2013

Gunnison Trail Video's

This hike is crazy steep.  Here's the collection of videos.













Sunday, September 08, 2013

2013 Civil War Century


The Civil War Century is a must ride just because of its name.  I rode last year but this year was easier, perhaps I trained a little?  It starts out in Thurmont VA and rolls up, down and all-around through Maryland and into Pennsylvania.  It is kinda cool to ride through Antietam National Park and the Gettysburg battlefields.  Although by the time I got to Gettysburg I wasn't so interested in sight-seeing.

A 5:00am wake-up alarm got me moving and 30 minutes later I was in the car and heading north.  Surprising how many people are on the beltway at 5:30am on a Saturday?  Where are they all going?  It was an easy drive up and the weather was a chilly 58 degrees.  I'm wondering why I didn't bring a jacket.  No worries, because the start of the ride goes straight up for 5 miles.  You're sweating inside of 10 minutes.


Total elevation for this ride is ~6,100'.  Total ride length was 102.7. See that big hill at mile 60, ugh.  That's a decent climb that tears you down.  Good stuff knowing that if you can make it to mile 62 you've pretty much got the ride made.  Although all that rolling stuff later does take little nibbles out of you.  

We were still in pretty energetic moods arriving at the first rest stop about 26 miles in.  Best food on this ride was the peaches.  OMG, those were sooooo good and I'm not really a peach lover.  I ate my share and then some.  Reminds me of the Presidents of the USA - peaches for me, peaches for free.


Here's a quick clip at mile 73.  All cylinders still firing well.  Not sure what little town we're in as we've gone through so many at this point.


I had to get a quick shot of some cannons in Gettysburg.  It's good times to tour around here and see the area.  Been there a couple times with the Cub Scouts.  There was a fleet of people-movers that we blew by.  Who sight-see's on people-movers?


This is how a lot of rides end. I am worn out.  The last 10 miles was really hard because my stomach starting hurting and that throw up feeling wouldn't go away.  I don't think it was from the ride, as I had that feeling at the first rest stop.  I blame Jordan because she had a really bad stomach ache Friday morning.   I did get a great ham/turkey sandwich at the end of the ride and started feeling a heckuva lot better.


Riding time was ~6 hrs 40 mins.  So add 1 hour for total time.

Garmin statistics




 
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