Starting Elevation: 8,326' -- Ending Elevation: 10,350'
Highest Point: 12,095' (Independence Pass Summit) -- Distance: 73 miles
Well, I'm actually here. I can hardly believe it, but I'm really doing this.
I was able to get some speed on the downhills, and the uphill pulls weren't so bad at first. I was passed a lot and had to stop a fair amount, but I made it to the first Aid Station by 8:35. I had a quick snack, and continued the ride up Independence Pass. That's when things started to suck.
The uphill pull was very steep and more difficult than anything I've done. I spent most of this ride in my lowest gears, stopping very frequently to drink, eat, and rest. In fact, I drank so much that I was in danger of losing my water, had not a helpful rider shared some of his ample supply with me about 3 miles before the summit.
There was a woman in that group debating whether or not to ride the van down, even though the show had stopped and the sun was out. Another woman with her wanted to ride, but she wanted a pair of full finger gloves because her hands were freezing. She was given a pair by a rider who was going to take the van down, and they arranged to have the gloves picked up at her tent. "Tent five, ask for Boston." She repeated this several times, until I made a joke: "Everybody got that? Boston, tent five, say around 2 am? Party?" And that was how I met Julie.
When she found out I was riding by myself, she told me that we could ride together, along with another fellow named Rush. Since the sun had come out, the three of us headed down Independence Pass into Twin Lakes, and then along to Leadville, where we arrived about 5 PM.
I wouldn't have had nearly as much fun doing that face by myself. Nor I think would I have gotten through it as quickly. Boston (her nickname because that's where she's from) and Rush were great at pushing me to excel, and I was able to enjoy the scenery in their company more than if I'd been alone. I found Boston especially fascinating (and attractive), so I spent as much time as I could talking with her. I learned she's an investment banker, single, and a phenomenal athlete. She's a nationally ranked swimmer and regular triathlete.
After we got to Leadville and I got myself set up in the gym with the other indoor campers, I rejoined Julie for dinner. I met two of her friends: Cliff, who is a friend from back in Boston, and Becky, a friend who lives in Breckenridge. Dinner was a disaster. We were at this Mexican restaurant for two hours before our food even arrived. It was disgraceful, but at least it gave me a chance to get to know Julie better. After dinner (at 9 PM!) wer came back to camp, and she and I talked for another 90 minutes.
We're riding together tommorrow, and I can hardly wait. But it's approaching midnight now, so I need to try and see if I can squeeze out six hours of sleep surrounded by loud snoring types.
Day 2: Leadville to Salida
Well, last night's wasn't the most uncomfortable sleep I've ever had, but it ranks up there. I had my alarm set for 6 because I was meeting Julie at 7:15; but I was up by 4:55 or so.
The more I think about it, the more amazed I am that I got through yesterday in one piece. I'm severely underequipped and unprepared for any real emergency. Not to mention my lack of thought vis-à-vis the food/energy situation. Probably best if I don't think about it too much.
Most of the next part of the ride is sort of a blur. I remember the hellishly difficult ride after the first Aid Station, with the loose granite and rock, and crazy drivers, quite distinctly. I remember fearing for my life and safety, not to mention Julie's, every time a truck would try to run us off the road. I remember the feeling of joy when we came to the end (and the note on the pavement-THANK GOD THAT'S OVER). I remember the beauty of the Collegiate Peaks-Mt Harvard, Mt Princeton, Mt Yale. But mostly I remember how cute Julie looked on her bicycle.
We stopped in Buena Vista and found a small park. We lay out in the sun, catching some rays and talking about all sorts of things. Eventually we decided it was time to hit the road. We'd been in Buena Vista for something over 2 hours, and were mostly convinced that all the cyclists had passed us by. We grabbed a quick snack and left. We laughed about how her friend Cliff would react when we arrived in camp so late.
We really did take our time getting in to Salida. We stopped quite a few more times on the way. It was as we were getting close to Salida (relatively speaking; this was a 60-mile ride) that we met Rick. Rick is from LA and has a real thing for rustic Americana-barns and such. He's a nice guy, and we invited him to ride into Salida with us. The three of us got into town ridiculously late given the fact that Julie and I had started before 8.
We had a decent dinner-lasagne and salad. After dark we sat around outside Cliff's tent drinking smoothies. After smoothies we went to bed.
I'm crazy about this woman. This has been the best day of the whole trip.
Day 3: Salida to Crested Butte
I woke up this morning next to a beautiful woman, and that's about the best thing that happened all day. I'm not going to dwell on it. All I'm going to say is I lost today.
Julie and I hit the road about 8:30, much later than we'd planned. That's my fault-I didn't want to get up this morning, and I didn't want her to, either. I didn't eat nearly big enough of a breakfast, either. Stupid.
I started to feel it almost immediately. I was having the worst time keeping up with Julie. We were maybe 14 miles out when she finally told me that she wanted me to wait for a pickup van. I really didn't want to, but she insisted. I hated the idea of letting her go on alone.
I took a van up to the top of Monarch Pass, where I'd promised Julie I'd wait for her. I knew it'd take her awhile to ride up. I knew she'd be fine, I knew she could take care of herself. She's a very competent rider. But I still worried. I'd seen a woman fall and almost get creamed by a truck. I was afraid something might happen to Julie. It would've killed me if she got hurt.
We were eventually picked up by a van. Apparently we were so far behind everyone that we had to be, just to be put further up the course and back in the game. We met up with Rick again, which was kind of funny. We wound up taking the van all the way into Crsted Butte. Naturally Cliff was already there, and had been for some time.
This evening was a lot of fun. Julie's friend Becky has driven up to spend some time with her, and the two ladies graciously allowed Cliff and me to join them. We had dinner at this pizza place in town (damn good), and then went back to Julie's and Becky's hotel room to watch TV (The Daily Show!). Julie was fading fast and actually fell asleep on my lap. The ladies are letting us guys crash in their room tonight, and I'm going to sleep on the couch. Julie's just in the other room, but it feels like she's a mile away.
Day 4: Day off in Crested Butte
We woke up fairly early-around 7. Well, Becky, Cliff, and I woke up around 7. Julie stayed in bed until about 8. Poor girl, she's exhausted. She was massively dehydragted after yesterday's ride. That plus the altitude really kicked her ass yesterday. She's saying she doesn't feel well at all-woozy, light-headed. She thinks she'll feel better when she gets out of this altitude. I hope so.
After Becky left, Cliff went off to do his own thing, and Julie and I went to my tent to talk and nap. I was exhausted. I've been working harder this wek than I pretty much ever have in my life! I was yawning like crazy all through lunch.
We had dinner at a Mexican place in town. Thankfully, the service was much better than the place in Leadville. The food was a marked improvement, as well. After dinner we headed back to camp to get ready for bed. There's all sorts of things going on in town tonight, but the sad fact is, we're just too darn tired! I know I'm wiped-like I said, I've never worked this hard! Plus, we've got a 108-mile ride ahead of us tomorrow. Funny, but even though there's this huge party in town, I think most people have gone to sleep. They should have had the party last night. Of course, most people were asleep then, too.
Day 5: Crested Butte to Hotchkiss
That's pretty much how it worked out. I stayed behind, and when my bike was ready I loaded it up on a pickup van. I called Julie, and she told me to go up to the second Aid Station and start riding, and we'd meet at the third for lunch.
The drive up was amazing. We passed through such beautiful country, especially through the Blue Mesa Reservoir. The rock formations were so incredible! I wanted to tell the driver to stop so I could take some pictures, but I wanted to be on the road as soon as possible, too.
I think I made excellent time going up the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. I started at 10:50 and reached the third Aid Station a little before noon. I met a bunch of great folks on the way up, and took some spectacular pictures. The landscape of the Canyon was just breathtaking.
Like I said, I got to Aid 3 a little before noon. Amazingly, I hadn't been passed by Julie (I'd been expecting to hear her call to me as she tore past). When she arrived, we split a huge lunch and hit the road to cover the last 36 miles together. We made excellent time on the way in to Hotchkiss. We only stopped a few times-once to deal with/complain about the strong headwind, and a couple times to deal with my deraileur. For some reason, when I pushed into my big wheel in the front, the chain was popping off the wheel. It had happened once before I'd met Julie today, so it was something that needed to be addressed.
When we got into town, I had a quick shower using the Shower Truck. Let me tell you, that is nice! Clean, with private stalls and hot water. Then I had some dinner while waiting for the techs to fix my deraileur, which hopefully they did well (it looks okay; tomorrow will tell the tale).
Julie and I spent some time with Cliff and a few other people before going to bed about 9. We're getting an early start tomorrow. Eighty-one miles, including McClure pass, so we want to hit the road by 6:30 AM. I'm sleeping with earplugs tonight, and I gotta tell you, they're great! I can't hear any of the chronic (and absurdly loud) snorers tonight. I may actually fall right asleep!
Day 6: Hotchkiss to Glenwood Springs
Today got off to a really great start. I was actually up, dressed, and ready to go before Julie! It's the first time that's happened all week.
At mile 11, she pulled off and I joined her. She told me how important it was to her to be able to crank up this hill, and I told her to go ahead and leave me behind. I told her I'd meet up with her in Glenwood. I told her I had no intention of taking the van up, and at the time I meant it. I'd done Independence Pass, but had missed Monarch and really wanted to hit McClure. I was sure I could do it, and told her so. She agreed that we'd meet up in camp, and was gone.
I was in no condition at that point to even think about trying the pass, so I found a van and went up the easy way. If you're waiting for me to say I "swallowed my pride" and found a van, I won't. The sad truth is, my pride had been completely demolished by that time. So I took the van up. I kept half an eye out for Julie, but never saw her. I did see Cliff at the summit of McClure pass, though. He started down just as I got there.
I fueled up at the Aid Station at the top on a few granola bars and lots of water. I filled my bottles, slathered on more sunscreen, and started down. I think my speed was about 30 mph on the downhill, because I made the 8 miles to the next Aid Station in about 16 minutes.
The next 13 miles were easy. Fun, even, despite being by myself. I moved at a pretty good clip all the way through Carbondale. There was even a time, for just short of a mile, I think, that I was leading a pace line! Unintentionally, of course. A line came up behind me, but couldn't pass due to a seemingly endless string of cars; so the leader caught my wheel and I pulled them along! It was kind of funny.
When I was almost through Carbondale, at about mile 67, I had an idea. I'd lost about 20 miles on the van, I figured, and I wanted very badly to say I'd done the full 81. So I figured I'd turn around at about mile 70, double back to mile 60, and then ride on to Glenwood. Hey presto, instant 20 mile addition. So that's what I did. At the point where the ride left the highway it had been following since Hotchkiss, I doubled back.
Now, I hadn't seen Julie on the way up the Pass, nor at the Aid Stations. It was possible she'd gotten there ahead of me, but I didn't think it very likely. So I figured she had to still be behind me. I fully expected on my double back to see her, but I didn't. I made it back to mile 60 (riding into the wind) and turned around. I rode back through Carbondale (riding into the wind), and started up the last leg, the last 10 miles or so into Glenwood (riding into the wind).
Those last 10 miles were really tough. The wind picked up, almost to the point it was at this morning. But I was determined to finish, come hell or high water. I'd hit my wall this morning, and gotten past it (barely), and I wasn't going to stop. I've had two rules for this entire trip, every day: to finish, and not be last. I've only broken one rule (the first one) one time (Day 3), and I wasn't going to do it again. So I pressed on, and finally made it into camp at about 3:30 PM.
Julie and I got a quick bite for dinner and walked over to the hot springs pool for a little while. Afterwards, we came back to camp and had a nice talk. She's great. I've had so much fun with her this week.
She'll leave me behind right away tomorrow, I know. That's fine. She needs to get to Snowmass way before me because she's got a hell of a lot to do. But we'll figure out how to connect, then she'll follow me to my place in Eagle Vail. We can shower there, have dinner at Paddy's, then drive to my place and hang out until she leaves for DIA.
But that's tomorrow. Time now to get some sleep. I'm so glad I've got these earplugs. Everyone around me always seems to snore.
Day 7: Glenwood Springs to Snowmass Village
Well, I've finished, and I wasn't last. Not by a long shot, as it turns out. We hit the road at about 7 and made the 39-mile climb to arrive at the finish at 11:45. We went at a nice, slow, casual pace that was just perfect for me. The weather was fantastic, and the road we were on was completely deserted. It gave us plenty of time to ride side-by-side and talk, I think about the only time we were able to do that consistently all week. It was really swell.
Then it was all over but the shouting. We grabbed a quick bite to eat, picked up our Tshirts, water bottles, and jerseys, said Hi to Cliff (he'd been there for hours, naturally), found our luggage, got Julie's keys (I'd already had mine), rode down to our cars, drove back up, and loaded up to hit the road (whew!). I said goodbye to Cliff and a few other random riders I'd met, and we drove down to my condo for a shower.
That said, I don't know if I'll do this Tour again next year. I'm exhasuted. This was really super hard and took a lot out of me. I've heard that the Ride the Rockies tour is a bit easier, more geared for weekend warrior types, and that may be more my speed. This was a lot of work, and I was totally outclassed by almost everyone. I'm not sure I want to put myself through it again next year.
But I probably will.
Click here to see a slideshow with more pictures from the trip.
Click here to return to the Fortress.
I got up this morning at 4 AM and, after a couple of false starts, hit the road at a quarter to five. I got to Snowmass after an uneventful long drive, about 6:30. However, due to some misunderstanding on my part, it took rather longer than I thought to get going. I found the parking area just fine, but then couldn't tell where to go to drop off my bags and get ready to ride. Turns out I turned right where I should've turned left, that kind of thing. But I eventually got to where I needed to, dropped off my bags, and returned to the parking lot. I got my gear together and started riding at 7:25 AM.
But before that happened, the hail kicked in. Hail which soon turned to steady snow as I climbed above treeline. Really, those last 3 miles to the summit were nothing short of miserable. I was sorely tempted to take a SAG wagon (a pickup van) to the top, but I soldiered on and finally made it up about 12:30 PM. Of course, it was still blizzarding and extremely windy, and I was quite numb. I warmed myself for awhile in some guy's truck, but then (after the snow stopped) I joined a crowd of riders hunkered in one of the supply trucks.
She and Rush were very patient and taught me a lot about road biking. There was only one mishap, when I was trying to draft behind Julie and bumped into her and spun out. I wasn't hurt, but she was very concerned and wanted to make sure I was fine before going on. I think she was starting to like me, and I was definitely liking her too. We continued to talk and flirt, and she continued to give me a lot of great tips and advice on successful road biking.
Starting Elevation: 10,350' -- Ending Elevation: 7,038'
Highest Point: 10,350' (Leadville) -- Distance: 59 miles
This was a great day of riding! Julie and I got started about 5 minutes before 8 and took a nice, casual ride out. We made our first stop less than 10 miles out, and just sat and talked and watched riders go by for awhile. We rode on and took another break at a dirt road near the top of a hill, just before the first Aid Station. We met a couple of riders, a woman from Aspen and a man from Canada, who took our picture. That was when Julie kissed me for the first time. It was just a quick little peck, but it was unexpected and quite pleasant. The woman taking our picture asked if we were just married, and we had to laugh and tell her no, we'd just met the day before!
Julie got me into a tent in the SherpaVille camp (she'd talked with one of their guys about the possibility that morning) and helped me get outfitted for tomorrow's 92-mile ride-new bike shorts and a new jersey. We saw Cliff, who gave us a hard time about our tardiness. I'm reasonbly certain he has no doubts about how we spent our day together.
Starting Elevation: 7,038' -- Ending Elevation: 9,000'
Highest Point: 11,312' (Monarch Pass Summit) -- Distance: 92 miles
I can't tell you how happy I was when I saw her get to the top of the Pass. We-I should say she-rested for a few minutes, then started the descent. That, of course, was pretty easy-downhill and all that. But the construction on the road slowed things down a bit. Even so, I could sense Julie was hurting. She stopped us a couple of times because her legs hurt. And at one point, she was starting to drift. Actually there were a couple of times she seemed to be drifting; but this one time she almost floated into traffic. That was when I knew she was having troubles, and I think she did too.
We spent a nice, lazy, relaxing day today. We wandered up and down Elk Avenue enjoying the block party that was going on and wondering what time they'd serve the beer. We wound up having lunch and a few drinks at the same pizza place we were at last night! We sat in the sun and chatted with other riders till about 3 PM, at which point we walked Becky back to her car. She's got a 3-hour drive ahead of her to get back home. She'd taken today off to spend with Julie. I think it's really great that she didn't mind Cliff and me spending time with them. I'm sure she and Julie were looking forward to spending some real quality alone time together.
Starting Elevation: 9,000' -- Ending Elevation: 5,351'
Highest Point: 9,100' (Hermit's Rest) -- Distance: 108 miles
We got a relatively early start today. My alarm was set for 5 AM, and I finally rolled out of bed around 5:30. I got a huge breakfast burrito-had to be sure to get lots of fuel for this 108-mile ride. We were all set to hit the road a little before 7 AM when I noticed that my brakes weren't centered! I stopped off at the repair van and was told it would take about 45 minutes. I didn't want Julie to have to wait-I knew she'd been really looking forward to today's ride. I was too, dammit-I'm still royally pissed about Tuesday. In retrospect, I should have told Juile that I'd just meet up with her in Hotchkiss, which would have let me do the whole ride; but what we agreed upon was that she would leave and I would take the van. I said I'd call her when I hit the road, and we'd meet at an Aid Station-probably the second, since we figured she'd be at the first before I left.
At the second Aid Station I hit the road. We'd passed Julie about 15 miles before. I had no doubt she could catch up to me, and I wanted to be as close to Aid 3 as possible before she did. Of course, I knew I had the advantage of being fresh while she'd been riding for 50 miles, and I was counting on that working in my favor.
Apart from that unpleasantness, the trip was great. The cars were the best behaved they'd been all week-most of them moving completely on to the left side of the road to give us plenty of room. I'm quite glad of that, especially in light of some horror stories I've been hearing about riders and inconsiderate drivers. Not to mention what I've seen myself, this week.
Starting Elevation: 5,351' -- Ending Elevation: 5,740'
Highest Point: 8,755' (McClure Pass Summit) -- Distance: 81 miles
We hit the road at about 7 AM and started the climb up into a fierce headwind. Now, I'd gotten plenty of rest, I'd had a very filling breakfast, I should've been ready for anything. But I could not seem to keep up with Julie for anything. Twice, she got so far ahead of me that she pulled off to the side and waited, then waved me on. Both times she managed to catch me up and breeze by.
I started up after her, moving slowly against a ridiculously strong headwind. It was very slow, very difficult going, and I was getting increasingly angry and frustrated at my lack of energy, especially after my huge breakfast. Then, at about mile 16, I hit the wall. The wind sapped all my energy, I was being passed constantly, and I could hardly tell I was making any progress. I screamed, I cried, I railed against the heavens themselves. I told myself I'd had enough. I stopped at about mile 20 and waited for a van, figuring to take it all the way to the end. However, when after about 45 minutes no van had come by, I started to get a little more clear-headed. I decided I wasn't going to let myself give up. So I mounted up and rode (into that damn headwind) 3 more miles to the first Aid Station.
Yeah, 8 miles and there was another Aid Station at the bottom of the Pass! That was insane. I mean, I hadn't even begun to work up a sweat, much less drink any of my water! So I stayed only a moment before moving on.
Incidentally, I've checked the map and done the math. Turns out, the place I turned around was mile 71, which means I added 22 miles to my trip. Couple that with the fact that I only lost 19 miles on the van, and it turns out that I actually rode 84 miles today, 3 more than everybody else! And I wasn't the last into camp…
Starting Elevation: 5,740' -- Ending Elevation: 8,326'
Highest Point: 8,326' (Snowmass Village) -- Distance: 39 miles
I think we made excellent time, for all the relaxed, unhurried pace. We were at the first Aid Station within an hour, and the second by 9:50 AM (I know because I put my tag-the \S/-on the message board: "26 down…13 to go…BRING IT!"). We stayed at both Aid Stations for awhile each, and stopped a couple of more times on the way up, but still go to the Finish Line before noon. I'd been behind Julie at that point for some time (riding single-file), but I zipped ahead of her and set up for a great shot of her crossing the Finish.
This week has been a total blast. Sure, there were some really difficult parts, physically, mentally, and emotionally; but on balance it's been a very long time since I've had quite this much fun. For more than one reason, I'm very sorry to see it end.
Douglas M Tisdale
July 2,2005
5:12 pm