I woke this morning a bit groggy from our excitement the night before. Thankfully, the wind had died down, and the sun rose to clear skies over our little tent city. We made our way over to a second edition of the splendid Rotary community breakfast, manned by volunteers, wearing heavy coats and gloves against the cold mountain air, who had arrived at 3:30 AM so that early riders could be served by 5:00. No tent this time - that was history - so, as breakfast was being served outside, we are fortunate that the storm had passed.
Almost as soon as we left Steamboat, we were treated to the "delightful" experience of climbing Rabbit Ears Pass, elevation 9426 ft, situated above the snow line across the Continental Divide. If my bike's Garmin GPS is an accurate indication, we climbed, including various hills and bumps along the way to Granby, 5056 vertical feet. That's nearly a mile high, in one day. Understandably, my right knee ached a bit, but I think it was more due to a chilly bed in my tent last night and that fast, hard ride Peter and I did yesterday. Thankfully, it settled down as the morning went on.
The route throughout our ride so far has been spectacular. There was hardly a minute that went by that something of interest caught my attention. I'm sure my fellow riders wondered why I would hang off the back of the peloton, however, my secret objective was to whip out my camera and take some photos as we were riding along. Hence, you'll see lots of pictures of Susan, Dan, Peter and (whenever we could) Oleh leading the way. I enjoyed riding with all of them. Dan and Peter, and Peter in particular, were the strongest riders in our group. Susan. carrying her Medic bag is one of the most steady, predictable riders (a huge asset in group riding) I've ever cycled with - and a pleasure to cycle with. And Oleh has a wonderful way of taking in every moment on the ride in a relaxed, enjoyable way - and will even throw in a few songs to pass the time. As we rode over such long distances, we found a natural pace that made it possible for each of us to fall in with various groups, often meeting new riders along the way. Most frequently, I rode with Dan and Susan, however, Peter and I had a terrific ride yesterday, and up that massive climb to Cottonwood Pass on day 1. Oleh often started earlier than any of us could possibly manage, but we would frequently catch up with him at some point along the way. With over two thousand cyclists on the ride, we were never at a loss for company!
Coming down Rabbit Ears Pass was thrilling, as are all big descents on Ride the Rockies. The joy of the descent, something I love doing, was tempered by the news of a horrific crash at high speed that took place two days ago off Tennessee Pass, that killed a 67 year old rider from Missouri. Apparently he came down the mountain sometime after the rest of us did, so thank God I didn't see it. We don't know what happened. Apparently he was a very experienced cyclist, and the road was in excellent condition. Something to do with his bike? Did an animal dart in front of him? Was he spooked by another rider? We may never know. Susan mentioned that in the twenty six year history of Ride the Rockies, about a half dozen cyclists have lost their lives doing the tour. While this is a wonderful tour, it is not something for the average Sunday afternoon cyclist. Anyone doing a ride of this nature has to understand the risks involved.
After our descent, we emerged onto a wide valley with open skies, rolling hills, and magnificent views. The descent was still gradual coming up to the 50 mile (80 km) rest stop at Kremmling, however, we were buffeted by headwinds that made it it an arduous journey. Susan and I were riding together at the time, so we switched off taking the head wind, with the other drafting behind to conserve energy. Just as we our strength was beginning to flag, along came a brother and sister team who Susan knew, and rode with a couple of days before. Both exceptionally strong cyclists, they shared the load, helping to break the headwinds through creating that all-important aerodynamic advantage of group riding. What a difference that made! We reached Kremmling, took a brief rest stop, then moved on.
The rest of the ride into Granby was much easier, with a terrific ride through a Byers Canyon. We arrived under the threat of another huge wind and rain storm that we could see sweeping across the Colorado plains. However, I had plenty of time for me to find my gear, get a hot shower and set up my tent before the onslaught hit. Luckily, it was not nearly so bad as in Steamboat Springs. Weather in Colorado is often dramatic, but can resolve just as quickly. To be honest, it's pretty exciting when you are in the middle of it - we have nothing like this in Vancouver! That evening, I caught a free shuttle bus with Susan and Dan and traveled with them to Winter Park, a ski town about 20 miles up the road, where they were staying for the night. We found a quiet Mexican restaurant for an intimate and very enjoyable evening together. It's hard for us to imagine this is our last night before Georgetown, and the completion of our ride. What a wonderful experience this has been so far.
NOTE June 25th 2011: I'll be completing my journal from notes taken of our last day and the Epilogue, and adding photos to this entry over the weekend. In the meantime, click here for photos and a route map of our trip today.
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