Registration Day, Crested Butte

We're now in Crested Butte, the town where Ride the Rockies begins. I'm staying with Susan and Dan at the Grand Hotel, with a stunning view of the local mountains, still covered with snow.

The view from the suite we are staying at tonight-->

The weather is warm, at times hot during the day, but the mountain becomes chilly at night. I learned the hard way as I wore a short sleeved shirt when we went out to dinner last night. We strolled around town last night, enjoying the architecture of this historic town built in the mid 1800's. The main street is lined with unique art shops, restaurants, book and clothing stores. This ski resort is humming with activity during the winter, but it gets quiet in the summertime. So, when Ride the Rockies chose Crested Butte to start the ride this year, it is a huge deal. Over 2,400 riders and hundreds of volunteer support staff and bicycle vendors are descending on the town over the next few days.

I met two of the volunteers yesterday, Liz and Dion, who are friends of Susan, when they drove us from Georgetown (the last destination of the ride), where we left a car, to Crested Butte, a four hour drive. Liz and Dion used to live in New York, but have moved to Golden, Colorado. Both have been cycling for many years. Liz, in fact, has just complete a 3400 mile trip across the United States. They are not riding this year, however. Instead, they are working as volunteers, manning rest stops where thousands of riders will be converging along the route.

Reed

That evening, Susan, Dan and I enjoyed a terrific, casual Mexican dinner at Teocalli Tamale. Later, we stopped into Townie's Bookstore, a funky place where local musicians hang out. There, we were treated to Reed, a guitar player, who sang original folk songs. When we discovered what a talented musician he was, we nixed plans to see a mountain bike movie (sorry, Dan!!) and listened to him until the bookstore closed down for the night. In the meantime, Peter and Erica had already arrived in Crested Butte, but for reasons known only to a Vancouverite, chose to have dinner together at Maxwell's Steakhouse, where there was not only good food, but also a television broadcasting the Stanley Cup playoffs. I learned later that Vancouver won 1 to 0 over the Boston Bruins with a goal coming late in the third period, a thrilling game. Let's hope they win the next one. If they do, they win the cup!).

Oleh

Today, Peter and Erica joined us for breakfast in the hotel restaurant, where they met Susan and Dan for the first time. Peter then rode with us for a short morning ride outside Crested Butte before we returned to register at noon in the Ride the Rockies staging area. Later that night, Oleh finally arrived, just in time for a late dinner. Our riding team is now complete!

Dan, Susan, Peter and Erica

We have some great photos of Crested Butte and our ride today on our website. Check them out here . Tomorrow, Ride the Rockies begins, with a very difficult climb over Cottonwood Pass, on the way to Buena Vista. Wish us luck!