At the Rockies

And now I find myself sitting here in Colorado Springs, staring the Rocky Mountains in the face, wondering how the heck I actually got myself here. Did we really start at the Atlantic and BIKE here?? Whoa.

Day 42 Lamar, CO (101 miles)
That day was a century ride for us, but it was really nothing like the first one back in North Carolina in the rain and on the hills. I luckily had good company though. I rode with CVH for most of the day, and we had good conversation and good times on the bike. It was great to finish the ride with her because it was her first century and after some injuries, it was wonderful to see her achieve the mileage. Woohoo! We crossed the Colorado state line and had fun taking pictures and climbing on their sign:


Day 43 La Junta, CO (57 miles)
This may have been one of my favorite days of the trip so far. After biking 101 miles, biking 57 miles becomes a really short day. And we like short days because we get to wake up at 6am instead of 5am! And we can also get into our site early and just hang out. The day started out a little rocky because I think I was feeling the wear of living with 30 other people more than usual. But I had a solid ride with Jochem into the city park of La Junta.

Now this was a really special park because it had this great pool with an amazing water slide (Taken at 5:45am the next morning):


It had so many twists and turns and you had to climb up 10 flights of stairs to get to the top! The secret was ONLY heels and shoulder blades and you'd fly down. I had fun, but some of the guys went so fast around the corners we thought they might flip out! But nah, it was just fun. Standing around the pool in our swimsuits (particularly the girls), we felt SO out of place. Here we were, a bunch of rowdy young adults dominating the water slide and showing off (unintentionally, or maybe, intentionally) our crazy bike short/bike jersey/sunglass tans. We were like an alien species. When we took full-out showers in the public pool showers that lacked curtains, some little girls just stood there and stared at us, probably wondering why we were taking full showers without clothes on at the pool and also wondering why we looked so freaky.

After lounging at the pool, I ran some errands, including finding something tasty to drink. I think I was pretty dehydrated from the day before and dissatisfied with the taste of the water at the last few sites, so I was craving something really delicious. I went to Safeway (a sign that we're close to Cali!) and picked up a half-gallon of Mango Twist juice. When I got back to camp I took a couple of swigs right from the container, fully-intending to drink most of it in the next hour or so. I found Jochem, Ryan, and Liz sitting around in the only shade in the park, which was by our trailer on some coolers and the seat which had been removed so we could put our laundry in the van (we have a lot of it). Then commenced the sharing of the Mango Twist and a few hours of pure lounging and laughing and enjoying the summer day and the wonderfully good company of friends. Every time a car drove by, we marveled in how ridiculous we all must look, sitting there, lying there, in the city park on a van seat and coolers, with tents set up and 30 bikes sprawled around. And it's amazing how after biking for 57 miles, it's really too much trouble to walk 2 minutes to the bathroom to pee. Instead, we're so used to peeing by the side of the road, tree cover or no, that it's tempting to just find a little hiding place in the grass. (It's okay, we resisted that day from peeing in the city park.)

All too soon, the van returned with clean laundry and we were going to start getting dinner ready. Liz and Meredith cooked while Jochem, Ryan, and I provided a wall of shade from the sun. It may have seemed like we weren't working, but really we were vital for shade and entertainment. After dinner, we quickly got things in order and got to bed, as we had a 4am wake up call the next day for the longest ride of our trip... Read on...

The Mango Twist Club:


Day 44 Colorado Springs (120 miles!)

From the poll I took, no one really slept all that well. Be it the bright light in the city park that was on all night, the cars driving by that might steal our stuff, or jitters about our 120 mile day. Regardless of how we felt, we all got up, got ready, and got out of town, knowing that there was a long day ahead.

On the road, we got our first sight of the Rockies. They were just a gray silhouette in the distance, nothing big at all, but there all the same. In the morning, we passed a group of riders with Journey of Hope. They're from a fraternity that is raising awareness about developmental disabilities and is riding from West to East, passing through some of the same towns as us! We trucked right along onto mile 70, going strong, when we hit a dirt road.

Meredith was my riding buddy for the rest of the ride, and we pulled each other through. I got a flat on the dirt road, which was the least of our troubles. While fun and thrilling, the dirt road provided obstacles such as sandy spots which made tires slip and horseflies which gave stinging bites on the buttocks. Ugh! Sometimes I wish I was on a mountain bike instead! Of course, we made it through, and at that point realized that we were running low on water. I had already drank 6 bottles of water, but was thirsty for more. We kept going, and eventually happened upon an antique car show in a town called Fountain, and found a gas station. A grande bean burrito and a liter of gatorade did me well there.

And on we went.. we made it to Colorado Springs and turned onto Academy Blvd, which we had to take 18 miles to cross the city to get to the northside where we were staying. This road was the craziest road we've taken I think, and after the long ride, I was mentally done with the ride and struggled the rest of the way. Meredith pep talked me up the road the entire way, through honking cars that drove too close to us, no road shoulders, sandy sidewalks, and getting up the last hills of the day. It was the toughest 18 miles I think I've done, equalling or rivaling going up 181 getting to Linville Falls in North Carolina. I was so exhausted that the stresses caused a mini-breakdown en route, and when we finally pulled in victoriously into the church (side note: the biggest church I've ever seen!), any mention of "that was an amazing ride" or "you guys looked so strong out there" or "you biked TO the Rockies" was just too much and caused me to cry again. Eventually I got ahold of myself and it was a wonderful feeling to be here at the Rockies, to have accomplished the longest ride of the trip (and possibly that I'll ever do), and to get ready for a great night of sleep. =)

Here's a taste of the ride. Watch the Rockies as they grow in the distance:
At 7:30am, Mile 25:


At 10am, Mile 60:

At 12pm, Mile 70 (the dirt road):

At 1pm, Mile 85:

At 2:30pm, Mile 100:
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At our destination, New Life Church in Colorado Springs, 4pm, Mile 120:


On the injury front, we are sad to have Molly P off the roads for a while. She hit a rock and took a big blow to her shoulder, dislocating it, tearing a ligament, and breaking her collar bone. =( She's out for at least 2 weeks, but will see how she feels then. She's really surprised us with her toughness though--she's really positive and has dealt with it so well. We'll be waiting for you back on the roads... On a brighter note, Andrew (our rider who was scarily hit by a truck 2 weeks ago) has returned from his 2-week break from resting at home and is rejoining our trip! We're SO excited have our whole team together again. =)

Thanks everyone for following the trip so far! I'll try to update as we're going through the Rockies, stay posted!