Sweat and Tears...and Success.

We biked TO the Rockies, we biked UP the Rockies, we biked THROUGH the Rockies, and now, we will bike DOWN the Rockies.

It's been such a monumental time for all of us, and I'm not really sure where to start because I don't think I'll be able to process the feat we've accomplished until long after we're done with this biking journey. It's a wonderfully powerful and scary feeling seeing the mountains before you, knowing you have to bike through them to get to the other side. And seeing mountains behind you, knowing that you have in some way conquered them--or at least survived them.

The Rockies caught all of us by surprise. I've always thought of them as the picturesque snow-capped, rugged gray mountains that you see on postcards. And much of the terrain is like that. But in between the mountain passes, we encountered flat, WINDY plains; beautiful canyons and lakes; and winding rivers running through lush grassy plateaus.

Each day this past week has been a journey of sweat and tears through the mountains. We never knew exactly what to expect, but at the beginning of each day, we knew it'd be long and we tried our best to prepare for it despite any soreness or injuries or exhaustion that we felt from the days before. Over this last stretch, we've had almost all 85+ mile days, nonetheless over some of the hardest terrain of the trip. But the saving grace was the beauty that was constantly in front of us and the team that pulled us through. Colorado has won me over, and I think I would return to bike the Rockies, if I ever find myself in such good shape again!

Every day was a challenge...

July 9 Colorado Springs to Buena Vista, CO (92 miles)
A lonesome, but character-building day, which was spent biking by myself. The first 25 miles and first mountain pass was fun, but the next 50 miles of mountain passes and flat windy terrain was trying. I've never biked for so long by myself, and it was really hard to pull myself through the roads rather than depending on other people to help. I gained a lot of respect for the willpower of riders that ride alone. When I was riding on the windy flats at 7 mph, I stopped often because I was tired and sometimes to just enjoy the quiet of the mountains. When I was biking, all I could hear was the wind rushing past my ears. But when I stopped (and waited for the cars to pass), amidst the mountains I found an amazing serenity.

When I finally got up the last mountain pass of the day and started descending into the valley where Buena Vista lies, I found Emily Hodge. And I was SO delighted to see a familiar face that I made her get off her bike and give me a hug. =) So I had a riding buddy for the last 5 miles of the day. I think I'll always remember those last miles, with sun rays peeking out from the clouds and shining onto our final destination for the day.







July 10 Buena Vista to Gunnison, CO (87 miles)
This ride started out with a fun spiritual conversation with Meredith, Ryan, and Liz. It helped the time pass really quickly, I barely noticed the uphills we were doing! After our first rest stop, we started our 12 mile climb to Monarch Pass, our highest elevation of the entire trip--11,312 feet!! Woohoo! The climb was challenging, but the summer has trained us well, and we made it up in good time. Here's us climbing:

Meredith:


Liz and I (thank you Ryan for the picture taking):


Me:


Monarch Pass Summit!



At the Summit, we did some photoshoots, met a couple of guys biking from SF to NYC on touring bikes (which were about 100 lbs heavier than our bikes!), and got a little altitude sickness before heading back down into the valley. We hit the windy flats once again, but this day was much more bearable for me because I had a team of people riding with me to pull me through! Thanks guys =)

On the Appalachians vs. The Rockies... I'd have to say that the Rockies are probably steeper mountains but the roads are definitely a lower grade. Our very first climb of the Appalachians (on Hwy 181) going into Linville Falls was 13 miles long and a pretty steep grade and it came as a huge surprise to us 1.5 weeks into the trip. We've been training for the Rockies all summer, so I guess it's good that the uphills were manageable. I wonder how we would have done on Hwy 181 if we could go back and try it again...?

July 11 Gunnison to Ouray, CO (102 miles)
I was sweeping with CVH this day. ("Sweep" = two people who bring up the tail-end of the team to make sure everyone is ok. We all take turns being sweep throughout the summer.) It was an eventful, challenging day for everyone ...

The morning started out with new sights like canyons and desert-like vegetation and lakes.

CVH:

Melanie:

As we descended into Montrose, much of the team had stopped to avoid an oncoming storm. They actually waited 2.5 hours in a gas station for it to pass. The lead 3 riders actually rode through the storm and braved the rain (and hail!). We waited out the storm at a bakery in Montrose, but after an hour of waiting, CVH, Melanie, and I decided to keep on riding. No rain or lightning came, but the winds were strong enough to make us want rain or anything else instead. We moved along at a 6 mph pace (which might actually be a generous estimation). I thought we were really slow, but later found out that everyone else had a very hard time in the wind too. We rode on for 3 hours, after which we were just exhausted and resigned ourselves to waiting for the van to pick us up and take us the rest of the 20 miles to Ouray--by then it was 6:30pm and we had biked 80 miles. (Sorry there are no pictures to document this part of the journey because I was just too pooped to think about photo-taking!)

However, the story continues, when we had gone 10 miles in the van, I saw Andy and Yvonne pull out of a gas station where they had taken a rest. They were the last of the crew out on the road besides us (Andy had gotten 4 flats that day), and I got a push of motivation to ride on. So I pulled my bike out of the van and rode the last 10 miles into Ouray. And a beautiful beautiful last 10 miles it was. It is supposed to be the little Switzerland of the US, and the mountains really made me feel that way. The winds had died down, and the terrain was relatively flat by that time, so I really lucked out. But there was no better feeling than finally pulling into our church site for the night and coming into the dinner room where warm cheers greeted us, the last arrivals of the night. :o)


July 12 Ouray to Durango, CO (67 miles)
We were prepped for this trip by Molly P's dad, who joined us for the ride. We all had the jitters about it because it was 3 mountain passes, all reaching an elevation of at least 10,000 feet. The first one was about 13 miles up, including 8 with a cliff and no guardrail. (But to moms, dads, and concerned friends: don't worry! It's ok because we took the lane and the cars are used to bikers.) We pulled ourselves up this mountain like true champs, despite the cold, misty mountain weather (is it really the middle of July??)
Ryan:


The very windy road we went up:


At the summit!


At the top, we hopped into Molly P's car for a quick heater warm-up, before heading out for a chilly 10 mile downhill. At the bottom was Silverton, where we stopped at a gas station to warm up again in the van and have a break before hitting the next 2 passes. The next two were 7 miles and 3 miles uphill respectively, and after all that we have done and how hard we know mountains can be, they were not too bad at all.

One of the most beautiful scenes on my ride (that day, and perhaps all summer...):


The picturesque Rockies that you've always imagined:


Andrew, on his bike again, beating those Rocky Mountains!


At the end of the ride was a 30 mile downhill which brought us into Durango. What a fun ride it was! I was SO impressed with everyone. Every person that started this ride, finished it, and finished it strong. I'm so proud of how far we've ridden and how strong we've become.

Durango has been great. The Pedersons (Molly's family) have been wonderful hosts, as has the Habitat for Humanity group here. We did a small build day today, by helping out with some landscaping on a house and moving things at the local Habitat Re-Store. We had some time this afternoon to explore Durango, which is a very outdoorsy town with great cafes, outdoors shops, and a trolley! At dinner we met a couple of the families that will be moving into Habitat houses here soon and talked with them about the affordable housing situation here. Which is actually very similar to other towns that also rely heavily on the tourist industry (like in Nags Head, where we started). Thanks for sharing your stories, our stay has been wonderful, and we hope that Bike and Build will see you next year!