Let's start this off with the weather forecast for this part of the rockies..............high's in the 60s to maybe low 70's with temps dropping to the 30's at night....................
So last night I crawled in to my sleeping bag all cozy and warm with the soft glow from my Petzl illuminating a Dan Brown novel as I drifted off to slumber.....................to my surprise no snorers in the neighboring tents............and a very quiet tent city. About 7 hours later I woke to some butt cold rocky mountain ambiance and pulled my fleece in to the bag with me. HUGE mistake was to not go to bed with my merino base layers to ward off the chill. Needless to say wake-up and rally around to get ready to ride was unpleasant to say the least as it was about 40 degrees until the sun came-up.
After breakfast in the high school cafeteria (bummer, no coffee) I was kitted out and ready to go. I schlepped my duffel, using my bike as a cart, to the truck and I was ready to get on the road. I linked up with Rick, Mark, and Steve a few miles in to the ride and we had sun, slight descent, and winds at our backs to start the ride!
Aid Station 1--The Pancake Man
We pulled in to Aid Station 1 and we were still dressed like it was a January ride in Virginia--leg warmers, arm warmers, vest, toe covers, ear bands.....
Steve (from San Fran), Rick, and Mark (from Greenwich, CT)
We rolled out of Aid Station 1 and were enjoying some amazing scenery along the river and Rick was doing his balancing act taking his camera out of his pocket and taking snaps while riding...........this is a skill I need to master ;)
About 3 miles from Aid Station 2 I flatted. No big deal ordinarily but when I pulled a new tack out of my tire I sensed something was amiss. Most of the time I pick up a piece of wire or a rusty nail but a new tack? A mile down the road another guy flatted and I asked "a tack"? He said yes. So, in aid station 2 one of the wrenches said a lot of tack punctures so some dufus thought it would be fun to tack the road for RtR...............go figure.
A scenic pic of Taylor River with Rick taking a Pic of me
About 25mi from the Cottonwood Pass climb
Gentle Climbing at about 9200'
Overlooking the Taylor Reservoir heading East
After the aid station about 5 miles from the above photo I peeled the arm warmers and toe covers for a 16 mile climb up Cottonwood Pass. This climb is all on dirt roads and will be one of the stages of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. So......the grade is 3-4% with a few surges to 7-9% and the RtR team had graded the road so it was not too rough.
Early in the ride I had a chance to chat with Ron Kiefel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Kiefel) a former pro cyclist that rode with 7-Eleven back in the 80's. He has done RtR 16 times and a savvy rider. After the ride he was present at a RtR seminar when he introduced the President of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge for a Q & A from the RtR attendees.
Okay, back to the climb.................I managed the climb pretty well until about 10K. At this point I was working much harder and my breathing was more of a pant. Rick dropped me and I did not see him until we were almost at the top as he slowed to snap some pics. I was feeling the effects of the altitude and taking pics was far from my mind.
Climbing to Cottonwood Pass 11,200'
When I stopped to take the above photo I was a bit dizzy getting off the bike and it took me a few seconds to gain my footing or "mountain legs".
Looking West--still not at the top!
Still not there--about 11,700' and snow banks and Taylor Reservoir in the background
Looking down at the dirt road switch backs
Made It! A JOCMO
16 Mile descent to Buena Vista and at times pushing close to 50mph. As we lowered in altitude the temps climbed in to the 70s and we had a slight tail wind. About 3 miles from BV we were passed by a young woman who could really ride. The new definition of "Fast Woman" to steal a phrase from Steve (pic above) and Rick and I hopped on her wheel to cruise in to town.
Okay, finally made and the sun was out and a bit windy but an accomplishment to make it here. Like my other 12k+ experiences I was not feeling very well and needed some time to catch my breath and take in some fluids. After about 15 min at the top with all the vendors and music blasting we headed down. wheeeeeeeeeeeee.
16 Mile descent to Buena Vista and at times pushing close to 50mph. As we lowered in altitude the temps climbed in to the 70s and we had a slight tail wind. About 3 miles from BV we were passed by a young woman who could really ride. The new definition of "Fast Woman" to steal a phrase from Steve (pic above) and Rick and I hopped on her wheel to cruise in to town.
My 4 Star Digs at the local high school
After setting up camp it was off to the beer garden, dinner, and then some relax time before bed.
Local Folk Band at the Beer Garden
Day 1 in the books.
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