Spectacular scenery met us along the way today. Upon leaving the school in Craig, the world started to look different than in the weeks before. No more semi desert! As we travelled along US 30, the hills were covered with grass interspersed with shrubs. The valleys and flatlands were boasting thick lush 3' tall grass. We passed many cattle and horse ranches, with interesting names.
The road winded along the lovely river, thus fairly flat, but the wind let us have it. From the outset we encountered this fresh headwind, which made the first 70km very strenuous indeed, especially for those that do not ride with someone else. It feels like going uphill all the time, as the wind keeps a steady and energy sapping resistance. After about 25km alone, I teamed up with three youngsters and we formed a paceline at a steady 28km/h - the best we could do in these conditions. Since last night I started feeling dizzy, and this morning as well.Some others have the same problem. One theory is that we may be feeling the effects of altitude, since we are sleeping at an altitude of 7400 feet, and have climbed up to 9500 feet three times in a week,while crossing the mountain passes. I decided to sleep an hour later in the hope that I may feel better, and left again at 8am. This time I had to fight the wind on my own since I did not encounter a suitable riding group to join. At 70km we entered the ski town of Steamboat Springs - a delightful and interesting tourist town. Impressive mountains loom tall over the town, with the green grasssy skislopes tantilizingly etched against the darker trees. I'd really love one day to try and ski on a real mountain, since in Ontario we ski on high hills, as those are the best we have. I learned to ski 5 years ago when we came to Canada, and find it delightful.
After a visit to a coffee shop, the next challenge was "Rabbit ears pass" - kicking up at a slope of about 5 % and sometimes more. We kept climbing since leaving the ski town, and it could have been 12 miles or so. I had little energy to climb and struggled without a granny gear, since the lack of enough oxygen and some dizziness presented some challenges. The views were magnificent! At the first "false" summit Julie's SAG waited with water. I was so thirsty! Today was cooler than yesterday, what a blessing! At the real summit a family member of one of us waited with freezies! To our left were the two rock towers, resembling rabbit's ears. On the downhill there were dangerous crosswinds and lots of traffic, so I did not dare go too fast. Long Sections of the road had no shoulder, so it was risky in the heavy traffic, especially the hugetrucks that can easily blow a cyclist off the road. The Lord protected us all once again! It was a long long 153km for me today, and I am very tired and still somewhat dizzy. The ride was great as I just loved the fabulous landscapes...wide, open and green.No wonder people talk about "colourful Colorado"! The mountains are also green, with brown rock faces in interesting shapes. The intense blue sky was filled with huge white clouds, and the sharp colour contrasts made for magnificent scenes! One fabulous mountain not too far beyond Kremmling has many snowbanks on, still at the end of July!
I had barely put up my tent and Gayle's when we had some rain just around dinner time. Tonight it is going to be ony 6 degrees C up here, so some of us may sleep cold. I'll just layer with what I have. Tomorrow we have a short 53km ride, but all uphill. My legs are pleading for mercy, as the cumulative effect of all the climbing since last Saturday and the relentless heat and very long distances really wore them out, as did some hard riding...but I loved that immensely.
WE ARE SAYING GOODBYE TO 15 CYCLISTS IN DENVER ON THE WEEKEND: WE WILL MISS YOU ALL!
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