Keya's Blog

Alamosa to Villa Grove via CO 17, over (the last!) Poncha Pass and into Salida – 84 miles

Camp start moving well before dawn

Ahhhh.  The last day of Ride the Rockies.

As usual, we are up before dawn.  I’m moving more slowly than the first day, yet I along with the other wind and pain hardened riders seem to exude a sense of jubilation with the knowledge that we are nearing the end of the longest, hardest-ever, 25th anniversary Ride the Rockies.

Typical breakfast food line

Our morning routines are becoming patterned like a worn out work glove .  I remember before the Ride when my parents said that would typically wake up at 4:30am, at that time it didn’t make any sense.  After participating in one, it all now makes sense.  Typically in the morning after identifying where the food sources are, one goes over and waits in line.  After eating, then one waits in line for the porta-potties.  If I had some sort of system of eating at the tent, for example, if I ate dry oats for breakfast, I would be able to sleep in until 5am…

My Barracuda mountain bike

Riding a mountain bike is a good source of conversation, although people are somewhat surprised at my mode of transportation.  (Most people, probably around 97% of riders are on racing or touring bicycles.)  At a stop light, one guy said, “Wow.  You’re on a mountain bike.  That’s really bad ass.”  I could tell he was thinking, “What’s wrong with you?”  He then said, “Why are you on a mountain bike?”

A solar farm in the San Luis Valley

I was tired of explaining the previous bicycle mechanical, that the shifters didn’t work, that it was too small… so I switched to, “Yeah, I’m doing penitence.”

At another stop, a different person asked how much single track I had been riding.  That comment, I didn’t care for that much.  But at that point, it didn’t really bother me.  I was glad it was the last day.

This cyclist seemed to really be enjoying the swings

On this ride, I noticed that there were a few people in alien masks standing by the side of the road.  I think we passed some sort of alien roadside attraction.

We also passed a solar energy farm.  By then I could take pictures while riding.

There were also sights that gave me joy.  At one of the rest stops, one cyclist really seemed to be enjoying the swings.  (He was pumping his legs perfectly!) I’m pretty sure the doll on the ground belongs to the girl on the swing next to him.

We had a tailwind on this day as well!

We had a rest stop in Villa Grove and (small world) my Dad and I saw a friend that we hadn’t seen in years.

My Dad and I - Yes!

After going over the last pass, Poncha Pass, which was mercifully easy in comparison to previous passes, we descended into Salida and to this year’s finish.

Thanks to everyone for a great 25th Ride the Rockies!

Climb out of Durango to Bayfield via Vallecito Reservoir road, to Ignacio, Arboles and toward Junction 160 to Pagosa Springs – 87 miles

Feature Below: The Mobile Showers

There were beautiful sites like old barns along the route

After yesterday’s mechanical, today I’ve switched over to ride my mountain bike. The day started with about 14 miles of climbing out of Durango. During that climb, my knees felt like the knee caps were being pushed over and out of my leg. Besides my physical pain, the air smelled of clean pines, which soon gave way to the rolling countryside.

A super efficient pancake making system

All along the tour I had heard about the pancakes that were at Aid Station #1.

Getting tired of eating the standard breakfast burrito, I thought I’d try some flapjacks.

What an amazing system! This guy had created an efficient pancake griddle, such that, the pancake batter dispenser was on a rolling system that seemed to dispense batter with the flick of a wrist. Thus, about 30 to 50 or so – pancakes could be made at once.

Yum!

They were absolutely deliciously divine. I sliced some banana pieces on top and proceeded to eat 7 pancakes. (It’s all you can eat.) There was a long day ahead after all.

After the climb a wonderful, pleasant, very welcome descent began, and continued for about 35 miles after.

Also at the aid stations, along with food, liquids and the porta-potties, is sometimes an announcer that plays music and gives away limited addition Ride the Rockies tee-shirts in various contests. At one such aid station, during one of the contests, if a state patrolman would get sprayed with water, all the patrolmen would win tee-shirts.

The highway patrolmen were all very cool, this one especially

One did it! All the state patrolmen were really good guys. They went back and forth, back and forth… making sure that everything was okay, as we cyclists slooowly made our way to the day’s destination. I’m curious as to how many miles they put on their motor bikes.

The old farm houses and ranches soon gave way to sagebrush hills around Chimney Rock. The joy of descent was followed by rolling hills and a punishing gradual climb. During the ride to Arboles to Pagosa, there were times when I felt like I was totally alone because I didn’t see anyone ahead of me or behind me.

Chimney Rock - And someone with a road bike getting a sag!

I wanted to take a picture of Chimney Rock, but not at a time when I had a lot of inertia, so I took this shot (not that good of one) near the crest of a hill and caught someone getting a personal sag!   We even had a tail wind during this day! I think the only thing that kept me going was the knowledge that last final push into Pagosa was a nice descent.

A welcome sign along RTR

This was one of my most favorite sites during the tour: Aid Station. The other was my sleeping bag.

A note: In my younger days, I was a bicycle racer. I like the shelter that can be awarded in a draft (behind another bicycle) but Ride the Rockies is first and foremost a bicycle tour. I think that most people have not ridden in pelotons and typically do not ride in that type of manner. Some riders ride a straighter line than others, but the common established courtesies of the peloton are different than on a tour. There definitely were operational pacelines in Ride the Rockies, but more typically, it is a tour, and I found myself and many others pushing forward alone. But that’s okay, because there were glorious showers at the day’s destination.

The Mobile Showers

After arriving in the evening’s camp, one needed to figure out where all the amenities were located.

The mobile showers above the tent village

The mobile showers in Pagosa Springs were located at the top of the hill in the two semis.

Unfortunately, yet another hill needed to be climbed in order to shower. On that particular day, I hoofed it up the hill and after getting to a shower stall, I realized that I had forgotten to bring a towel. This almost made me cry, but as I went through my clothes (cycling clothes were really stinky and were out of the question) I found an extra tee-shirt that could be used in the place of a towel.

I love these shower trucks





There are two sections of showers in each semi truck. Each section seemed to have about 8 shower stalls.







Notice the row of sinks off to the side

On the other side of the semis, are two doors with steps that lead to the shower stalls. A nice thing about being a woman is that there were rarely lines to take a shower as there are less females than males that participate in Ride the Rockies.

There are also 6 sinks, with hot and cold running water, located between the two shower doors.

Every shower that I took had hot running water! This was really fabulous, and it was a hard working crew along with an amazingly efficient system that made this happen.

Hot water tanks in the back of the truck





The hot water heaters are located at the back of the trailer. Thanks goodness for these!

The amazing crew for the showers tapped into the existing resources, going into the draining systems and getting water from the street hydrants.

Water from the hydrant

The water went into the sewer system

The crew sometimes took the whole system apart the same evening and drove to the next destination the same night.

Thank you to the hardworking mobile shower crew!

Delta, through the backroads west of Olathe to Montrose, then onto Ouray – 67 miles

Feature Below: Different Sleeping Possibilities

On route to Ouray, San Juan Mountains

Waking up from a deliciously wonderful rest, thinking that it would be an easy day, we slept in – to 5:30am.

The day was a gradual climb from Delta, at about 4,700 feet in elevation, to Ouray, which is located at just under 8,000 feet.  The elevation gain occurred over 67 miles, so I didn’t think that it would a hard or long day.  It was, however, both. The rough roads added seemingly longer miles to the overall distance.  There were cattle trucks that were either moving cattle to another location or perhaps taking them to a slaughter house.  About 3 of these trucks passed us.  On one of the passes, I was shat upon!  I think that this was the first time that it had ever happened.  It wasn’t bad, but splatters were on the bike, and on my arms and legs.  I stopped, as it was slightly gross to have this stinky semi-liquid matter on me and started squirting it off with water from the water bottle.  It then ran into my shoes.

The rolling green countryside was bordered by canyon country to the west.   The rough roads could have been compared to riding the cobblestones of Europe, I suppose.  Since I live in Montrose, I stopped at the house to water the plants.  I was starving, so I warmed some chicken soup on the stove and got back on the bike.  After about 15 minutes on the bike and getting back onto the RTR route, I had the nagging thought that perhaps I left the stove on.  So I backtracked and went back to find the stove – off.

We had a headwind and a cross wind that added time to the day.  Today we were near the back of the pack.  At this place, the sag wagons circulate to help move cyclists to the destination of the day.  One approached us and this made me immensely happy.  As the kind man driving the sag wagon asked if we were okay, I gave him a huge smile, but to my dismay, Dad said that we were fine.  And so, the riding continued.

A roadside stand selling muffins and cookies

Often, there are small stands that people set up to sell homemade muffins or fresh squeezed lemonade.  We thankfully stopped at one near Ouray.

Traveling via a bicycle can be humbling – in a good way.  One notices different things and has a different experience than one has while traveling in a car.  When one sees birds in flight, with only air separating the experience, it somehow makes the beauty more intense. I have driven this route countless times and had no appreciation for how much of an incline there is in the approach to Ouray.

Ride the Rockies, tents in Ouray

Upon finally reaching Ouray, the Ride the Rockies tent tour entourage was in its glory.  A colorful tent village fills to inhabit all available grassy areas, often ringed in by porta potties.

Tomorrow, the Ride takes us from Ouray, over the Million Dollar Highway and over three passes to Durango.

There are different choices for rest in the evening.



A Ride the Rockies rider has three main choices.  A rider could sleep in a hotel, camp in a tent, or opt for indoor camping.

Indoor camping in gyms

Some people get hotels. If this route is chosen, usually a bus shuttle (provided by RTR for most towns) is needed to get to the hotel.  Upon arrival, you pick up your luggage that has been hauled by the RTR baggage truck, then find your way to a hotel. (I heard that some people who had gotten the hotel booking service actually were bused from Ouray back to Delta since there weren’t enough accommodations available in Ouray.  The next morning, they were bused back from Delta to Ouray for the next day’s ride.)

Another possibility is to sleep inside a gym for indoor camping.  There are different sections or rooms for people who want to get up earlier or later to start in the morning.  I think this would be a nice place to sleep if it were to rain or snow, but in talking to different people about this experience, one explained that loud snoring sounds can sometimes echo off of the hardwood floors.  People sleep next to one another, one after another, so it’s sort of like summer camp.

My broken tent

Many people sleep in tents.  I was sleeping in my own tent, but a tent pole snapped (it’s supposed to be a domed tent) so I left it up to dry and joined my Dad in the Sherpa village.

The Sherpa village is a situation where a company puts up the tents and hauls your baggage for you.  Upon arrival, you simply need to find your tent number and your luggage is already inside the tent.  Also included is a fresh towel service, so that after each day of riding, a  clean, dry towel could be ‘checked out’.  This can be nice as towels tend to get stinky after being used, then stuffed into a duffel bag in the early morning.

The nights, however, tend to be really short, as riders are up before dawn and on bicycles once again.

The Sherpa village tent service

The Ride the Rockies started today with a relatively short 45 mile loop around the Colorado Monument.

Dad looking at the day's route

The day started at 5:30am. This is my first Ride the Rockies experience, while I’m riding it with my Dad, age 73, who is participating in his 9th Ride the Rockies. Dad said that it would be okay to sleep in, since today’s ride is relatively short. I seemed to have slept precious little hours and kept waking up when some (very lame) person on a motorbike kept revving his engine and racing through the streets. I and likely many other people in tents next to the street did not send nice thoughts toward him.

Each day after waking up, we find breakfast. We’re currently being hosted by Mesa State College and we made a trek across campus to eat in the Maveriks’ cafeteria. Having food, coffee and after visiting porta-potty-row, we picked up our bicycles from the bicycle corral and started riding.

The Grand Junction police gave great support!

An amazing aspect about the Ride the Rockies bicycle tour is the support infrastructure that is set up to help to aid and support the bicycle riders.  The Grand Junction police has also been stunningly splendid.  This is my first experience with Ride the Rockies, so I’m impressed with the mobile showers, the aid stations, and the overall experience on the road, pedaling a bicycle.  With 2,000 + riders on the road, the GJ police, CO state patrol and the CO Monument Park Service were fabulous in making sure the vehicular traffic wouldn’t run into the riders and were out in full force in their bike friendly manner.

The Colorado National Monument with cyclists on the climb

Riding through Grand Junction was a breeze.  The early Sunday morning was temperate at about 60 degrees, with little wind.   Once in the CO Monument, the climbing began, although being surrounded by approximately 2,000 other cyclists made the climb easier.   Perhaps the view also made climbing easier.   The landscape of the Colorado Monument reminds me of a spectacular lunar landscape.  For this ride, lights were mandatory as we went through 3 dark tunnels.

The support for the Ride the Rockies is phenomenal.  There were bananas at the first rest stop, followed by juicy grapes at the second.  As I popped the juicy green grape in my mouth, savoring the mixture of sweet juiciness with a little bit of tart, thunder, accompanied by a rolling dark cloud, started rumbling, alerting us of its ominous presence.   In mere minutes, the sky opened up and began soaking the lycra clad bicycle hordes.  I started getting very cold, as I had just started the descent.

As the rain started, cyclists descended upon the Visitors Center

When the Visitor’s Center was spotted, we all descended upon it.  I have to say, we cyclists are somewhat strange, overall, really nice, but we wear weird riding shoes: cycling cleats that make an opposite sound of stilettos, in that the cleat strikes second and instead of having an elevated heel, the cleat is under the ball of the foot, sort of like backwards high heels.  We have helmets, sometimes adorned with other ornaments, like mirrors, blinking lights, and in some cases, pink feather plumage.  Then we often finish things off with tights and a really bright jacket.  It’s good fun!  But we do look strange.  Overall, it’s quite a good, practical outfit for riding.  We just look strange walking around, loitering in the Visitors Center waiting for the rain to end.

The rest of the ride back to town was cold, but it was also mercifully fast since it was on the downhill side.  Somehow Dad and I got separated, so we both spent minutes standing around in the cold rain waiting for one another.  Finally I dawned on me that I had a cell phone and gave him a call, to find out that he had somehow passed me.  (I think it happened at the 2nd tunnel – I stopped, and he zinged by.)

Finding out that he was ahead, the bicycle racing ‘catch-up’ phased kicked in.  I figured that I was cold and didn’t want hypothermia, so I started cranking to catch up.  Thankfully, another rider passed me and in good cycling fashion, I sucked that wheel.  It has its advantages and disadvantages.  I did catch up fairly quickly tucked into the draft of a stronger male, however, got covered in ‘wheel spit up’ as we powered through puddles.

Getting back to the cycling base camp, I took a nice hot shower in the amazing portable shower trailer – which I will relate later, but now, I must carbo-load, because I hear that tomorrow is a hellish 94 mile day.

Yum. Pasta!

With the Ride the Rockies bicycle tour starting next week, here’s a google map that gives a rough idea of where this year’s 532 mile RTR will roll.

View Ride the Rockies Tour Route 2010 in a larger map

I’m riding on this tour with my Dad. I think that this is his 9th RTR, while it will be my first. It will be quite an experience.

Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?

Stop. Go.

No. Yes.

What to do if both signals contradict each other?  Stand there?  Run?  Crawl?

It’s amazing to me that a person can board a plane and within a few hours be in a very different reality. The following two pictures were taken within a few days of one another.  One was taken outside of Baruch College in NYC, and the other in Olathe, Colorado.

New York City

This was taken as a quick shot looking down the street.  At the time, within the environment of the big city, it wasn’t anything spectacular.  Yet, as I write this in Montrose, Colorado, and reflect on the picture, they buildings are really quite large in comparison to buildings here in Montrose.

Differences?

House in Olathe, Colorado

Each time I drive through Olathe, I crane my neck to see what is hanging from the long poles. The house doesn’t seem so irregular, and while the two pictures denote different environments, the common human desire to be creative, however expressed, is a binding similarity.

It’s a really interesting place.  There are poles with metal pans, poles with fuzzy slippers, poles with stuffed animals, and even ginger bread-like men hanging in the background.

You have to admit, it is creative.

Ma.tt

My next post: The Brilliance of the Open Source Community -OR- Why I Have a Crush on Matt

Aspen Trees Changing Colors

It’s a beautiful time in Colorado (and other places too). The autumn air is cooler and becoming crisp, vegetable harvests are slowing down, and the leaves are changing their colors.

Aspen Grove

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Painted Rock, Black Canyon National Park

The Black Canyon Nation Park is about 15 miles east of Montrose, Colorado. The canyon almost seems out of place, amidst the sandstone canyons to the west and the mountains to the south and east. Yet, steep, dramatic rocky walls plunge down to the Gunnison River, flowing clear and green on the canyon floor below.

http://www.nps.gov/blca/index.htm

The Black Canyon is really easy to get around by car. There are overlook areas that are just a few meters from the road. It’s also a climbing area and there are great hikes that can also be accessed. I’m thankful to be living in a beautiful place. It’s enjoyable to get out and go exploring in your own backyard. There are more pictures on the map.

Click on a small picture to see the larger picture in a slideshow. Article below.

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The Telluride Film Festival was in full bloom this Labor Day Weekend.  It takes place each year in picturesque Telluride, Colorado.  It does not announce its lineup until the day it starts, yet does not disappoint. This year they had a special tribute to actor Viggo Mortensen, their guest director was Alexander Payne, and others present included Nicholas Cage and Werner Herzog.  The festival prides itself on its ability to bring talented directors, screenwriters, actors and producers in a relaxed, yet beautiful atmosphere.  Not only do they bring in big names, but they also bring in an impressive amount of filmmakers to have Q&A sessions after the screening and create common spaces where the audience has an opportunity to interact with some of the screen giants that are in attendance.  There are discussions with actors and filmmakers in the Elks Park and the Court House, while films play on 9 different screens throughout Telluride.  One of the larger theaters, Chuck Jones’ Cinema is accessible from town by an 11 minute gondola ride.

It is impressive to see the transformation that Telluride undergoes in preparation for the Festival.  Schools get transformed into theaters with state of the art sound systems and large screens to play the films.  I wasn’t able to see that many films, but I did take some pictures. As you can see, it is in a beautiful area.

I only went for a day, driving from Montrose in the morning and attended without a pass.  One of the downsides of attending without a pass is that while I and many others waited in line for 3 hours, in hopes of attending the Viggo Mortensen tribute, we did not get in.  As in most film festivals, the ‘really important’ passholders get in first (arriving 10 minutes before), the ‘other’ passholders get in second, then if there is room, nonpassholders can buy tickets.  I only saw the back of Viggo Mortensen’s head as he arrived right before his tribute began. I thought, “Wow. That was Viggo Mortensen.” Then I walked to my car in the rain.