Keya's Blog

Here are some snapshots of this year’s 25th Anniversary Ride the Rockies bicycle tour. Click on a picture to enter the slideshow. Clicking on the right side of the picture will take you to the next one, while clicking on the left side of the picture will take you to the previous one. Click anywhere outside of the picture to exit the slideshow.

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Speedy recovery to all!

Thanks to everyone for a great Ride the Rockies.

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!

Pagosa Springs, over Wolf Creek Pass, through South Fork, Monte Vista (with the most delicious potato I’ve ever eaten!) to Alamosa – 91.5 miles

Riding past fields of sunflowers

At this point, riding over mountain passes is starting to take its toll.  I realize that it is called Ride the Rockies, and we have definitely ridden over many roads in the Rocky Mountains. I’m fairly exhausted. My butt hurts. I forgot to put on sunblock one morning (it was dark outside when we started) and now have intense sun burn lines on some parts of my limbs which makes for strange blotchy cycling tan lines. Everyone that knows I’m riding a mountain bike has asked if I have slicks on it. I don’t, but figure that it’s only a few days left of riding, so it’s not a problem, but it kind of does make the Ride a much longer, tougher riding experience. My Dad lent me a backpack, which I’ve been wearing as I ride, and now both my hands are numb.

Yet amazingly, I and a couple thousand other people, that also likely have their own aches and pains, push onward. We are riding through really beautiful country.

Switchbacks up Wolf Creek Pass

After a rolling start of about 16 miles, we soon hit Wolf Creek Pass.  The Pass was brutally switch-backed and continuous for about 10 miles. As I climbed, I appreciated the extra granny gears that are on the mountain bike. (Actually, I shouldn’t call them that, because I do recall being passed by many strong, older women in the flats after descending down Wolf Creek Pass.)

The orange spray paint - "What were you thinking?"

All along the route, somebody has sprayed painted messages that have been a source of great amusement for me. One that I found particularly amusing was the one that said “Indian Jones does not carry a purse, he carries a satchel.” Probably not that funny now, but at the time, I thought it was really funny. On the climb up Wolf Creek Pass was the message, “What were you thinking?”

Well, when Dad first asked if I wanted to Ride the Rockies, I thought “Sure, we can try the lottery. We likely will not get in.” But we did get in. Then I thought, “Well, it will be a good, cleansing, borderline – religious experience. I’ll have good deep thoughts and can work out certain design principles.” But no, I don’t seem to be capable of complex thought processes during this week. Instead, when I ride, I think about how close or far I am from an aid station, I think about how much time it might take to get there, I look around at rocks, plants and other riders, and think about how long it has been since I last drank from the water bottle. I think about pulling up on my pedals as I ride, and I wonder if I’m doing permanent damage to my body by riding so much at once without properly training. (I did ride at least 100 miles before Ride the Rockies as friends warned me about how much I would hurt if I did not at least try to train. Duly noted.)

Back to the climb up Wolf Creek Pass.  There was a semi that had overturned on the first switchback on the climb. Amazingly, we had a tail wind up most of Wolf Creek Pass!

At the top of Wolf Creek Pass

Ride the Rockies is a tough, extreme thing to do. A person rides up passes where snow has not yet melted and it’s quite cold, then after descending down a pass, is back in temperatures around 90 degrees. I highly recommend it as a challenging and humbling exercise in humility.

The descent coming off of Wolf Creek Pass was a lot of fun.  My old Barracuda mountain bike is actually more stable than my Mom’s bike (that’s too small for me).  Then we hit the flats and luckily, for yet another day, we had a tailwind.    Yet for all its great stability, for about a 25 mile section, everyone – everyone passed me as I toiled away on the knobby tires.  I passed no one.  It was quite humbling.  I was really, really tired of hearing, “On your left.”

Everyone passed me. So I thought I would at least rest and take a picture.

“Left.”

“Coming on your left.”

“Hello.  On your left.”

“Do you realize you’re on a mountain bike?”

“Passing on your left.”

But then I started thinking about a Monte Vista potato!  The thought of a delicious steamy baked potato dominated my thoughts for miles.  The Colorado Potato Growers Association helped to sponsor an aid station in Monte Vista.  I almost ran over to them, thanked them profusely and told them about how I had been thinking about it for the past 15 miles.  I even got a Colorado potato sticker.  There were topping choices of butter, sour cream, cheese and green chile.  I had cheese and green chile on top of my potato, and instantly devoured it.  It was delicious.  The potato itself had a buttery, creamy texture, and I didn’t even have butter on mine.  (Sorry, no picture. It totally slipped my mind as my concentration was focused on eating a delectable potato.  Since getting home I went to the grocery store and purchased a sack of Monte Vista, Colorado, organic potatoes.)

Alamosa's evening entertainment

I somehow made it to Alamosa.  Gene, a guy from Salida helped to pull me in part of the way to Alamosa, but eventually dropped me.  Upon arrival, there was good music, as there almost always is music in the beer garden, but this evening’s music was particularly good.

Oh, it’s been so humbling, but I really have a deep appreciation for a majority of the people that have surrounded me, and for all of the staff and volunteers during Ride the Rockies.

One more day!  Alamosa to Salida!

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!

From Ouray, over Red Mountain Pass to Silverton, over Molas Divide and Coal Bank Pass to Durango – then up to Fort Lewis, the “Campus in the Sky” – 75 miles

The ascent up Red Mountain Pass

With 3 passes ahead, the morning alarm was set for 4:30am. All riders had received the warning that this would be a long day, and if we weren’t past Box Canyon Falls by 8am, we would be sagged to the first aid station.

I think most people were wanting to ride this part of the ride and got up early. This created long lines at the porta potties, but I have come to realize that this is part of the experience. My hope is that I have pleasant people around me while I wait in line.

The Million Dollar Highway, without guardrails

This was the part of the Ride that I was most excited about riding. We started in a beautiful, still morning. Cyclists were on the road in massive numbers while was still pretty dark. Because I was expecting a long climb, it wasn’t so bad. I also had a bit of adrenalin, simply because there was a big drop off on the side of the road that we were riding on.

The Million Dollar Highway is named as such because it is said that it took about one million dollars per mile to construct the highway on the precipitous edge of the mountain. There aren’t guardrails on a lot of the route because in order for the narrow roads to be snow plowed to create passable roads in the winter, there simply can not be guard rails. It was a little freaky and I didn’t look down over the edge while riding.

The back shifter stopped working

I made it up and over Red Mountain Pass. During the descent, the back shifter stopped working. During the climb, the back cassette was in the largest cog and during the descent, I could not shift into a smaller one. As I pushed the shifters inward, the shifters simply stayed in an inward position – stuck, but no shifting occurred. The wind was gusting, and while it was nice not to have to pedal, it was also somewhat frustrating since I couldn’t shift, and couldn’t pedal to get any purchase or momentum, thus, my top speed was 12 mph – going down Red Mountain Pass. I pulled over and a sag wagon stopped to pick me up. Let me be clear that this was a mechanical sag – going downhill. (Although I must also admit that was somewhat ecstatic to be off of the bike and in a motorized vehicle.)

Purgatory, with Engineer Mountain in the background

The good bike mechanics looked at it and sprayed stuff inside of it to try and clean it out, but it didn’t help. I felt like I was receiving a doctor’s note to (skip school) and ride the sag wagon. (“Yes!” I wanted to shout out and dance.) I got sagged to Coal Bank, then checked the shifters with different mechanics who even took it all apart to see if it was gummed up and instead determined that it was shot, worn out, and needed to be replaced. I could, however, use the front chain ring to shift (3 in front) and if I kept the back one in a gear in the middle, I would be able to make it okay. Feeling lame using the sag wagon when I was pretty much able, I rode down from Coal Bank using only the front chainring shifter.

Wondering what I was going to do to finish out the ride, since there were still 3 long days left, I rationalized that if I could get my mountain bike (in Montrose) it would be better since it fit me better than my Mom’s small bike. I called my good friend Gunnar, who picked me up and drove me back to Montrose that evening to get my Barracuda mountain bike.  We returned to a quiet, sleepy camp at Fort Lewis College a little after midnight.

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.