Is this real life?

I slept pretty well despite the temperature being well into the low 40’s. It’s a race against time to dress up once you’re out of your sleeping bag. I could hear our neighborhood of bikers packing up, but I took my time because the cafe didn’t open until 6 AM and no part of me wanted to stand outside. The sun began to peak over the horizon and offer some warmth, but the slight mountain breeze warranted jacket and pant layers. The cafe doors opened up, and coffee was being poured more so as hand warmers than anything. Our little group of cyclists enjoyed a lovely breakfast together, planning our attack on Hoosier pass today. Our strategy was to tackle the climb as a group because the road has little shoulder. Strength in numbers, as we say.

We settled up our checks, filled up water bottles with tap that tasted like bleach, and were on our way to our first town 15 miles down the road. As soon as we encountered our first hill, I noticed my shift lever was out of wack again. This time though, I knew it needed to be fixed permanently. Fortunately for me, Jim knows his stuff about bikes, and was able to fix the issue. Surprisingly, it was an easy fix, and something I’m glad I learned for future issues. We pedaled on into some of the most awe-inspiring scenery of the entire trip. The plains of these mountains are incredibly cool, and having 14,000 ft mountains in most directions provided distraction from all else. I kept thinking to myself how I wish Liz could be seeing this with me.

Too quickly we reached town, where good ole Paul was waiting for us. He again displayed an array of snacks and beverages before we tackled Hoosier Pass. Being at the elevation we were, I started to notice my breathing patterns change. I began to breathe a bit harder and more frequently when climbing hills at this elevation, and this only continued during our 4 mile trek up the the continental divide. We held a tight line riding up the road, but there were still idiots cutting us no slack. Your grip on the handlebars is just a bit more tight when climbing with no shoulder. As long as the road to the top felt, we finally accomplished the feat. We celebrated with high fives and hugs, and took plenty of pictures with the continental divide sign. We thought lunch would be lovely at this point, so we settled into some cozy chairs and ate sandwiches Paul kindly bought us. During the break, Old Timer noticed a mountain in the distance and said we should hike it for better views. I’m so happy we did. After biking up to the pass, we proceeded to hike another +1,000 feet by foot. I strapped on my Tevas, and we were off. The hike definitely was steeper and longer than expected, but all was forgotten once we summited. The views were breathtaking. I couldn’t even explain what I was looking at if I tried. Vastness, but with mountains in every direction and valleys well below them. We could see the town we started in 20 miles away. The wind was easily 40+ mph; I could basically stand sideways. I could feel the altitude starting to cause a slight headache, so I laid down and closed my eyes for a bit. Eventually, we made the descent down, and I snapped some crazy awesome pictures of Old Timer and Keith along the way.

Now, what’s that saying. What goes up….ZOOOOM. We carefully flew down a couple THOUSAND feet into Brekenridge, maybe pedaling twice for a couple small hills. Eleven miles into town took something like 20 minutes. We chose to celebrate at the brewing company in town. Brekenridge is a very neat looking ski town. The homes appeared to look like what you would find in the Alps. Unfortunately, the town is extremely touristy, but for my first time there I thought it was pretty.

Jim and I have literally been talking about having a vanilla porter since Kentucky, and it FINALLY happened. We all toasted to surviving the pass, and celebrated each other’s company. Justin, who unfortunately had other trip plans, left his tab open and bought the first round for us. I really wish we could continue on with him! Being that happy hour was in progress, we grabbed some half-off apps as well.

Patrick’s plans were to stay in town, while we had plans to ride to Silverthorne. We hugged goodbye and rolled on to the lovely 15 mile bike path between Brekenridge and Silverthorne. I was happy to be off the road, especially after Justin informed us he was cut off and got bruised up from an accident. He’s okay, but we couldn’t help but be pissed off at rude ass drivers around here.

Fortunately, the bike path took my mind off the road drivers, and offered solitude and views for such a long stretch. I kept thinking how neat a bike path from coast to coast would be. We shall see. We rode through different towns, baseball parks, shopping centers, residential areas, lakes, and rivers. If there were a bike path for any one, this was it. I never wanted this to end, but eventually we arrived to Silverthorne where Jim’s friend let us stay in his home. The view from his balcony faced green mountains, and around the patio corner offered Buffalo mountain views. The sun set just passed this 14’er. What a beautiful sight that was.

We decided to stay in, and ordered pizza while watching Golden State beat the Cavs. I’m a sucker for basketball playoffs, it reminds me of summer with the boys back home, drinking coronas with lime. Just like any other night, we one by one moved to our sleeping quarters. Today was likely the most satisfying day of my trip. I’ll never forget the biking, hiking, drinking, eating, lounging, talking, picture-taking, watching, and listening I did today. What a great day to be alive.

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