Old Timer and the Crunchy Edges

I slept pretty well last night, but I was extremely excited to get back on the bike. We woke early and packed our belongings that were scattered all over the floor. Ina prepared breakfast for us once again, which was incredibly kind of her, considering we were up by 6 AM. Today’s menu was steak, eggs, and potatoes, a perfect combo of protein and carbs for our last recovery meal. Steve and Ina were such a delight to have met and stayed with, I can’t thank them enough for what they were able to offer us.

Another one of Jim’s friend, Paul, flew from Florida to Denver, picked up Jim’s truck, and offered to be a SAG (support assist group) for a few days. I chose to keep my bags on my bike, but having Paul there for company, snacks, and water was a YUUUUGGEEE plus. Steve chose to ride along with us this morning, and showed us an AMAZING bike route along the TransAm that lead us through a state park with zero traffic or noise. For 10 miles we had concrete bike paths with a gorgeous blue river flowing along the way. Riding through nature as beautiful as this makes miles seem like seconds, especially when the path was only bikers/runners. All good things come to an end, and eventually we found our way back on the road. Fortunately, however, in Colorado every single place you look there is something to see, so riding has been incredibly pleasurable. Most times pictures don’t do any justice, but I try anyway.

We encountered our first taste of hills after a week of Kansas flatland. I’m mentally and physically ready for these bad boys again, and I seem to perform well on the hills. The sun was beaming its waves of heat on us, and being that were climbing in elevation now it’s even more important to be careful with the sun. We make sure to lather our sweaty skin in white lotion, and drink plenty of fluids. Along the way we also passed a couple marijuana growing facilities, which was absolutely crazy to see being grown outside publicly.

We are constantly surrounded by incredible mountains in Colorado, and riding through these valleys has easily been my favorite views of the trip. Sooner or later a small town will arrive, and as we pulled into our first one, we find Paul with five lawn chairs set up with cold water and snacks. I graciously accepted a water and chair, and made some peanut butter and banana sandwiches. We sat and lounged in the shade, and discussed how happy we were to be sitting in actual chairs during our breaks for a change.

Soon enough we were back rolling through the valley sandwiched between mountains. How many times did I say to myself, “Oh my God, this is incredible”, I’m not sure. The largest mountains in the distance with snow make you feel so small. I love that feeling every time.

Most of the afternoon was downhill too, which made life even easier. I had another moment of feeling overwhelmed by the adventure of this trip, and not believing I was actually here. Our end destination was Canyon City, where we were invited to stay with another one of Jim’s friends, Martin. Martin is an avid cyclist, so we had plenty to chat about when we met up. His wife and daughter kindly prepared a delicious stew for dinner, but first Martin insisted we have a tour of Canyon City, more specifically ‘The Gorge’ and Skyline Drive. Thank the lawd we did.

The Gorge is a suspension bridge over a massive river. Unfortunately, they wanted $26/person to walk over it, but we were alright with the further view. Martin then drove us to Skyline Drive, a one-way road on top of a small mountain in the area. This was easily one of the coolest activities off the bike I’ve done on the trip, especially with the dinosaur tracks excavated for public viewing along the drive. You can clearly see the footprints walking along this particular rock, and thinking about what earth with massive creatures like these was like is always fascinating.

At this point, my stomach was saying, “Yo, ya need food homie”, true story. We drove back to Martin’s beautiful home, and started with IPAs and chips and salsa. Then we dove into a thick, rich beef stew and crispy salad. The salad tasted so incredibly delicious and I couldn’t stop talking about how tasty the vegetables were. The dinner rolls were also homemade, and with some smeared butter they tasted as good as the first moment Old Timer ever had a Gatorade. A home cooked meal is irreplaceable, and after three days of having these, I’m already missing them.

After dinner, I suggested watching Inspired To Ride on Netflix. Even after seeing it three times, I still thoroughly enjoy watching the Trans Am Race and the riders who push physical and mental boundaries for the sake of internal pride. The gang seemed to enjoy the documentary, but by the end we were slipping into a deep meditation, as Old Timer would put it. Like many nights, I laid to rest thinking about how fortunate I am to be with such wonderful people, and how exceptional it is to be alive.

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0