Ride the Rockies (RTR) is the type
of experience where after a few days you begin to lose track of which day of
the week it is. All of the hours in the saddle begin to blend together and the
jokes begin to just flow off of everyone’s tongues. The best thing about RTR is
that everyone loves riding his or her bike. It does not matter whether you are
a racer or a weekend warrior. We all have a love for the bike and the freedom
that comes with riding.
Day 4 – Steamboat
Springs to Avon
The
first 40 miles of day 4 were fast. Our Garmins were only registering a 1% or 2%
incline. This translated to a blistering pace for our group of three (Wayne,
Tom, and me). Wayne told me to just sit on, due to my small size. He and Tom do
not get a very good draft off of me. To say the least they would rather be
pulling on the flats than sitting on my wheel. The slight tailwind helped us
like crazy and we rolled along at about 26-28 mph for some extended sections.
The three of us had some fun battling for town line sprint signs along the way
and rolled into aid station 2 quite cheerful. After the aid stop we hit a sharp
kicker (maybe a mile long) before a sweeping, long, descent into State Bridge.
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| Ride the Rockies Day 4 Profile |
Coming out of State Bridge we hit a
gradual uphill 5-mile climb. The gradient was not steep, but the headwind made
the climb quite painful. I drilled it up the climb, feeling pretty good after having
sat in the wheels of my partners for the better part of the ride. The descent
off the climb was a headwind too, translating into pedaling, which is not
pleasing when you are seeing negative gradient numbers on your computer (above -6%).
The final ten miles was a gradual uphill, 1% or 2%, into Avon. Wayne led us
into town, rolling along at a comfortable pace. What made this ride memorable was
the beautiful scenery and great friends.
Day 5 – The
Penultimate Day – Avon to Breckenridge
Finally, the route pulled back into
my territory, the mountains. Today we tackled Battle Mountain, Tennessee Pass,
and Fremont Pass. We started at 7,500 feet in elevation and peaked out at just
over 11,300 feet (Fremont Pass), before finishing around 9,600 feet in
elevation. Between Tennessee Pass and Fremont Pass, we would travel near the
town of Leadville, a mining town notable for its epic mountain bike race, the
Leadville 100.
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| Ride the Rockies Day 5 Profile |
I
met Tom and Wayne at their hotel to begin the ride. Since they were still
finishing breakfast we ended up rolling out about 30 minutes late, and that
last of the RTR contingency to be leaving this morning. I had no trouble with that;
this was a vacation week for me. Bruce, from Ride 2 Recovery, decided to join
us this morning. The road titled upward immediately—the tough climb of Battle
Mountain was upon us. Bruce set a steady, but challenging pace up the climb. Having
just begun the ride, my legs had not yet woken up so I was suffering a bit.
Tom’s legs clearly felt the same, but he is a bit more comfortable in his own
skin and felt no shame at all at slowing his pace. Me, I couldn’t admit that I
was having trouble keeping up. So, Bruce, Wayne, and I continued on. The three
of us assumed we would meet up with Tom at the top or so we thought.
Hey Tom, Where Did
You Go?
The
top of Battle Mountain was stunning, with snow-capped mountains in the
background. As the three of us waited for Tom we stepped over to the edge of
the overlook and I snapped a photo of Bruce and Wayne. Little did we know Tom
went over the top of the climb a little after us and we were waiting for
someone who was not coming. Finally, we decided to descend Battle Mountain,
assuming Tom would be at the aid station at the bottom; but he was not there
either. To top it off, we did not have cell phone service. After 10 minutes at
the aid station Wayne finally decided we should just roll out; the whole
situation was a bit perplexing.
Next
up, Tennessee Pass. Tennessee is a gradual climb that slowly gets steeper and
steeper. Bruce set a relentless pace up the climb. As we neared the top I
attacked in pursuit of winning the KOM. Bruce eventually caught me and passed
me. I was a little disappointed, but knew I’d get another chance. At the aid station at the top of
Tennessee Pass Wayne was able to text Tom, who explained that he had snuck over
the top of Battle Mountain and gotten ahead of us. In fact, he was already at
the aid station just past Leadville, 12 miles up the road. Wayne and I quickly said
hi to my Davis Phinney Foundation support crew and hit the road. We drilled the
pace on the mostly downhill route to the next aid station, where Tom was
waiting. As we headed out to Fremont Pass, we couldn’t help but joke with Tom
about losing him.
Having Fun and
Suffering
The
three of us rolled towards Fremont Pass with Wayne, as always making sure our
pace was no slouch. Pretty soon we came upon Ron Keifel, 7-time Tour De France
rider, and slowed our pace so we could have a little chat with him. Not soon
after we passed a bunch of my fellow Davis Phinney Foundation (DPF) riders who
jumped on our wheels to ride with us. Soon the climb began. Wayne and Tom told
me to go ahead—they were going to take this climb easy. I attacked hard and a
couple people who had caught onto our group tried to get onto my wheel. Out of
the corner of my eye I saw an orange vest jumping in. It was Beth, a fellow DPF
rider. My competitive nature showing, I decided there was no way she was going
to hang with me and punched the pace ever faster. Beth and I would have a joke
about that moment when we saw each other at the finish later in the day. The
rest of the climb I rode a hard pace with only one guy sticking to my wheel. At
the top I was gassed and sucking air (or lack there of). Wayne and Tom soon got
to the top and we all refueled on bananas and Gatorade before the big and fast
descent.
Losing the Wheel
I
take great pride in being able to descend and stay with anyone. Only 120 lbs dripping
wet and use a 50x12 as my biggest gear, which can make it quite difficult to
stay with others on a descent. Most of the descents off of the passes are wide
and have no sharp corners. Already going 50+mph we came around a sweeper and
hit a long straight section. I was down in my super tuck position glued to Tom’s
wheel. Out of nowhere Tom began pulling away from me. There was nothing I could
do, but wave goodbye as Tom and Wayne gapped me on the descent. They kindly
waited for me. If that had been a race that I would have lost it right there.
The last 15 miles of the ride was on a bike trail that was slightly downhill,
to say the least we had some fun on it.
I
attended the cycling seminar later in the day where Ron Keifel told awesome
stories of his racing days and his stage win at the Giro d’Italia. That evening
my dad and I chilled at the entertainment area with most of the DPF riders. It
was the final night of RTR and I was disappointed. This is the week of the year
where I train and pretty much live the life of a pro cyclist—it’s pretty sweet.
Pro cyclists do not get paid a lot, but you become a pro to chase the dream
because you just love riding your bike so much.
#Livin’theDream
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