Year: 2019

148 miles (10900 ft climbing), 12:53 hours 13.3 mph

Toughest day so far, straight into a serious climb up over 8000ft which started off in sun but quickly deteriorated up top to snow and sleet. Bob packed it in early on during the climb as he is fighting some sickness and got in the van. Greg and I struggled to stay warm along the ridge before finally dropping down to decent weather again at Flaming Gorge. Stunning view from the viewpoint but alas we had to keep going so could only hang out for a bit.

Due to the conditions we were going pretty slow and lunch was moved up a sag stop to the 70 mile mark. As we approached that we got hailed on and then more snow as we huddled in the trailer eating. Most people had bagged it for the day by now but Greg and I headed on to the next sag at 90 miles in. Greg stopped there and I opted to try to make it in before sunset to keep my streak of riding every full day alive. One tough 60 mile time trial later I made it to the hotel with some buffer. Down to just 3 people now from the whole tour who have finished each day. Tomorrow is the longest day of the tour so an even earlier start than normal. This is tough!

146 miles (7500 ft climbing), 11:24 hours 15.9mph

Half way done!

Crazy day today leaving Colorado on the first day of summer. We started with strong headwinds and then shifting to freezing rain as we got closer to our main climb of the day up Douglas Pass. People were abandoning for the day by the second sag stop (only 7 people ended up completing the whole day in the end) and the support vans were getting full of bikes and wet people.

I borrowed and extra jacket from Susan before the climb started and then had to ride at my own tempo to try to stay warm going up it. The wind eased a bit as I got higher but then the sleet and snow started. It’s rarely a good sign when a snow plough passes you going the other direction from were your heading towards. Lon, Susan and the rest of the support crew took excellent care of us today making sure that everyone who wanted to keep riding were properly monitored and finding extra gear when needed.

Once I reached the top it was straight into the van for some warming up with hot coffee. Bob and Greg soon joined me and we braced ourselves to head back out for the descent to hopefully warmer levels. Had to ride the brakes going down as with wet wheels I didn’t want to risk picking up too much speed. We got down below the snow level relatively quickly but in wet gear the headwind descending kept me shivering. 

Hot tomato soup at the bottom of the main descent helped a bit but I stayed pretty cold until we finally got to our lunch stop and was able to dry out some of my gear in the sun.

Then it was off to Utah in sunnier weather though still battling a strong sidewind until we turned left and had a glorious tailwind for the last 40 miles to Vernal, rolling at 25-32mph for long stretches. A fine way to end an epic day.

143 miles (7000 ft climbing), 11:30 hours 15.5mph

Today started with a fast descent from Ouray down to the “plains” before heading over to our “bump for the day”. A single ~30mile climb up to 11,000ft en route to Grand Junction.

We made good time to the first sag stop (averaging 22+mph) and then shed some layers before heading on at a more controlled pace to the start of our climb. That said Greg was crushing it on the County, Town and River sign sprints which somehow we’ve gotten caught up in going for. At least with 3 of us you always podium.

The climb went on for a long time and started in 100F heat again. Fortunately it got cooler as we got up to the snow level and there were some stunning half frozen lakes to see as we got higher. Thunder storms were threatening around us and we just got to the top before some serious wind gust came along (nearly taking off the canopy on the lunch truck while we huddled inside it).

Once it died down a little we started the descent. I hung back a bit as the pavement was a bit dodgy and there was a serious cattle guard in bad condition near the top that wasn’t much fun going over. We regrouped at the bottom and rode down a great river canyon to the next sag. The wind was really picking up by now and some serious gusts were catching us. We reached the sag stop at the bottom to find that it had been destroyed by the last major gust (table with food picked up and blown into the side area).

We were just about to start a 5 mile highway stretch with a narrow shoulder and raging river on the other side of the barrier and Susan determined that it was unsafe to ride in the current wind conditions and shuttled us past it before we got back on our bikes and rode the last 14 miles in. The right call in the conditions. As it was a safety ruling Bob and my “elite” status of riding every mile is still intact.

Reached Grand Junction in time for a proper dinner. Hopefully will get a better night’s sleep tonight as it’s been touch sleeping at the higher altitudes of our last overnight stops. Tomorrow we head to Vernal.

134 miles (10942 ft climbing), 11:45 hours 13.3mph

Stunning day riding in Colorado today with extensive climbing and multiple passes over 10,000ft (the highest was the last one at 11k). Probably one of the the most scenic days I’ve ever spent on a bike!

Bob, Greg and I rode together for most of the day, stopping to admire the scenery at multiple points. I made it to Ouray in time to get a massage to set me up for tomorrow.

153 miles (7644ft climbing), 12 hours 14.8mph

Today was our last day in New Mexico and was challenging primarily due to the elevation gain. It’s tough doing sustained climbing at 8000ft when you’re not acclimatized. That said, tomorrow we start the really high days and get up close to 12,000ft on Red Mountain so that should be interesting!

Some stunning landscape in New Mexico and Colorado ranging from desert dry expanses to high country pastoral meadows.

The three of us (Bob, Greg and I) stuck together for the whole day except for a brief stretch in the middle before we regrouped. Greg was riding strong and took the brunt of the strong headwind into the lunch stop. My energy was at a low point then but a hot lunch 115 miles into the ride helped revitalize me.

Great descents off the Colorado climbs and looking forward to more to come tomorrow. Now time to eat and recover from today’s efforts.