Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Day 18 - From Montrose, Colorado to Gunnison, Colorado - 63 miles

Welcome to the Rocky Mountains - that is the theme today! We had some AWESOME climbs over some of the Rockies and the scenary was magnificant - we passed by the biggest land of water in Colorado and lots of greenery with some canyons in it.. phemonemal! I feel like almost everyday is just the best... and today tops all other days so far. Absolutely Amazing! I took so many photos but none of them seemed to show the scenary like being in it. Today was also different since we were on the same route as 2,500 other cyclists who are doing the ride, Riding the Rockies - which is a week-long ride of Colorado. It was fun to get to talk to other cyclists and to ride with them... they also had some amazing support along the way with porta potties and stands to buy lunch, ice cream, smoothies, or whatever else you wanted. They had good music playing and an overall good atmosphere. It was fun to ride with them for a day. I must admit, I think I might be getting really into cycling - I was thinking I could bike every state at some point and maybe come back for Riding the Rockies next year... cycling is sooo much fun!

Well, the only bad news for today is that my good friend Skip couldn't join us. He came down with something yesterday and was throwing up all night last night. He looked better at the first sag stop (picture with me on the right) and might be able to ride tomorrow. Tomorrow is suppose to be another tough day over the Rockies so he'll have to see how he feels. His presence was missed today. Oh and one other thing... my butt doesn't stop hurting... according to one of my fellow riders, it will continue to hurt until day 52... isn't that the last day we ride? Guess I might have to ride back to San Fran without a sore butt!! :) :)

The best part of today is that I am feeling magnificant! I feel strong and excited to climb! I love climbing... I'd rather climb a mountain any day than ride flat... it's just sooo fun! So today was my type of day. And a harder climb is coming tomorrow and I can't wait - I know we go over 11,000 feet! YIPEE HURRAY!
Oh and one more thing.... I have a hotel room to myself for 3 nights... super nice! I can take up all the room I want and when I get up at 4am, I can turn on the lights without waking anyone! Who would have known that I would only pay for a triple room and end up with a double the whole and a single for several nights... that is quite the deal!

You can see that I learned to take a photo of myself while I was riding (above) and I am super happy - it took three tries to get my whole face in - not the most flaterring but it works :)
Life is amazingly good....

2 comments:

Unknown said...

After spending the whole day in bed with flu-like symptoms, your upbeat comments were like warm sunshine on my cheeks. You go, girl!

Unknown said...

Hey Audrey! Your blogs make me laugh... you are so positive. Everything is all, life is great, life is good, I am happy, life is awesome. hah! It totally is and I am glad you are enjoying yourself. Keep having a blast, stay hydrated and wear that sunscreen! - Chels