The team got up and ready on a cold morning in our tents. We were ready to take on the day with a 20-mile climb to our highest point of elevation for the ride at Independence Pass! After reaching our maximum elevation for the ride, we had 60ish miles of descents for the day, stopping by Aspen and riding along one of the most scenic trails of our ride to reach Glenwood Springs and have a rest day! During our rest day, we had a great time white water rafting down the Shoshone, getting lunch as a team, doing some chores, and resting up before continuing our ride!
quote of the day
“I’m waiting for our other friend to come back to take orders. She’s got something in her eye, like scratchhiinggg on her cornea”
RIDE OVERVIEW
Mileage: 79.2 Miles + 9 Miles (rafting)
Elevation: 3,612 ft.
Points of Interest: Mt. Elbert, Independence Pass, Aspen, 7-Eleven, Shoshone (Colorado River), 9th Street Diner
Ride Dedication: Bev Downs
DAY 40
We woke up on this glorious camping morning to a temperature of 44 degrees Fahrenheit! Despite the temperature, it was no excuse to lie down and nap until it got warmer. We got out of our tents, packed everything up, and enjoyed a breakfast consisting of cereal and yogurt, something other than oatmeal! We had our layers on for the morning, and after a hearty meal and getting everything packed, we were ready to hit the road (after a quick coffee stop in Twin Lakes), with the first 20ish miles being uphill once again.
We were on State Highway 82 for the start of the ride and passed by Mount Elbert- a fourteener (a mountain peak with an elevation of at least 14,000 feet above sea level; there are 58 fourteeners in Colorado)! At the top of our climb today, we reached Independence Pass! The Independence Pass is a high mountain pass in central Colorado on the Continental Divide. It’s midway between Aspen and the Twin Lakes! Standing at an elevation of 12,095 ft. This is the highest elevation that our team has biked up to during our ride, whoop whoop! The team spent a while at this rest stop at the top to take multiple pictures, find stickers along the signs posted there, and admire the mountain views and the roads we took to get up there. It was a surreal moment for the team, with many of us acknowledging, dang, we somehow managed to get our bikes all the way up here.
Following Independence Pass, the 50 miles left of the ride were all downhill! The teams were zooming down (cautiously), taking in every descent - a much-needed reward after the climbs. Along the route, the team stopped in Aspen, CO! Known as a ski destination, it was fascinating walking around the city in the summer when snow was nowhere to be seen. The teams ate at local restaurants, getting burritos and burgers to fuel up for the rest of the ride, and some visited a local art gallery. Getting out of Aspen, the team had bike trails for the rest of the day, making it even better! It was one of the best trails the team has been on: majority downhill, no cars, not bumpy or gravelly, and stunning mountain views all around.
Since today was July 11th (7/11), some teams stopped at a 7-Eleven to get free Slurpees! A great way to cool off and get an energy boost for the rest of the ride. Along the trail, some teams decided to create their own mini rest stop around mile 69, where we just lay in the grass. It was an opportunity we couldn’t resist with the grass being so green, trimmed neatly, and under some shade. Naps and a chance to get a good horizontal lay down are never missed among the team. The trail also proved to be quite lively, with many animals often crossing our paths along the route. One team even almost t-boned a deer! It came out of nowhere from the trees and crossed the bike trail just feet in front of some of our riders! High-pitched screams were involved, followed by the deer just staring at us once it got to the other side as we continued to bike along the path. We almost hit Bambi! Thankfully not.
Once we got to our stayover at First United Methodist Church, we were provided with dinner from our hosts, and Lori even generously offered us to shower in her home (which was much needed after a camping day)! Thank you to Lori for allowing us into your home to get some much-needed showers and to the Church for providing us with dinner!
DAY 41
The morning started out a bit later than usual, but everyone was still awake around 7 am to get ready for white water rafting. We enjoyed some amazing donuts, bagels, and fruit provided by the stay-over, which filled us up for some river fun. After breakfast, we all shuttled over to the Whitewater Rafting Experience in Glenwood Canyon, where we were fitted up with gear and briefly shown the basics of white water rafting. After meeting our guides, we were taken upstream, where we unloaded rafts and paddles and prepared to raft down the Shoshone section of the Colorado River! The groups were split up between two rafts, with one raft holding everyone that had recently graduated. We started our rafting experience with class III rapids, with prominent sections including The Wall, Tombstone, Maneater, Pinball, and many more. The intense rapids were for sure a surprise, but we braved them as a team as we paddled through Shoshone! After some fierce rapids, the river mellowed out, and we had more opportunities to swim, learn about the history of Glenwood Canyon and the Colorado River, dip into natural hot springs, and we even had a view of Lori’s house (our shower accommodation from the previous day). We finally ended our trip down the Shoshone River, where we got off our rafts and said goodbye to our guides who helped us navigate through the rapids!
Swimming in the Colorado River!
After our white water rafting expedition, we all shuttled over to 19th St Diner to get some well-needed lunch, and many of us enjoyed some malts and shakes. The food was delicious and the service was great! After lunch, we went back to the stayover, where everyone split up to do their own things. Some of us walked to the Laundromat to get some laundry done, while others stayed at the stayover to rest up or get their own chores done. After doing laundry, we went to Kaleidoscoops and enjoyed some great ice cream before heading back to the stayover. At the stayover, we had a good amount of time to relax and eat dinner before our final event of the night, which was premiering the movies we had made a couple of days previous. Both groups who made movies got to show their movies to the team, and everyone had a good laugh before heading to bed.
Thank you, First United Methodist Church, for giving us a place to sleep, a great meal, and special thanks to Lori for letting us use her home for showers!
Cyclist’s Corner
Today’s Rider: Jason Wang
How are you feeling today?
Today's our rest day, so it's a good day.
Do you have any go-to gas station/rest stop snacks?
Normally, if there's anything that has protein, like if there's hot dogs or burgers, or fried chicken. On the rare occasion, those are definitely my go-to to especially if it's one of the first or second rest stops right after breakfast, because the oatmeal is not very filling.
What is your rest stop routine?
Usually, I just try to get inside as soon as possible, because it's hot outside. I'll take a look around, see if there's an ice machine. I'll grab some food. And if there is an ice machine, I'll grab my bottles, fill my bottle with ice, use the bathroom, and then that's usually pretty much it, and then get ready to roll out again.
How do you stay motivated on long/tough days on the bike?
I think, for the recent days, being in the Rocky Mountains, it's just so incredibly beautiful that I just look around and it feels like I can just keep biking all day, when you have such beautiful scenery all around you. So that's been really motivating.
For the remaining portion of the ride, where are you looking forward to visiting the most?
Well, Colorado was way up there on my list. But since I guess we're almost done with Colorado, afterwards, I am looking forward to Utah. I've heard a lot of good things about Salt Lake City, and I'm also really looking forward to the Tetons.