Today was an exciting day the whole team has been looking forward to for a while, some for the climb, descent, or beautiful mountains. Along the way we pushed ourselves further than we thought previously possible, had a ton of fun, and even met another cross-country cycling team!
Ride Overview
Mileage: 54.3 miles
Elevation: 6,114 feet
Tales of The Trails
Today was a very long but adventurous day with many surprises. We were all slow to awaken as nobody on the team was eager to leave our nice, warm, and comfy hotel beds. As today would be our largest climbing day we have potentially ever had on the ride up until now, everyone made sure to eat plenty for breakfast to fuel for the long day ahead. The weather was impeccable, albeit slightly cold for some of us, as we rolled out to a crisp 55 degrees. Our ride today kicked off with an impromptu rest stop at mile 4 for some coffee. Two out of our three teams decided to stop, while the other group powered on. This random stop was amazing for our spirits and even had the best gas station donut I have ever eaten yet on the ride!
Once we got back on the road we noticed that today would just be a long, considerably shallow incline. We would gain over 4,000 feet of elevation in a single climb, but it would be spread out over thirty miles. Our first rest stop was halfway through the climb on a random trail and this was actually where we first ran into another group of cross-country cyclists. They are all in a fraternity called Pi Kappa Phi, and interestingly enough they even had two riders from the University of Illinois. Their group is called the Ability Experience and they bike cross-country to raise awareness and funds for individuals with disabilities. It is not everyday that you meet another group of people going through the exact same experiences that you are. As we exchanged stories we got to hear all about the similarities and slight differences we have had in our rides. For example, they are starting in San Francisco and ending in Washington D.C. After our small meet and greet we all rolled out to conquer the rest of the mountainous climb.
Although most people were a little more quick to be out of breath and tired from the elevation, everyone was determined to make it all the way to the top. The rest of the climb was 10 miles at an average of 4-5% grade. Not steep enough to be impossible to climb by any means, but it meant we were in for a constant effort without being able to stop pedaling or coast. Every one of us who started the day was able to make it to the top of Loveland Pass, which was a great accomplishment for all of us. It is crazy to think that in so few days we were able to climb all the way to 12,000 feet. After this point most of our hard work was done. The descent was also well worth the wait. Although it was pretty windy the descent was on a nice wide highway without any sharp turns so the team was able to enjoy it. At the bottom our second rest stop was at a restaurant and we were all able to rest and refuel for the final 22 miles.
This last stretch turned out to be one of our most scenic ones yet. We were solely on bike paths around a lake for the rest of the ride. You could see all the mountains in the background, and although we say every view is very scenic, this had to be one of the best backdrops we have ever had on a ride thus far. Parker, Aadit, Tada, and Ved even decided to take a fun detour down to the rocky beach to skip rocks and converse for a while. Some of the most fun that we have had during the ride has been in unplanned moments like these that just happen upon us. The rest of the ride from here on out was on one bike path until Breckenridge. This bike path was very windy, so it was very fun to speed down the path in a line as if it was a race. The rest of the bike to Breckenridge went by mostly without much to note. When we finally rolled into the stayover we were able to shower at a local YMCA before making our usual pasta and lentils for dinner. Biking back from the showers in normal clothes and flip flops is always quite a sight. Today was a longer day due to the climbs and random sidequests, so it didn’t leave us much time for random fun activities. After dinner we all quickly got our stuff ready for the next day and it was lights out before we knew it. In conclusion today was an amazing day which ended with everyone feeling accomplished and ready to tackle the day ahead of us.
