Telluride, Colorado

Saturday 28 April 2012 ~ Monticello, Utah to Dolores, Colorado

Again, I chose not to bike today as I continued to have a dry hacking cough, which I know from prior experience would never get better if I kept on exposing my throat and lungs to the cold and thin mountain air. 

I realized that my desire to take pictures correlates well with the degree of my illness: the more sick I am, the less I want to be a "photographer." According to my camera, I only took one picture on this day, and it is the one I've uploaded below. Robbie was thrilled to be the first rider to the lunch stop, and what made his ride even more enjoyable was the reading of Harry Potter coming from his (my) iTouch through his (my) ear buds and into his auditory canal :)

**********

Sunday 29 April 2012 ~ Dolores to Telluride, CO

Last night I prayed an earnest prayer that my throat and head would feel good enough to make the 65 mile ride from Dolores to Telluride. Remember, these roads are at elevations of 7,500 to 10,000 feet above sea level, and even though the sun is shining, the thin air holds little heat. Praise the Lord I woke up with a clear head and minimal cough; I was ready for my first real ride since last Monday! And boy was I glad I was on the Rattler again. Some pictures from my day:

I was speeding downhill at 40+ mph when I rounded a bend and was greeted by this scene. My break pads are definitely thinner, but I had to get at least one shot here.

Picture Perfect

 Rest Stop #2: Me and Robbie, white and black ninjas for the day.

Taken at one of those "scenic overlook" turn-outs on the highway.

My full winter gear outfit.

 The Colorado Rockies

A mere 3 miles outside of Telluride; if you follow the two hills into the valley, Telluride is nestled exactly where the slopes converge.

My ride started out a little slow as I found myself huffing and puffing from the get-go, but as I pedaled on, the rhythm came back and I got stronger after each rest stop. In the end, this ride to Telluride turned out to be my favorite ride of the trip to date. The scenery probably helped lift my spirits, just a little :)

Tomorrow (Monday 30 April) is a day off from riding. A number of us will be speaking to elementary school kids and their parents as part of our Telluride Event Day. And from the progression of my bad cold, I think tomorrow will be when I'm fully back to baseline, which means when we hit the road again on Tuesday, I'll be clicking along with all gears again.

What Happens When I Don't Have Access to WiFi

Wednesday 25 April 2012 ~ Boulder to Hanksville, UT

*The post title explains it all*

I was still sick during the days covered in this post (Wed thru Fri) so these pictures were taken from one of vans I was riding in. Utah has amazing landscapes and natural rock formations. I never knew the Beehive State to be so picturesque. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see much of it from the Rattler :(

These clay/stone formations are clearly carved by rain and wind, but still amazing that they turn out as such, and not just a mound of dirt.

The rock formation in the center background is called "Castle Rock."

Ancient "prehistoric" petroglyphs. I've always wondered what defines "prehistoric" ...

**********

We were welcomed by the residents of Boulder, who were kind and generous enough to divvy up our team of 19 into groups of two, three, and four and host us in their homes. The following morning, Hell's Backbone Grill provided a hearty breakfast of steel-cut oats, homemade crab-apple butter, and fresh coffee. Such a hospitable and friendly town. Thanks again, Boulder!

**********

Thursday 26 April 2012 ~ Hanksville to Natural Bridges National Monument (to Blanding, UT)

Today was my scheduled crew day, along with Blair, Coulter, and Skylar. Some pictures from driving the Budget truck.

You can see the rain in the distance, pulling the clouds downward.

This vine/tree was literally growing out of a rock wall.

The rock formation above is called "Jacob's Seat." And as for Natural Bridges National Monument, it was not meant to be. Long story short, we were rained out and all the riders had to be "rescued" from the thunder and lightning. Since I wasn't going to put a group of wet and cold cyclists through a night of cold and wet camping, we drove on as a group to the next town, Blanding. There, we were welcomed by the principal of San Juan High School, who on short (very short) notice was more than happy to put us up in his cafeteria for the night. I know I felt blessed to have a roof over my head that day.

**********

Friday 27 April 2012 ~ Blanding to Monticello, UT

Most of the group voted to drive back to Natural Bridges this morning to finish the rained-out ride from yesterday. I was among the small group that elected to remain in Blanding and join the rest of the team after lunch (lunch stop was located in Blanding).

I decided to ride even though I wasn't 100%, and it was a somewhat miserable 20 miles for me from Blanding to Monticello. Wasn't really in the mood to take too many pictures, but the three below I thought were worth uploading.

I forget the name of this reservoir/lake, but it was kind of pretty.

This picture almost looks fake...

Just outside of Monticello, Utah.

**********

Hopefully we'll have more consistent internet access for the rest of the trip. Trying to cover multiple days is exhausting and obviously not as interesting because I'll inevitably have forgotten stories and experiences. These days tend to blur; fortunately my camera keeps tabs on when the photos are taken, which is a big help in remembering what happened during any particular day.

Headache, Cough, Congestion

Sunday 22 April 2012 ~ Happy Birthday Mom!

*Will update with words at a later date, pictures took FOREVER to load...need to wake up early for the 81 miles to Hanksville, UT tomorrow (Wed 25 April 2012).

**********

A Day of Rest 

Sunday was spent at the St. Jude's Episcopal Church in Cedar City. In the morning, most of the group attended the service, and it was quite an interactive time. Reverend Susan recruited pretty much all of us to take part in the service, having us read different parts of the bulletin and even having Jess and Lisa read out of a picture book in front of the entire congregation (pictures below).

A group went to Zion National Park in the afternoon and had an amazing time hiking and taking in the breathtaking views. I was starting to get sick so I stayed back. And anyway, I'll be back in Utah in the near future to visit Mark and Reena; I can always go visit the national parks at that time.

**********

Monday 23 April 2012 ~ Cedar City to Tropic, Utah

Today was the epic climb of the trip: ascending above 10,000 feet. Unfortunately, I was sick. Being stubborn though, I rolled out with the rest of the group, determined to at least reach the summit. Commentary will continue with the pictures below.

Mark and Rob, and me as the photographer. The 3 Musketeers.

Impromptu stop at a nice park (we needed toilet facilities).

Apparently we stopped at the birthplace of Southern Utah. 

Lots of stretching.

And the climb begins...it's difficult for me to capture the grade of the slope, although we were told at many points along the climb that we were ascending at 13.5% grades. I'm happy to almost be at the top, three fingers out for three beef jerky packets consumed. The little tree growing on the rock ledge...impressive.

Summit scenery.

10,420 feet (and again, the DOT elected to place the sign before the actual summit).

Cedar Breaks National Monument

O-H-I-O!

Surveying the land before me :)

The Rattler at Rest Stop 2.

Rob & Erin, soaking up the sun after a chilly descent. Abramoff. One of my two water bottles.

I racked up after Rest Stop 2, satisfied to have conquered the climb and completed 67 of the 95 miles for the day. We passed through Bryce Canyon and were treated to some magnificent red stone formations. The overnight accommodations were provided by Kodachrome Basin State Park. Regrettably, I was too sick and tired to take pictures of the amazing landscape at the park. Visit the link above to see where we stayed :)

**********

Tuesday 24 April 2012 ~ Tropic to Boulder, Utah

I made a pre-emptive decision to not ride today as I wanted to recover as quickly as possible and hopefully stay healthy for the remainder of the trip. 

Rest Stop 1

Chris and Mark, frontriders. 

Various members of the team pulling into the Kiva Koffeehouse.

Rosenfeld and I continued onto Boulder and contact the home-stay coordinator. Boulder, Utah is a town of about 200 and it had quite some character to it. The people there are well-wired, as well as generous and hospitable. Our group of 19 were split up into groups of 2-4 and spread out among the families that volunteered to host us. We all received hearty home-cooked meals, laundry facilities, and a real bed to sleep on. Thank you residents of Boulder, UT!

Tomorrow will be Boulder to Hanksville, about 81 miles but mostly descending after an initial 10-mile climb. I plan to ride, as the following day I will be on crew again.