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 :)

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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.