Colorado

Since my last post, the team has crossed from Utah and into Colorado. I’m writing this from Edwards, CO (near Vail), where the team is staying with long-time RAA supporter Lulu. The days from this past week have been a blur—as I have gotten to know my teammates better and as we have grown more comfortable with our daily routine of early wake-up times and hard riding, changing the location where I sleep every night makes it hard to keep track of what date it is and what state we’re in. But that feeling of disconnect from any one physical place also makes this adventure exhilarating. There are new and different storefronts, restaurants, streets, highways, faces, names, and towns to experience (as well as new challenges) every single day

Since my last post, the team has traveled far and wide. We have done three more centuries! Here are some notes from a few of the past days:

·         July 3: 100+ miles from Vernal, UT to Meeker, CO –The team’s third century ride of the week had lots of climbs, but a lovely lunch was spent jumping into the beautiful Kenney Reservoir. Thankfully, we had a nice campground with showers (the first ones in four days for some of the riders!) and chocolate milk waiting for us when we finished the day and arrived at camp, courtesy of our wonderful housing coordinators and van drivers for the day!

·         July 4: 50+ miles from Meeker to Glenwood Springs, CO—The team ended the week’s riding cycle with an easier ride to the friendly and scenic town of Glenwood Springs. We also took a rest day there, and many of us spent the day exploring Glenwood, fixing our bikes at MG Cycle and Sport with the help and generosity of owner Mike, or healing our bodies (some visited sports medicine doctors in Aspen to get answers about how to address knee and other pains).

·         July 6: 50+ miles to Edwards, CO: The team started off the day’s incredibly beautiful ride with a jaunt down a stretch of bike path that paralleled the I-70 freeway through breathtaking Glenwood Canyon and White River National Forest.

One of my favorite moments from the last week was during the day when the team rode from Strawberry, UT to Vernal, UT. I will always remember climbing a very steep hill and then being rewarded by the sight of one of the support vans, driven by Katrina. I was re-energized for the rest of the day’s century when Katrina played one of my favorite songs through the van’s speakers, and she and I danced to one of my favorite songs on the side of Highway 40.

Thanks for reading! We journey on to Silverthorne tomorrow, up and over Vail pass—the beginning of our ascents through the Rockies. Wish me luck! 

Gabi, Flannery, and I in Glenwood Canyon during a team water break this morning. Below are views of Glenwood Canyon, the Colorado River, and the White River National Forest. This is my first time in Colorado, and it is as rugged of a landscape as I imagined!

Thanks for reading!