A Wife's Perspecitve

I've just arrived home to the sounds of fireworks cascading over the field behind our house. Bright. Sparkly. Exciting. Jubilant. And, I must say, that is much like I feel right now after having spent two-and-a-half days with my biker dude husband and his cycling buddies.

You who are caring enough to visit this blog are given the treat of Joe's view of the trip - both through his photographic skills and his witty and thoughtful words.

What I was privileged to see this week in Breckenridge, was a peek into the daily lives of these extraordinary folks - Joe, of course, included. I watched as they arrived at our hostel/inn in Breck after having climbed Hossier Pass. Tired, yet exhilarated.

Eleven people who had not known each other before May 15th, met for the first time on the 16th and then on the 17th became constant companions who would scale extraordinary heights, both physically, geographically and emotionally together.

Tom, Frank, Ralph, David, Andy, Scott, Alice, Cammie, Judy, Joe, John - all from diverse backgrounds and differening politcal perspectives - yet they share the same spirit of adventure. What a group they make. Do they always get along? Hmmm. I suspect there are some "spats" from time to time. Do they work together as a team? Yes, they do. My brother, Norm had joked with Joe before the trip that when they scale the various passes to take particular care as they cross the Donner Pass. They won't, of course, be there - but I am quite confident that if they were, they wouldn't eat each other.

I also met other family members who had come to spend time with their own biker dudes and chicks. It was wonderful to see the support our cyclists are receiving from their friends and family. I don't think our cyclists have realized just what a favor they are doing for all of us who are following this amazing adventure; they are letting us know just what is possible when we are ready and willing to test our personal limits.

It's not about the bike, you know; it's about the willingness to grow and expand; to test those limits; to not fall prey to ageism and stereotypes.

And now I'm home. And, I must confess, I miss my bikerdude husband. But I'll focus on those fireworks which are in celebration of our country's birthday. And I'll think about the beauty of this country as related by the cyclists - for they've seen it as few of us ever have - the small towns they've been in, and the people they've met.

It's an amazing adventure - but I'm sure glad there are only four weeks and three days left. The weeds are calling for Joe to come pluck them from the gardens.

Caryn

Wednesday and Thursday. Very hard 67 mile ride from royal gorge to fairplay, probably the toughest ride of the trip. Our total ascent was 5688 feet going over a pass at 9445 and ending up at just under 10,000. Very long steady climbs with great views and lots of wild life. 7 hours in the saddle was not kind to my butt. Got to fairplay just in time to get cleaned up and then picked up by caryn. We cruised over hoosier pass and got to our lodge in Breckenridge by 6:00pm. We walked around town and had a nice dinner at the local brew pub. Of course I had to get up by 5:00am so it was a very short night. Josh picked me up before 6:00am so we could drive back to fairplay to meet the gang and bike over hoosier pass together. Josh rode very strong, but I was seriously affected by the altitude. I just couldn’t catch my breath, of course we were above 11,000 feet for awhile. I struggled but slowly made it up and over hoosier and town into Breckenridge by 10:30am.hoosier pass is significant as it is the highest elevation we attain on the whole trip at 11,539. Don’t have to get back on the bike until Saturday morning so hopefully my legs and butt will have a chance to recover. With the long layover here there are several visiting family members so that our dinner party tonight will top out at 22. Tomorrow anida and dick are driving down to join caryn and I for lunch tomorrow. Josh, Tanya, and zoe working around josh’s work schedule will join us for dinner on Friday. July 4th will be no holiday for us. We start our last month on the road with an 80 mile ride heading toward Wyoming. Last post until Saturday or Sunday.

joe and caryn in breckenridge

joe and caryn with josh in breckenridge

biker chick in breckenridge

joe and josh at top of hoosier pass

joe and josh before ride

i'm good at the "feed" part but what's "tack"

Tuesday. Very interesting day today. Much harder than yesterday. 56 miles with one steep but relatively short hill and one less steep but about six miles long. Wind in our face most of the day. We rose to 6400. We’re camping near the royal gorge park, spectacular views. I almost forgot how to set up my tent as it’s been 17 days since I’ve needed it. I took a bunch of pictures today but cannot post them because there’s no cell service so I can’t get them from my phone to my computer. Exciting day tomorrow!!!!! Caryn will be meeting me at the end of the ride in fairplay.

Monday. Today was a gift from the cycling gods. Cool. Tail wind. Good road. Wide shoulder. Gently rising terrain. Pretty scenery. And only 52 miles ending in pueblo. This is a city of approximately 100,000 people. This is the largest city we will pass through on the whole trip. Riding through the city to the state fair grounds where we’re sleeping in the 4-H dorm was quite an adjustment. Multiple lanes of heavy traffic and lots of traffic lights. We all navigated safely and we’ll ride out of here heading west into the mountains early tomorrow. As we rode west toward pueblo the mountains seem to grow as we pedaled. I couldn’t help anticipating the battle we’ll have up and down the passes or the next several weeks. We’ll be climbing longer and higher than anything back east, but we’ve been promised the grades will be less severe. We’ll see. I’m not too worried as my legs feel strong and I’m carrying less weight(belly) than at the beginning of the trip. I almost fell off my bike this morning. I was riding along minding my own business when a prairie dog. jumped out of the grass beside the road and seemed to be chasing me. The totaling unexpected quick movement startle me and I’m told I yelped and jerked my bike in a instinctive move of avoidance. I did not crash and I recovered quickly and continued onward. 48 hours to the big reunion in Breckenridge. Yippee. Also, we just hit the halfway point of the trip even though as we looked on a national map we’re really about 2/3 of the way directly across the country. I think the extra miles through the rockies will be well worth it.

tonight's modest accomodations

pikes peak

first glimpse of the rocky mountains-look carefully

Sunday. 61 miles mostly into the wind to Ordway, Colorado. Not too hot. The terrain has turned to wide open rolling pasture land. For an 8-9 mile stretch we rode past an old railroad line that had nothing but parked auto carrier cars. There had to be several hundred rail cars. With no automobiles being purchased there’s less demand for transport so the rail cars are being mothballed here. It kind of reminded me of the airplane graveyard in Arizona.