Well, I had to pull out last year do to medical issues so I was raring to go on this ride. Janis and I couldn't find a 3rd lady to share the ride so we are doing it ourselves. She is the sometimes sag--and I am for her. I wasn't able to ride very much to get in decent shape for this--but it's never stopped me before! I was more worried since I didn't get to ski (cross country) but once at the end of the season due to some surgery I had.
The ride started in Boulder--it went up boulder canyon into Nederland. I let Janis do this part as there were no sag vehicles allowed and I wasn't sure I could do 15 miles of climbing right off the bat. I wanted to summit Berthoud Pass--which was steep--and a screaming downhill on the other side. After Janis made it Nederland we headed up to Idaho Springs--but took some strange dirt roads to get there. It was still climbing as the riders came from Nederland to Idaho Spgs through Black Hawk. I couldn't believe they would do that on the first day--75 miles and 10,000 ft elevation gain. It was not for the faint of heart--and I'm not sure that a lot of them finished the whole thing.
I unloaded about the foot of Berthoud. It had been raining and I wanted to see if it would blow over. It seemed to so I saddled up and began the climb. It was pretty grueling but I was holding a 2 mile an hour pace--and there were a few times it was 0--but I was still moving. I stopped for some short little rests to try and get acclimated. It wasn't very long and the snow began to fly. At first I just thought it was rain--but saw the little snow crystals on my arm before the melted. It wasn't very bad. Janis came up and asked if I wanted to sag. I hadn't gone very far up--only 2 and a half miles and wanted to go further. So she game me a jacket and on I went. The snow got heavier--but I was still okay. When I wasn't okay is when the wind began to blow in my face with the snow with it. My glasses got fogged and wet and I could barely see the while line of the shoulder to keep me out of the road. Janis was back but on the opposite side of the road--3 lanes of traffic on blind hills. I wasn't crazy about crossing and the longer I sat there the colder I got. So I went on and she went down the hill and then back up--only I didn't see her when she passed by. I finally got so cold I was shaking and my hands were freezing as was my face.
Luckily a motorcycle policeman came by to ask me if I was alright--and I said no. He stayed with me awhile while I waited for Janis to come by. (I didn't know she was about a mile up waiting there. He let me wear his gloves to try and warm up. Then an empty sag wagon pulled over across the road. The police officer went over and tole him I needed to ride. The picked me up off my bike and put me in the warm van. It wasn't toasty warm but compared to what I was just in it was. The sag quickly filled up. I called Janis and she said she was ahead of me. I told her I got in a sag. Those sag people are so awesome. They figure out ways to get a hand cycle on top of their vans using bunji cords. Janis followed the van to the top--and it wasn't very far. I got in my van and cranked the heat. I'm still shivering as I write this--even after a hot shower and snuggling on the couch with lots of blankets. Even though I didn't go that far--it was a steep vertical climb. I was exhausted.
We head to Steamnboat tomorrow for a 95 mile day--I won't be doing nearly that much, But I think I'll ride earlier in case of bad weather again. That was a bummer. Even the people who toughed it out and made it to the top at that time had to be sagged down. There was too much snow and poor visibility due to fog. That was a great way to scare away any newbies to the ride!! Signing off to go to bed!
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