Wednesday September, 24 2008 - Day 10

Wednesday September, 24 2008 - Day 10
http://ultrabongo.blogspot.com/
5AM comes early to Lamar CO and my body get’s out of bed before my brain even fires a synapse. I walk around in a circle trying to orient myself to something. The room is dark because there is no natural light outside and being in a different motel room every night means I am not sure of where the knee bangers are lurking. I circle - there is no wind or hills. If I was smart I would include the bed in my little circle and go back to sleep. After 4 circles there is a loud rap on the door and my little pattern is broken.
We load the car and hit the road. Joe is anxious to get into the Rockies and beat his body against the hills. We get such a fast start no one asks the front desk which way 50 West leaves town and I drive in several circles around Lamar similar to the one’s I was walking in my room. This time the knock comes from the convenience store attendant who doesn’t say anything to me, she simply points. Love it.
The sun comes up slowly revealing outlines and shadows of the mountains. I keep a tight leash on my speed as a second speeding ticket for me today may not be as easy to forget. 30 minutes into the drive Joe starts asking when we are going to be there. He doesn’t even know where “there” is but being in the back cab seat of the truck is torture to him. I look back 10 minutes later and he is sound asleep. We travel through small agriculture based towns and the “pickers” are starting to fill the roads before 6AM.
Monte Vista is just west of Alamosa on rt. 160. Chet, Joe and I pedal 30 miles to South Fork. Joe leads into a 10 mph headwind and he is blasting away at the pedals. I glance down and we are at 25 mph. My legs scream for mercy and several times I try to convince myself to back down and let Bo pick me up. I change positions, crank harder, swear, sweat and curse. When we arrive in South Fork I am on Chet’s back tire. Wolf pass separates South Fork from Pagosa Springs. Wolf Pass climbs 8000 feet over 10 miles. It is stark beauty and windy. Pine trees are interspersed with Aspens and at 7800 ft elevation I am beginning to feel the loss of oxygen.
We start the ascent and I pedal up next to Chet and whisper in his ear “if I drop off, don’t wait for me, I will see you in Pagosa Springs. He smiles and says “I am going to drop off too”. I downshift and fall off to 7mph. Chet remains glued to Joes back tire for as far as I can see them. Then they disappear and I am out in the mountains of Colorado pedaling against a wind, dehydrating and sun burning. This is not a complaint. I take it over stressing about the economy or what the leaders of this great nations will do next – to further screw it up. Trucks pass within three feet of me at 65 mph, bears and mountain lions are within these woods and I still feel safer than at the hands of our elected leaders. I digress.
I see a moose in a meadow and turn around to take a picture. She doesn’t like photographs and dodges back into the tree line. Maybe it was the outfit I am wearing. I turn my focus back to the pedals. It is 10 miles to the Summit and at no point do I want to know how much farther it is. I look only at the speedometer and keep reminding myself to slow down and relax. Altitude sickness is real and we have spend the majority of our time on this trip close to sea level. I don’t want to throw up my two peanut butter and honey sandwiches but my stomach gives me some very clear signals to yield. I stand up on the pedals looking for relief but there is none. Bo is running support from the truck today and he is truly providing world class support with a smile. He pulls into the turn offs and offers water refills and provisions.
At the Summit of Wolf Pass I cross the Continental Divide. Pull my bicycle over to the marker and take several pictures. From here it is 9 miles downhill at 7% grade. Wow. I am at 40 mph quickly and twisting through downhill turns which have cautions signs reading 25mph. The first one I brake to 20 mph and the others I don’t even come up out of my tuck position.
Joe and Chet average 19 mph for the 75 miles we pedal!!!! I manage 16.1. We eat in Pagosa Springs and head to the Pagosa Lodge. We alternate between stretching and the hot tub. We are sore and spent from the climb and exhilarated from the descent. Joe demands more hills for the morrow and to sleep at elevation. I tell him I will see what I can do.
Notable – As we are driving this morning we are stuck in one of our unsolvable discussions and Chet asks Joe if he could be anywhere doing anything right now what would it be? Without hesitation Joe says “I would be with Courtney and our boys, I miss them dearly”.
Two weeks didn’t sound like much time when we were planning this adventure but to the heart it could be a lifetime and for the financial markets it could be long enough for complete failure. And this is how the days go by. From Chet, Bo, Joe and me, we miss you all very much and thank you for making this all possible with your support.
Here is a link to the kids and cause we are riding for - http://www.lisas810.com/cause_AOR.html
With gratitude,
Chris