Ride the Rockies 2015 Days 2-3: Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

The view from the LeValley Ranch hunting lodge was a bit ominous this morning.

I woke this morning to the sound of thunder. How far off I sat and wondered. Actually it was the sound of rain on the roof of the hunting lodge at LeValley Ranch. But most likely this meant our bikes were getting wet in the bike lockup area 7 miles away in Hotchkiss. At least we were warm and dry thanks to the generous invitation from my rancher friend Robbie LeValley to stay at her ranch's hunting lodge, Team BEEF was treated to a Homestead Natural Meats steak dinner, hot showers and beds last night. It was a welcome respite after yesterday's ride!

The Homestead Beef steaks were amazing. Ribeyes, no less. Thanks, Robbie!

Yesterday was tough. As tough as I remember from my first Ride the Rockies 10 years ago (and I'm 10 years older!). The day started with a 30-mile gradual (1-2% grade) climb out of Grand Junction to Mesa, including some nice bike path and a few miles on I-70. But once you get to Mesa, actually just before Mesa, the climb ceased to be gradual. The next 20 miles are all steep (6-8% grade) except for some short stints of relative flat (2-4%) near the top of Grand Mesa. Few climbs I've done in Colorado (and I've done all the major passes and Mt. Evans) are as relentless.

Dinner at the ranch was the perfect way to recover from the Day Two ride. From left: Woody, Flip Flop Jenny, The Banister and Paul the Pilot 1

But the really tough part of the day came after a fast 20 mile descent into Cederedge, Colorado. The final 20 miles of our 95-mile day rolled through some beautiful cattle country but included a couple of nasty climbs on tired, stiff legs. At this point in the ride, everything hurts -- feet, back, shoulders, hands and ... well, you can probably guess. I think the ride director has sadist tendencies and likes to inflict punishment on others. :)

Today's ride wasn't much easier. Well, the ride was not as tough but the combination of rain and cold at the start, a nasty headwind riding up the valley, tired legs and other physical issues (see above), it was hard. One of the toughest days I've had on a bike. But it's done and tomorrow is a short 30-mile ride to Crested Butte. Planning to get there before noon and allow plenty of time to relax and rejuvenate for the longest day of the ride on Thursday.



Overlooking Morrow Point Lake. Beautiful views today but much pain to experience them!

Got here to Gunnison and enjoyed a couple of Black Butte Porters and a Guacamole Burger with bacon and pepper jack cheese at the Gunnisack Cowboy Bistro Restaurant and Bar. Got to the campground just in time to set up my tent before a rain/hailstorm swept through. Think I'm going to stay right here inside my new tent, warm and dry, for the rest of the night.

Good night, sleep tight and ride on!

Daren

Ride the Rockies 2015 Day One: Just Two American Citizens Exercising Our Right

 

Day One of Ride the Rockies 2015 began with waking up in a tent city. Not that unusual expect we were at the Bluegrass Festival in Palisade, not Colorado Mesa University, where the ride starts. After enjoying a few too many Dirty Hippies the night before we decided to forego the mandate from the ride director to be at the entrance to the Colorado National Monument by 9:00 a.m. and enjoy a leisurely breakfast. We figured if they tried to stop us from going we'd just pay the entrance fee and ride as "just two American citizens exercising our right to visit our national monument!"

When we finally hit the road at 9:45 a.m. and found our way onto the course we were definitely DFL. We hit the park entrance around 10:15 and the ranger let us through with our Ride the Rockies wrist bands (foregoing the $5 fee for cyclists). We caught another rider shortly after Aid Station 1 and eventually overtook a dozen or so more before the first Team Bar2Bar Aid Station in Fruita -- the Suds Brothers Brewery.

Riding the Monument is an experience. The views are amazing but there are places where one wrong move could send you off a 1,000 Ft. cliff. It made my knees week to even look at times. Eyes on the road!

Team Bar2Bar, from left: Woody, Hankster, Beefman, Flip Flop Jenny, Pam the Pilot and Paul the Pilot.

After a Red Monkey Butt Amber at Suds Brothers we rolled the final 15 miles back into Grand Junction and met up with the rest of Team Bar2Bar at the Kannah Creek Brewery. Liquid carbon-loading is an important part of the recovery process on Ride the Rockies! We rounded out the night with dinner at the Rockside Brewery and a beer at the O'Dells Beer Tent listening to a local band.

Today's ride is a brutal 94-mile excursion featuring more than 7,000 feet of climbing over Grand Mesa, ending in Hotchkiss. But the reward will be worth it as we enjoying our home-grilled steaks at my friend Robbie LaValley's ranch near Hotchkiss!

Ride on!

Daren

Ride the Rockies 2015 starts tomorrow! Wait. What? How did that happen?

Once again this year I expect to ride a majority of the miles alongside my buddy Woody, who I met on my first RTR in 2005. Woody's wife, Lora, is the daughter of one of the founding members of Team Bar2Bar!

Every year its the same thing, only every year seems to pick up speed. In early February you register for Ride the Rockies and wait an excruciatingly long month to find out if you get in. Then the notification comes but it still seems like a long time until June. Then it snows in April and May and you don't ride as much as you had planned and suddenly it's June and the ride is just days away.
Then the haunting questions set in:

• Did I train hard enough?
• Will my body hold up for another weeklong ride in the Rockies?
• How will I keep my iPhone, Garmin 810 and new Ivation Bike Beakon charged all week?
• Where did I put my tent?

One of the best parts of RTR is meeting back up with friends from previous years like The Hankster and Flip Flop Jenny (so named because she rides the entire route in dime store flip flops).

I think I have the answer to the last two but won't know about the first two until the ride gets underway. Day Two should be a pretty good indicator -- 96 miles and 7,631 feet of elevation gain climbing from 5,000 feet in Grand Junction to 11,000 feet at the summit (6,000 feet in 20 miles!). We did this climb on my first Ride the Rockies in 2005 and it is rough. More than 500 of the 2,000 riders were unable to complete the climb and had to SAG to the top. One of the major reasons was heat and it looks like it's going to be another hot one this year with temps in the 90s on Monday.

But that's what makes Ride the Rockies epic: long days, big climbs, screaming downhills, and cold beer waiting at the finish line. I can't wait!

This will be the first post-retirement for Paul the (former) Pilot who retired from United Airlines shortly after last year's ride.

Stay tuned to the BEEFMAN blog for updates and lots of pics throughout the week.

Ride on!

Daren