Nothing worth having comes easily.

I was on my bike yesterday for 9 hours. I don't know what more basic statement of discomfort to begin with.

Riding on Trail Ridge Road was like being catapulted into another dimension. I'm still in awe that arts of my ride today were actually real.

Nate drove me from the town of Estes Park into Rocky Mountain National Park and got me in free with his senior pass (thanks for that)! The first 10-13 miles, rising from 7500 feet to 10000, were generally fine. It was exhausting work pedalling that far uphill, but the beautiful scenery made up for it.

But, my God, the second I crossed the threshold into 10,000 feet, something happened to me. I lost all energy and motivation to keep moving forward. I stopped in a really widw pull-out area and took out my sleeping bag pad to sit on for a second. I ended up falling asleep for 20 minutes.

I'm assuming the altitude just kicked my butt. I live in Columbus, which is somewhere around 15 feet above sea level. Straying into the 10,000+ zone really just destroyed me.

 But it gets worse. Around the time I hit 11,000 feet, an absolutely MASSIVE wind picked up. This was the kind of wind that you tell your grandchildren about one day.
I was riding on the edge of the road with very little shoulder (sometimes none) to maneuver in. Next to me, at varying times, were straights drops of 50-200 feet. You can see how such an intense wind would be a problem.
I ended up walking my bike 5-6 miles because my progress was so anemic with the wind.



In a shining moment of glory at 11,500 feet, people saw me laboring through the wind and offered me pizza. Thank you so much Mark, Cynthia, Bryan and Tammy. You saved my life.

It took a total of 7 hours to get up the mountain and 1.5 hours to get down. The downhill part was amazing though, and is what the title of this post is about. Descending 5000 feet in a matter of miles is exhilherating. It felt even better to know that I worked my butt off to enjoy it.

I spent last night and am spending tonight in a youth hostel in Grand Lake. I met a woman earlier who thought that what I was doing was so awesome that she insisted on giving me money. I used it to pay for a night here. 'm taking a break from riding for the day and just enjoying the town. Here're some more pictures!