Day 1 (or 0.5) - Thursday, May 5, 2016

The day started with a hustle and bustle I did not intend to occur at the start of the week.  My girlfriend's grandchild was hospitalized earlier this week and I was not sure I would make the trip.  I did very little preparation or packing as I knew I would need to stay with her if the unthinkable happened.  Things improved and then I was in a rush to prepare for the trip.

In addition, last night the work computer system crashed and there were things I needed to get completed before departing.  I packed quickly last night, worked about an hour this morning and rushed to the airport just before lunch.  I was amazed to find three people in the security line and 6 TSA workers at Terminal 2, Minneapolis. I had over 90 minutes to get my head in order.

The flight to Denver was uneventful.  The Southwest flight arrived on time (2:30 PM) and I retrieved my bags quickly.  Jordan's flight from Santiago was scheduled to land 25 minutes after my flight.  It was also on time!  He did not have checked luggage so I headed to the car.  I made it to Jordan's car about 5 minutes before he arrived.

Jordan asked me to look at the traffic, but without my reading glasses, I did not read it correctly.  We committed to take I-70 instead of going to I-76 and soon we had a major back-up.  This caused Jordan to get as tense as I have seen him.  He looked at the traffic map and pointed out my error.  He was even more upset and impatient of my aging issues.  So I have been so worried about making this trip an error free adventure.  I was off to a good start as he was very tense and stressed (Sarcasm intended).  He needed a bicycle ride!

We arrived at his condominium and he had some work to complete.  The weather was good and he decided to try to get about 30 miles in before dark.  It was about 5:00 PM when Jordan was on his bike preparing to climb Lookout Mountain and head toward Idaho Springs, Colorado.  I made a quick stop at Peak Cycles Bike Shop in Golden shop to purchase new tired, tubes, new clips for Jordan's shoes, brakes and other supplies.  Amazing how quick we can get $250 worth of bicycle related gear.

The photo below shows is from his condominium patio.  You can see the start of the ride where the road is cut into the mountain.  I attempted to ride Lookout Mountain twice.  I only made it 2/3rd the way the first time and was successful the second time.  This is a climb I do not want try third time.  Jordan, however, makes it look easy!

Looking West from Jordan's Condo - his first mountain climb Video of climb (from a past drive) is shown below.

He is half way up the mountain, not looking labored at all!

Jordan nearing the top of mountain

First climb completed!

Once he made the first mountain climb, he had a small amount of downhill before rolling hills the rest of the way.  He was able to cover 31.63 miles before the sun started to set.  The plan was to stop at Idaho Springs, Colorado but he continued to Dumont, Colorado, as the weather was cooperating!

The ride information for the day from the Garmin is below.  Ride start at 6:05 PM.

OVERALL SUMMARY (Day/Overall)

• Miles - 31.63  /  31.63
• Elevation  - 5,306 feet / 5,306 feet
• Riding Time (H:M:S) - 2:18:55 / 2:18:55

We loaded the bike at Dumont and made it back to Golden at 8:15 PM.  Both hungry, we headed to and went to Woody's in Golden to eat.  This was a favorite Jordan dining site throughout his years at Mines.

Afterward, Jordan went out with friends and I cleaned the bike (it was REALLY dirty), replaced the rear tire, scrubbed the rims, changed the rear brakes and prepared essential items for the ride tomorrow.  It was after midnight before I finally called it a day.   I am not sure when Jordan made it back.  I said a prayer that the weather holds!