Pease Bike Adventures: Saturday, May 7 - This is hard on Jordan!!!

Today was a mix of emotions as our expectations were low after experiencing yesterday’s weather variety. I was up at 5:30 AM and started packing for the long trip. At 8:15 AM, Jordan was awake and I made breakfast as we did the final packing. This day packing was most important as we would not return until after the ride was complete.

We left Golden just before 9:45 AM heading to Copper Mountain, Colorado. That is where Jordan wisely abandoned the ride yesterday due to the thunder, lightening, sleet, hail and finally snow. It would have been our preference to get another 20 miles for the day yesterday.

Today it appeared we would have weather trouble. Besides being under 40 degrees, the thick fog accompanied with occasional sleet made for difficult travel by auto, let along a bicycle. I have never experienced these two elements together, ever!

We arrived at Copper Mountain and Jordan prepared for the ride. The heavy winds and near freezing temperatures brought doubts. It was about 11:00 AM when he mounted the bike and found the sleet was pelting him so hard it was painful. The thought of venturing out was scratched, especially as we realized the trail he was supposed to ride was full of snow. We later understood they did not plow the path near the ski resorts, as they provided a good cross-country ski opportunities. So we loaded everything into the car and drove five miles up I-70 where the trail was cleared and the weather tolerable. It is ridiculous how the mountain weather can be night and day in only a few miles.

The Ten Mile Canyon National Regional Trail just off exit 180 on I-70 is where Jordan would start the day. The wind was about 15 MPH and of course, a head wind. The trail was a nice with easy, slightly downhill (about a 1,000 foot drop over 17 miles) ride all the way to Vail. I needed to take Interstate 70 and planned to arrive in Vail before Jordan.

Upon arrival, I was unable to find him! When I reached him by phone, he stated he was averaging 17 MPH and was already off the trail. Bummer, I missed him and had to catch up.

We found each other just West of Vail where it started to rain. A very cold rain with driving winds not only made it difficult to see, but cold was driven deep into the bones. I was hoping he would quit, but he just kept riding.

The rain subsided just before noon when he reached Edwards, Colorado. This was a small town along I-70 and adjacent to Beaver Creek Resort. Jordan informed me he was required to do some work (on a Saturday) so it was a good place to grab lunch. We were near a Starbucks so a quick process of elimination, that was our lunch spot as WI-FI was readily available.

A cold and windy rain!

Jordan worked for over an hour and as I was monitoring the weather. When it looked like we would have a short period of good weather, we agreed it was time to get back on the road. We were correct, within 20 minutes of leaving, his luck ran out. Soon we had a dark sky that would dump another cold and hard rain onto Jordan.

I was concerned for his safety as he even admitted seeing out of glasses was not easy. The rain pelted him for well over an hour, until we reached Eagle, Colorado. It was there I stopped quickly off the side of the road so he could rest and get into dry socks as the rain stopped. My anxiety and fear I experienced over the past hour regarding his safety brought a brainless moment. When I pulled over, I did not realize I parked to block an access road. This resulted in a meeting with the local police.

I apologized for my lapse in noticing my surroundings. He was kind enough to give us a rundown on the route we would take for the next few hours. He also said we have about 30 minutes before it will rain again. HE WAS RIGHT! Fortunately there were many trails for the next 25 miles which made the rain riding much safer. The rain lasted until the Glenwood Canyon Bike Trail. This was one of the most remarkable trials I have seen, about 16 miles long as it traversed through the Glenwood Canyon (video below).

As the Glenwood Canyon trail was separated from the Highway, I could only drive on I-70 to Glenwood Springs to meet up with him. We were well aware the weather was going to get worse before it improved so I was concerned if he would make it to Glenwood Springs before another storm.

His timing was perfect as he arrived in Glenwood Springs and loaded the bike on the car when it started to rain. Just like before, a cold hard rain. We drove about 2 miles through town to where the Rio Grande Trail started. The Rio Grande Trail goes all the way to Aspen, Colorado, but we intended to stop at Carbondale and head west. We found a Wendy’s for dinner and rested for about an hour as the storm passed. I could tell he was fatigued after three huge climbs in two days!

You can see the wind on his jacket

From Glenwood Springs to the southwest side of Carbondale, Colorado, there as a nice trail. While it appeared flat, there was a 1,500 foot climb over the next 25 miles. The head wind was 10-15 MPH. Just past Carbondale, the trail continued into another mountain pass to Redstone, Colorado. The day was about 92 miles and over 6,000 feet of climb. He was tired and the sun was setting. We needed to get the car situated for a nights sleep.

The whole trip I have experienced high anxiety about sleeping remotely, losing keys, crashing the car or some other stupid issue. We had a daily good place to sleep but I was not comfortable. SO we drove a few miles up and down highway 133 near Redstone and nothing seemed better than where we started. At the same time, I realized, I lost the extra set of bicycle hitch and lock keys. I searched outside for an hour and checked the places I had been for the past hour, and no luck. We wasted another hour and I felt SO BAD. It was near 11:00 PM before we were all set and sleeping.

Segment 1 - 11:43 AM start