Holy Moly! This past week has been about the most fun I've ever had on a bike! As a retired Gator from Florida, I had a LOT of anxiety about Thin Air and 10+ mile climbs, since we can't practice for that stuff around the Everglades.
But hey, Love Shack Dave and I managed to crawl over every dang one of those mountain passes! It was tough, but a lot of credit for our success is owed to the support we received from a LOT of folks:
- Our wives - Laurie and Ann, for agreeing to the plan and keeping the households running while we messed around in the Rockies
- The staff and volunteers for this event - not sure how they did it, but they kept 2,500+ people organized, fed, housed, and transported for an entire week.
- The weather people -- for no rain; but could you please maybe ease up on headwinds for future rides?
- The cyclists - seeing so many strong women and men of all ages and abilities crushing the climbs was truly awe-inspiring, and humbling! It also was fun to meet many of you.
- My fellow blogger, Steve Ast, the #hearttransplantguy. He did the entire ride following a heart transplant just last October! And he looked strong doing it! Nothing short of a miracle and very inspirational for all of us!
- Sherpa Theo and his posse of kids - for making "glamping" in SerpaVille about the best one could expect in a ballfield
- Friends at home - who gave us the encouragement to keep moving forward.
- Sacred Heart Church in Alamosa - for blessing our legs at the start!
- The scenery - we couldn't wait to see what jaw-dropping views we'd have around the next bend. If that doesn't motivate you, nothing will!
In Gunnison, we had the great opportunity to hear from legendary cycling coach and Tour de France rider Chris Carmichael. He covered a lot of aspects about training, and we were very encouraged to hear him recommend beer after an event!
In that spirit, I'm pleased to report that Love Shack Dave's phone app, "Untapped," has recorded visits to 9 breweries during RtR, and his personal consumption of 25 of the finest craft beers that Colorado has to offer!
What about the future? It's quite possible that Gators could become an invasive species to Colorado in June! I also know know that several members of Dave's Iowa-based Team Love Shack are already planning their assault for next year! Colorado may need to open a few more brewpubs.
At the end of the day we recognize that we're privileged and blessed to be able to complete such a challenging event. So for the short time we've been graced to be on this planet, we'll continue to seek adventures and interactions with you and others!
Thanks for listening and hope you enjoyed the blog as much as we enjoyed RtR!
L8R G8R!