Overnight to Aspen. My longest training ride.

May 19, 2022

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In the late winter I had fancies of doing a short tour as a prep for this difficult tour. I even considered joining Wayne on his Brigham Young tour. That was all melted down to this overnight. Jacinto is gone to Denver with the track kids for four days. I’m riding solo. He’s just fine on tour prep, as his typical ride is 50 miles and 3,000 feet of climbing. Jacinto says it’s not worth getting the clothes on for less than that.

Personally, 3,000 feet of climbing is a good day’s work for me. I have to search it out. While it’s easy enough to do around home, getting in big riding days is more palatable to me when traveling. Thus, I’m off to Aspen.

I delayed by one day, as a strong west wind was forecast. Better to use it as a tailwind than fight it 70 miles on the return trip.

I was so busy congratulating myself on manipulating the days to suit myself, that I didn’t look at the weather for Friday. Guess what? Snow! Holy moly!

I have my warm tights and opossum fur socks packed. If I get out of town early, I should be far enough down the mountain to miss snow. Rain is likely.

I was up before my 6 AM alarm, bustling around cooking eggs, and gathering supplies. I have far too much food for someone passing through multiple small towns. I have to admit, I always carry more food than I need. I should have brought an extra bottle of water. I had three. I didn’t finish them, but I’ve been guzzling water since arriving.

I was out the door at 7:40. I had the morning downslope headwind. I was hoping that strong west tailwind would kick in. I didn’t feel it until after mile 25, at Glenwood Springs. Even then, it had a strong south component.

Because of the long miles, I took the most direct route possible, straight down Highway 6. It was busy at this hour, with school buses carrying kids to school (I waved widely at my former coworkers), and people going about their days.

I stopped in New Castle at a convenient potty, ate a half a bar, and kept moving.

At mile 20, at Canyon Creek, the only option is to ride the interstate for five miles. It was fast, with traffic pulling me along. There were many, many chunks of retread tires. I was happy not to get a flat.

I exited the interstate at West Glenwood and stopped at the potty next to the Harley Davidson. It is placed there for the people playing in the river with their surf boards. The town built a popular water feature that wasn’t busy today.

I stopped at Two Rivers Park. The restrooms are still closed. COVID. But the water fountain worked, sort of, to top my bottles off. It sprayed feet into the air. I soaked my sleeve and glove trying to fill my bottles. It was entertaining, at least.

Finally, here’s the path. Jacinto disdains path riding. Too easy, not enough climbing. If he’s not dying of oxygen deprivation, he’s not having fun. Me, I think paths are a great novelty. We don’t have any in our immediate area. I enjoy paths when I get the chance.

There were a few path walkers, but the lack of cyclists the entire day was notable. Perhaps the wind forecast was the reason? Or, because it’s a weekday?

I continued ticking the miles off. I debated stopping to eat my eggs and veggies. I seemed to have enough energy snacking, and wanted to get down the road.

Why is it a tailwind never feels as strong as a headwind? I could see the grass moving in my favor, but it sure didn’t seem to be the advertised 25+ miles per hour.

I continued to munch my way down the path. I ate two bars, and two apple halves with peanut butter and craisins.

My last minute issue for this trip has been water bottles. Wayne innocently started the problem by telling me he did a temperature test on his stainless steel bottles, and threw away one with a broken seal. He knew the seal was broken because it lost temperature too quickly. Aha! Both of my bottles fail to keep ice for more than an hour. Icy cold water is important to me. Wayne said the bottle that kept the best temperature was a copper lined bottle that was a gift from the Red Cross. Anyway, cutting a whole bunch of the story out, testing different bottles, I ended up ordering one new bottle. By accident, I also had a copper lined bottle. I put three skinny water bottle length ice cubes inside. Those did melt, but my water stayed cold all day.

It had been unseasonably cool here all spring. The high for today was 70. Not much of a test for keeping water cold. That’s more than you wanted to hear about my water woes, but it’s been heavy on my mind lately.

Today I saw marmots, deer, turkey, and ducks. That was a nice assortment of wildlife, for a midday ride. I tend to see more animals very early in the morning.

I hadn’t been taking many breaks. After Basalt, there was more climbing, and I developed a bit of hot foot. That was an excuse to stand up for a moment. Wind after Basalt was gusting all over. I kept a firm grip on the bars and was thankful the moments of headwind were only moments.

Miles were ticking away pleasantly, but I was ready to be done. I happily identified different markers as I got closer to Aspen. Here was the two train cars, turned into homes. Yes, the teepees are still there. I saw Woody’s Tavern down below. Spoon-that’s where we ate nachos on your Aspen trip. I didn’t see much action there today.

Finally, just past the post office, I had to admit defeat and take a real break. I sat on a rock and ate an apple half. Eight miles to go. Spoon was my cheerleader, assuring me I could make it. Revived, I continued on.

I hadn’t made a ridewithgps route for today, presuming I knew how to get to town. Look at me! Laugh if you will, but that’s a big step. I double checked my street, left 1st Street. I can do that.

Guess what I did? I overshot the street. I was so busy looking at houses, I went too far and had to double back. I should have gone a bit further, to make an even 70 miles. I ended up with 69.5 miles and 3,415 of climbing. A good day’s work.

I am ensconced in my room. I’ve showered and done laundry. Eaten, and talked on the phone. It’s 7 PM and I’m ready for bed. Can I call it a night?

I’m tired, but it’s a good tired. I plan to leave at first light tomorrow to get below the snow before it starts. I have lots of warm clothes.

Marmots at the elementary school in New Castle. We call them whistle pigs, for their shrill call.

My bike, a RANS Stratus XP, k style frame. Mt Sopris in the background.

Artwork over the Rio Grande Trail in Carbondale.

I like the stylish bridge over the highway in Basalt.

I’ve been told that this traincar is for rent as an Airbnb. I couldn’t find it.

Eight miles from Aspen, I ran out of energy, fighting the wind and the climb. I took a rest and ate an apple. That revived me.

Arrowroot is an edible plant, first documented by Lewis and Clark.

They were in the McLain Flats are before Aspen.

On the two mile dirt section of the path.

The switchback behind the post office was too tight to navigate on my eight foot long bike. I had to walk the corner and the next uphill.

We need more love! Or, at least tolerance.

Wayne Estes inspired me to take this attractive home photo.

More artwork. Note the extremely correct anatomy. Silt, a neighboring town, had public art showing bare buttocks. There was such an outrage that the piece was moved to the water treatment plant. Aspen citizens must be more tolerant.

The eagle on top of the Tyrolean Lodge in Aspen.

My room at the lodge. There is a third bed not shown. While I appreciate the clean white duvets, I quickly went around and flipped up all of the edges that might get dirty.

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Gregory GarceauHoly moley, you made it to the half way point. You are a tough gal. I just know you'll make it back.
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1 year ago

Kelly IniguezTo Gregory GarceauIt’s downhill all the way, baby!

It’s raining here as we speak, my phone says snow in the next town. Which is puzzling, since that’s lower.

My bike has fenders.

I hope I’m making much ado about little. It’s not a driving rain, just enough to give me something to talk about. I hope!
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1 year ago

Rachael AndersonWow! Kudos to you!
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1 year ago

Kelly IniguezTo Rachael AndersonThank you. I got the desired tough workout in and missed the fun of the downhill. But, the day was certainly memorable!
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1 year ago