Bicycle Tour of Colorado

So I've told you about day 2, the Trail Ridge Road adventure.  Let me do some back and fill to put that day in context.  I signed up for BTC because of the challenge.  Could I ride in the mountain?.  And I wanted to wear a jersey that said I did.  I had originally planned to enter the lottery for Ride the Rockies, a similar, but larger seven day ride around Colorado a week earlier.  My friend Gary advised me to ride BTC instead, smaller, more personal. 

So I decided to acclimate to the riding and altitudes by driving and riding along the way to Colorado.  First stop was Bettendorf, Iowa to ride TOMRV (Tour of the Mississippi River Valley) for two days, 200 miles of hills along the Mississippi between Bettendorf and Dubuque via Galena.  A good two days of riding, and some of the best TOMRV weather I've seen this century (the last two times I've ridden the ride it rained all day, both days).  Then I drove on to Idaho and Utah for century rides on Wednesday and Thursday.  Then I drove on to Colorado and started shopping.  I was reading the BTC material and decided I couldn't ride without rainpants and shoe covers. 

 Saturday I drove to the registration site in Central City.  The school sits on a hill, like everything in Colorado seemingly, and the access was chaotic.  There were volunteers attempting to direct traffic but no clear destinations or directions as to where seemed available.  I drove up and behind the school, parking in a slot off the road, just to get out of the car.  I planned to register and then find a motel for the night. 

I walked down a flight of wooden steps into the back of the school and down another two flights of stairs and found the hub that everyone was seemingly headed for.  Registration.  Lots and lots of people.  I registered and walked out the other way.  Then realized I had "jumped" the line, unwittingly as there was a line about two hundred feet long of people waiting to get into the registration room.  The bad news at registration was that the last bus from the weeklong parking lots in Central City left at 9:00 pm today, no Sunday morning service.  So glad I hadn't made a hotel reservation.

Back at the car, I pulled out the tent and set up in a wooded area where there were a couple of other tents set up.  Then I unloaded the car, putting everything I was bringing for the week into the tent and drove off to long-term parking.  After eating in Central City, I hopped the shuttle and rode back to the ride headquarters.  So the challenge was to get a good night's sleep before the first day of riding.  After the first day of riding, fatigue practically guarantees success.  

Up early, found breakfast in the cafeteria, packed the tent, loaded the baggage truck and was off on my first ride in Colorado before 7:00.  As you may have noticed, I was surprised by the number of people on the ride and the logistics.  The Tour du Rouge had 73 riders and service.  By contrast, BTC had 1,300 riders and organized chaos. 

So on the road, climbing through the clean air.  Bracing and spectacular.  I was unprepared for the views.  The climbing and the scenery were both breathtaking.  Lots of camaraderie.  What a great way to start a week.  That first day I climbed 5,600 feet in 56 miles and felt quite good actually.  Although I knew longer days with more climbing were ahead, I knew I would be up to the task.  So my strategy was to stay within my limits (take it easy) and enjoy the ride.  I am very pleased with the way this has turned out.