My goal for the day was to take it pretty slow to start out so as not to burn myself out. I did pretty well at that. ;) Heading up the canyon, I felt awesome. Not a problem. There were a few hills that were a little rough, but most of it you could just spin up pretty easily. At the Drake rest stop (25 miles in) I felt great, like I could do it all day!

Then we took the Glen Haven cut-off and things were a little steeper, but still manageable. My knees were starting to get a little whiny, but nothing too bad. About 30 miles into the ride, two women passed me slowly and one mentioned not looking forward to "The Devil's Gulch". I inquired as to what that is and they told me it was better that I not know... that I'd know when I got there. Uh, mmmmkay. I hit rest stop #3, refilled my bottles and ate part of a clif bar. Got back on and there it was.... Devil's gulch. I'll check it out with some mapping software on Monday, but I'm thinking that this makes Old Stage Rd look like a bump in the road. I started slowly up it. My lungs weren't particularly enjoying themselves (we were now at probably over 8000 ft), but it was my knees that made me get off the bike. My kneecaps felt like they were going to pop right off at any moment. Not good. So I hoofed it up Devil's gulch. A lot of folks were walking and those that were riding were barely going any faster than us. At the top, there was a spectacular view into Rocky Mtn NP!

So, now we were headed downhill. Thank GOD! I wasn't pedaling at all for about 10 minutes when there was a flat. I started pedalling and my right knee especially just killed me!

Once we got into Estes and began heading west, we were greeted by a stiff headwind. Oh good.... So heading back down the canyon, it was often difficult to sustain even 13 mph on relatively steep down hills. No fun. I had to pedal way more than I was planning on, but still mostly coasted. I thought maybe once we left the canyon the winds wouldn't be so strong. No dice.

The last 15 miles were on country roads around Loveland. It was not welcome. My knees were killing me. My back hurt. My shoulders and neck hurt. My arms were stiff. My quads and hams were cramping every few minutes. I was sooo not a happy camper. I began to realize that there is a difference between "can" and "should". That I am a Welshian BOMTYCC. That I'm a damn retard and need to be put on a leash and walked around the neighborhood because I cannot be responsible for choosing my own activities wisely.

On the bottom of a long gentle grade on which I had coasted. I began to pedal and my knees just said "no". Damn things didn't want to bend and when I made them, it felt like I was being stabbed with every slight motion. I stopped for a couple of minutes and when I got back on, they felt ok again (well, not OK, but the status quo at least). I experimented and found that my knees liked a low cadence with minimal pressure on the pedals, so I stuck with that, even though it translated to 10-11 mph on flats.

My odometer said 75 and I was beginning to celebrate the completion of my ride, when I saw the sign "Rest stop ahead" WHAT?!?!?! As I passed it, I asked the volunteers how much further. "Four miles! Woo-hoo!" "WHAT!!!!" I kept going and almost started to cry. It had been a mental battle watching the miles tick away for the last 10 miles or so and now I had FOUR more to go (it sounds like a lot when you've just gone 75...)

Luckily, a gnome like man pulled up beside me, "Can you f-ing believe they made the course four miles too long?" So we bitched about everything that hurt for that last 4 miles. It was pretty funny. This guy was a whiner and I loved it. He was my best friend for four miles. God bless him.

We finished! I can't say how happy I was to get off that damn bike and go home, take a bath, get a massage from Eric and nap.

Do the 50 miler instead! ;) I should have remembered sunscreen. I'm not burned badly, but I have goofy white hands now with a little spot in the middle from my gloves. It was a tough ride, but in retrospect, I had fun (don'tcha love retrospect)....

Eating pasta. :)


Faster? I'm just happy I survived...


The check in could have been more efficient, but it was a good ride with friendly participants. Though I have a feeling that after reading Ovetta and I's RR's no BTer will ever do this ride again. LOL!