Wednesday, June 18, 2003

Georgetown, Colorado

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What a day today. The weather was perfect. The road was fine. And we put in a full 50 miles each today through mountains and tight canyons in north central Colorado. Every downhill run today was well earned with the boys struggling through the uphill portions. No one quit, but today it was hard. The air was thin; muscles were sore; and there were plenty of good reasons that came to mind to pull the bikes over and ask for a ride from the support vehicles. But not today. It was the best run of the trip so far. Positively lovely.

A lone balloonist near Steamboat Springs takes an early morning flight in perfectly still air. What this photo does not show, is that Joe stopped in the middle of the road to take it, which seriously confounded several otherwise patient citizens. But the photo is nice, isn't it?

Our ride today was dedicated to the Ohio Willow Wood Maintenance crew, who keeps an otherwise well-functioning company moving along even more efficiently. Our thanks to:

Steve Davis, Eddy Arbogast, Jeff Fullen, Gayle Jones, Gary A. Miller, Gary E. Miller, Rhonda Rohrer, Dick Somers, Carl Strayer

The last sight of the van, as seen by numerous prairie dog... Actually, notice how everyone else parks nose-in, as dictated by convention? Not Joe, who reinvents reality to fit the size of the trailer.

 Here we pose with Molly Fetcher. What are the chances that a woman who gave us directions on a bus in Seattle would pull her car next to our van in Colorado to fuel up? And she actually remembered us. Of course, how many times do you see three amputees on a bus? Anyway, Molly is from Steamboat Springs, was vacationing in Seattle, and did indeed direct us to the Pike Street Market. And she did pull in next to us this morning. Figure the odds on that one, Einstein.

Thanks for the directions and kind words, Molly

See the pretty motorcycle? See the pretty bicycle? Jim was unsuccessful talking a local canyon racer into an even trade half way through our ride today. But Jim took it well, and was bad mouthing those darn Kawasakis within a few minutes. As if he wouldn't trade his fine bicycle for a moped if he could. Yeah, right....

 "Joe, we are NOT moving any further if you keep bumping us from behind with the truck!"

Conducting an impromptu Tango clinic, Cheryl tries to while away the hours during a very long ride today. Driving a scant 10 to 15 MPH while trying to keep large, fast moving vehicles from splattering their husbands is VERY stressful on the support drivers.

"I am Support Driver, hear me roar..."

Bruce and Mark counsel Jim on the dangers of riding bicycles side saddle at speed in excess of 30 MPH next to guardrails.

The road today was a bit tense in places -- almost no shoulder but almost all the cars and trucks gave us plenty of room. Except for one large pickup towing a fifth wheel trailer (Nebraska plates), who was oblivious. But no hard feelings. I mean, we had all of six inches to spare. What, us worry?

Keith interrupts Mark with shouts of "Damn Yankee" shortly through Mark's dramatic rendering of the Gettysburg Address. Thanks for the loan of your man, Jeanne. He is one hell of a trooper and good company to boot. But he can't carry a tune to save his life. Actually, he carries a tune extremely well if you want to keep prairie dogs at bay.

 Our literal high-point of the trip today. We went through two passes today, both at or greater than 11,000 feet. The boys were scrambling for sweatshirts. Bruce stole his from Cheryl while she wasn't looking, and then sped downhill with her in hot pursuit.

The van stands empty in front of this stunning vista because it had been over an hour since the last pit stop. Joe refused to take a photo of us lined up like cattle in front of a port-a-potty immediately to the left of the sign above. Joe likes propriety. The boys and support crew like pit stops. To each his own, we think.

 Cheryl grabs another photo opportunity while the boys wait patiently for the local EMS to show up with oxygen. Thankfully the camera did not catch knees buckling from the unbelievably thin air at 11,300 feet. Actually, the boys discovered today that if you ride your bike downhill at extreme speeds with your mouth wide open, you can actually force enough air into your lungs to remain coherent.

We were joined up late in the day at our overnight stop in Georgetown by Judy and Gene Hettinga for our ride tomorrow to Colorado Springs. Judy is a writer for "O and P Edge", the prosthetics trade publication favored by the boys for their extremely useful information. Gene honed his skills for the ride tomorrow. He put on eight more gears on his bike. He even put on brakes for the downhills (good move, Gene!). He is seriously in shape. The boys are waiting for call backs from "associates" in Chicago because Joe did not take our threat about ringers as guest riders. Poor, poor Joe.

Tomorrow, on to Colorado Springs.

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