I am a little nervous about crossing the continental divide. I am not a good climber. When I started the day, I was only about 18 miles from the crest of Monarch Pass, but with almost 4000 feet of climbing to get there. I have never climbed that much in one day before, especially in such a short distance.
I fell asleep early last night and slept late. When I woke up, I felt good and thought I would have a good day. Unfortunately, it turned into a short day. I would like to blame the climbing, as I continue the long haul up to the continental divide. But, I only climbed about 1000 feet. I have done more than that before.
I did feel better this morning. I woke up with a slight headache again and drank another liter of water before heading out. After a few miles, I felt like I was back to normal, except I had to stop every two or three miles to use the restroom.
Over the summer, I have become very familiar with my bicycle and my body. I have learned what each is supposed to feel like and learned to pay attention when something seems a little off. It may not be a big deal, but sometimes it is important.
I had assumed that the first sign I was having trouble with the altitude would be shortness of breath. I haven’t had any shortness of breath so far and thought I must have acclimated to the altitude over the past week.
I had to ride the rest of the way through Colorado Springs this morning. Google tried to send me through a complicated bike route. Then I noticed I was already on the highway I wanted to be on for the day, so I just followed the highway through town. It took me through downtown. Bike trails through cities are nice, but I really like to see the towns I’m riding through.
I started the day back on the trail. As soon as I was on the trail, I noticed a large mountain to the south. I’m pretty sure it was Pikes Peak. It formed the backdrop of my ride all day.
Early in the ride, I caught a trail that follows the South Platte River to downtown Denver, then another trail along the Cherry Creek out of the city. Both trails were lower than the surrounding areas, so it was kind of difficult to tell where I was. By the time I realized I was in Denver proper, I was already past downtown. It was kind of a slow ride. There are multiple trails that intersect and intertwine with each other, so I had to constantly check my phone to make sure I stayed on the right route.
This has been kind of a strange day for a riding day. The day started really early when I picked up my bike from Berthoud Bicycle . The two guy that own the shop are amazing. They worked outside their normal hours to finish my bike in time for me to get back on the road today. They replaced the rear wheel, chain and bottom bracket (the part where the pedals connect to the frame and spin), trued both wheels, adjusted the cables and cleaned and lubed everything. The bike rides so much smoother now. Everything had gradually gotten out of whack and I had forgotten how the bike should feel. For all the work they did and parts replaced, it didn’t cost nearly as much as I expected.
Once again, I woke up to a much nicer day than the evening before. The rain had cleared away and the sun was shining. Yesterday, I kept looking west trying to get a first glimpse of the mountains, but I think the storm blocked my view. When I walked outside this morning, there they were. They were still off in the distance and just a purple shadow on the horizon, but still pretty large.
I woke up to a beautiful day for a bike ride. There was almost no wind; the sky was clear and the air was cool. I wanted to use the day to make up for a little lost time due to yesterday’s wind. I got a good, early start and rode the short distance to Fort Morgan, where I stopped to pick up a few things from a local bike shop. I needed to replace my rear view mirror and my frame pump. The part of the mirror that attaches it to my sunglasses broke yesterday evening when the wind blew my bike over with my helmet and glasses hanging from my seat. The shop didn’t have a mirror that would mount on my glasses, but did have one that mounted on my helmet. I figured I would give it a try and, if I didn’t like it, I could always replace it down the road. The mirror was terrible. Everything was fuzzy and I couldn’t really tell the distance of the cars behind me. I couldn’t even tell if something I saw in the distance was even a car. After a few miles, I stopped and attached my old mirror to my sunglasses with some duct tape. The frame pump also didn’t work properly. When I tried to use it, it ended up letting all the air out of my tire.
Pedaling America 