Day one, Glenwood Springs to Edwards, 45 miles, average speed 10.4 MPH. Boy, I should have done some training for this ride. Oh yeah, I was going to lose 10 pounds before doing this - yup - would have been easier. Glenwood Canyon is beautiful, out of the canyon - very dry and sunny.
Day two, Edwards to Frisco, over Vail Pass, 42 miles, average speed 8 MPH. Nice bus driver in Vail - no, I didn't cheat and take the bus, he saw us looking for a bike shop (I left my helmet on the train so I had to buy one before we hit the downhill side of Vail Pass) and gave us a deli recommendation. The climb up the pass is tough, but it's all on separated bike path. I can go very slowly without falling over. How slow? 3.2 MPH. I can't take my hands off the handlebars at that speed, but I'm still moving. Down to Frisco rocked, downhill almost all the way.
Day three, Frisco to Idaho Springs, about 50 miles, average speed 8.7 MPH. We had hoped to get all the way to Golden, but called my brother and he picked us up in Idaho Springs. Loveland Pass kicked my tushy. Ouch ouch ouch. 3 1/2 hours to go up, 10 minutes to come down.
And why do Colorado cyclists seem to all be kinda rude? Barely a good morning or hey how 'ya doing? out of them. When my friend Nancy and I ride in the Bay Area with just one pannier each, to carry our lunches and extra clothing, we get so many people asking where we're going, what we're doing etc, that it's funny. We joke that we should just start saying "We're going to Canada." no matter what.
In Colorado we had only two other cyclists ask us where we were going, one was from Wyoming, one was from Idaho I think. The Colorado cyclists just whizzed on by. They are a fit bunch, we figure they must all be training for triathalons or whatever and are in super competitive mode. But brother, when I'm suffering up Loveland Pass at 3.4 MPH and you go by doing 8 or 9, the least you could do is say "hi". No camaraderie of the road. So, kudos to the nice Bay Area cyclists.
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