We left at around 7:00 a.m. this morning and rode from Mesa State College through some of the surrounding neighborhoods and then into Colorado National Monument.
The ride through the monument was breathtaking with the sun breaking through the clouds and the steep walls of the canyon rising up to greet us.
For the first 15 miles we climbed up switchbacks, through a tunnel, up some more switchbacks and finally to the top where the views were incredible.
At the top, I shot a quick self-portrait...
...ate some grapes...
...and paid hommage to my bike -thanks for getting me to the top Cervelo!
The downhills were amazing with tight switchbacks and a couple of tunnels thrown in for good measure.
Here are the stats from today's ride:
Total ride time - 2 hours 45 mins
Total miles - 45 miles
Avg speed - 16.5 mph
Max speed - 37.8 mph
Great job Pete. When you are all done I want to see all of the photos. I'll bet they will make some nice black & whites.
ReplyDeleteCheers Pat! I'm taking more photos with my reg camera, and will post those after the tour. This is awesome - everything I expected it to be. Tomorrow's going to be a real test - 90 miles over Grand Mesa. Approx. 30 miles of climbing from 4,800 to 10,800 feet.
ReplyDeleteI like that sun ray photo! Good work for day 1!
ReplyDeleteGreat job Pete. Keep the pace up! Tomorrows challenge won't be so much the elevation as it will be the wind. There are lots of miles of flat, open range on the road to Delta. I'll say a prayer to the wind Gods tonight that the wind be at your back!
ReplyDeleteWay to go Pete! I hope the ride to Delta wasn't too bad. Lots of flat, open spaces makes that area a wind tunnel at times. I just hope if it was blowing, it was at your back!
ReplyDeleteHey JC - thanks for posting comments - the ride to Delta was intense over the Grand Mesa. There were 7 miles of relatively flat terrain at the end of the day, and the wind was at our backs. Thanks for talking to the wind gods!!
ReplyDeleteNice job on the photos here!
ReplyDelete