I woke up at 4:30 a.m. this morning, packed up my tent and rolled out of town by 5:30 a.m. The first 20 miles were awesome. We rode through orchards and vineyards surrounding Grand Junction before reaching the base of the climb at Grand Mesa.
All of the RTR volunteers have done an amazing job at the aid stations and are a welcome sight during long climbs. Thank you wonderful people!!!
The lower section of Grand Mesa was deceptively easy and once the climb started, it didn't let up until the summit - 20 miles of climbing in total that took me around 5 hours to complete. The ride up was pretty miserable with periods of rain and cold temps.
Once I reached the summit however, conditions worsened and we were treated to temps around 42 degrees and rain, sleet and snow.
Fortunately the descent into Delta was a quick one followed by 12 miles of relatively flat terrain that led us to Delta Middle School - our camping location for the evening.
Stats for the day are:
Total elapsed time: 8 hours 15 minutes
Total Miles: 94
Average Speed: 13.4 mph
Approx Pedal time: 7 hours 15 minutes
Lessons from Day 2:
1) Bring cold weather gear and rain gear because you're going to need it.
2) Ride at your own pace - there will always be people faster than you. Go your own speed and enjoy the ride.
3) People on the side of the road ringing cowbells and cheering you on really do make you go faster. Thanks to all the locals who came out to support the tour.
4) It is totally worth waking up early to get out on the road ahead of the main group of riders - makes for a much more enjoyable start to the day.
5) Pushing yourself past your limits feels really good.
Day 3 - 67 miles to Ouray on a gradual uphill (3,500 feet vertical of climbing).
Onward and upward!! (literally)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Great job Pete. I'm looking forward to the summary for day 3.
ReplyDeleteYou did very well on Day 2!
ReplyDeleteWhen I showed my husband your blog, he said he talked to you almost every day of the tour. Small world...