One down . . .
So the first day of the 2012 Ride the Rockies is in the books. It was a fun and beautiful ride, cruising the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. I had to admit, I liked knowing that the climbing was done at 48 miles in. I’m so tired and achy.
It was climbing for better than 45 straight miles, almost from the moment we got out of Gunnison. We had a few flat spots, like the bridge across a narrow part of he Blue Mesa Reservoir, to the big point along the way.There were plenty of picture opportunities as the striped rock of the Painted Wall beckoned. It seemed wasteful not to stop, with such great vistas spread out before us. The views of the San Juans far south of the canyon also helped to take our minds off of the heat and stinging pain in our legs.
After the climbing, there was a steep, bombing descent, followed by a long run into Hotchkiss. I didn’t have the sense to take it easy over the last10 miles, and hammered like a crazy person all the way in.
The ride organizers, who have done this for more than two and a half decades, know exactly what a tired rider need. At the finishing town, a small, mostly agricultural West Slope community of Hotchkiss, massage therapists worked out knots, the smoothy booth provided replacement calories and the local school parents and kids made dinner and lunch.
And so, now I am off to bed. Visions of a bored $8,000 race bike dancing in my head. Tommorow, an Aid Station rundown, as well as a look at the Specialized Venge Pro DA.
Walt Out West 