Grand Junction – The Day One route at the 2005 Ride The Rockies that left from Grand Junction, passed through Colorado National Monument and returned to Grand Junction was billed as a “prologue.”
It was nearly my epitaph.
The 45-mile loop started enthusiastically enough, with a send-off from Grand Junction’s mayor and a word from the tour’s sponsors at the opening ceremonies. But roughly five miles into the course, once we entered Colorado National Monument, the course went up. And up. And up.
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TODAY’S DESTINATION:
DELTA |
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Had I bothered referring to my official map book, I would have noted that miles five through 17 resembled dot-com stock in the mid-’90s.
Competing with the ascent for my breath was the park’s scenery. I have never been to the Grand Canyon. I’ve seen pictures, of course, but I can’t envision anything grander than the cliffs and canyons at Colorado National Monument. Its vistas might be one of the best kept secrets in Colorado.
Views do little to ease the heart rate, and I was at my breaking point at Mile 17, when we reached the second aid station at Liberty Cap Trailhead. It was all downhill for the next dozen miles, however, much to my sheer and audible elation. My day was saved.
Incidentally, these aid stations are the cat’s meow. I partook in water, Gatorade, bananas, orange slices (visions of youth soccer; all I needed was a Capri Sun to wash them down), “performance pasta salad,” fajitas in Fruita, peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches for a mere buck … I could go on and on. They are nothing short of oases, complete yesterday with hallucinations and desert heat.
* TODAY: Grand Junction over Grand Mesa to Delta: 91 miles.
Day 1 recap
* High point (literal): Liberty Cap Trailhead, Mile 17, Colorado National Monument, roughly 6,600 feet elevation.
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| A cyclist pedals through Colorado National Monumnet on Sunday during Day 1 of the 2005 Ride The Rockies. |
* High point (figurative): Passing Liberty Cap Trailhead and enjoying the next 13 miles of downhill and majestic views.
* Low point (literal): Mile 30, Fruita farm country, roughly 4,500 feet elevation.
* Low point (figurative): Parking my bike in an ant hill at the third aid station.
* Quote of the day: “Salt with your margarita?” — the waiter at Fiesta Guadalajara Mexican restaurant on 710 North Ave. in Grand Junction, to a sodium-deficient cyclist after the Ride’s first 45 miles.
DenverPost.com sports producer Bryan Boyle is participating in the — his first bike ride of any kind beyond the occasional wee-hour visit to a convenience market. His series runs on DenverPost.com each day of the June 18-25 event, which follows a 405-mile course from Grand Junction to Breckenridge.
To share any RTR-related experiences, fears, advice or yarns, send an e-mail to Bryan at bboyle@denverpost.com.