Salida – Yesterday got off to an achy, breaky start.
The inner part of my left knee, which had ravaged me during the previous day’s ride from Montrose to Gunnison, was singing the blues. It felt as if my floating patella took turns feasting on the ACL and MCL for 65 grueling miles. Spending an hour in the medical tent with an ice pack and a frown had not done the trick, it seemed.
Dropping out of the 2005 Ride The Rockies at that juncture, the morning of Day 5, was not an option — logistical and otherwise. So I concocted a scheme.
I would pedal with one leg.
Seriously.
After 235 miles of getting to know my trusty mountain bike, I’d been getting familiar enough with the 21 gears to know that some were lower than others. I would pedal the easy gears, put most of the pedaling burden on my right leg, and spin ’til Kingdom come to finish, if need be. Like water, I’d follow the path of least resistance.
The plan did not work. It didn’t have to.
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TODAY’S DESTINATION:
LEADVILLE |
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By some miracle of ligament regeneration, or by a number of Advil that might require me one day to plead the Fifth, my knee didn’t hurt. Not one lick. As a result, I enjoyed my finest day yet on the Ride, watching the scenery instead of the pavement, listening to the wind whistle instead of my knee riot. Even the 10-mile climb from Sargents to Monarch Pass of approximately 2,800 vertical feet did not pulverize me as climbs had in previous days.
In fact, “climb” has become my least favorite word in the English language. It sends me into convulsions — as does any word that tends to rhyme (ouch!) with “climb.” I heard “Scarborough Fair” in Delta on Monday, and the ditty doubled me over.
“Parsley, sage, rosemary and …”
* TODAY: Salida to Leadville: 59 miles.
Day 5 recap
* High point (literal): Monarch Pass, 11,312 feet elevation.
* High point (figurative): Hallelujah. A tailwind on parts of the 10-mile climb to Monarch Pass.
* Low point (literal): Salida, roughly 7,100 feet elevation.
* Low point (figurative): Forgetting where I set my bike at Monarch Pass. I spent a half-hour looking for the thing, which only happens to stick out like a wheelbarrow at the Sushi Den’s parking lot.
* Quote of the day: “Is this the shower line?” — Fellow cyclist who approached the shower truck to behold a queue not at all to his liking. Rumor had it that the other shower truck, which had been following the Ride through the tour, broke down en route to Salida.
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.