Grand Junction – Registration day at the 2005 Ride The Rockies was not too far removed from any summer Dead show.
There were the rows of portable toilets, the hesitant knocks on their doors, the T-shirt stand, the plastic ID wristbands, the body odor, the information booths with an environmental focus, the kids peddling wares (in yesterday’s case, patch kits and water bottles) and the collective expectancy that if all goes just right — be it good weather or a good “Weather Report Suite” — a magical and unforgettable time is to be had by all.
I signed in at high noon and picked up my luggage tag, cycling jersey, water bottle and bike number — No. 1173 for those of you scoring from home. I then dragged my bike and duffel over to Grand Junction High School’s baseball field. The diamond is dedicated to Bill Fanning, or so the sign says, for his 35 years of devotion to GJHS baseball, but this weekend the infield and the adjacent track’s infield are devoted to hundreds of tents and bicyclers.
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TODAY’S DESTINATION:
GRAND JUNCTION |
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I found a camping spot below the bleachers behind home plate. It stands as the only action I’ve ever seen under the bleachers, and I don’t know what took me so long. Thanks to rows 1-10, I have a perch for donning the cycling get-up. I have a bike rack nonpareil. And I have a place to latch a bungee cord, which will serve as a clothesline — what’s sure to be the envy of my neighbors when I hang sopping socks and such in today’s evening sun.
My only problem with the campground is the worms. I have no beef with the night crawlers. It’s the early worms. The place is crawling with them.
You see, I work nights. I’ve worked ’em for nearly a decade. Folks often digest lunch before I rise and shine. So … when Penny (aka Baggage Queen) told me yesterday with a straight face that I needed to get my computer bag to her for safe transit between towns by no later than — get this — 6:30 a.m., I bit through my tongue to disguise my horror.
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| Registration day was Saturday at Grand Junction High School. |
I’ve never started a breakfast at 6:30 a.m., much less a weeklong bike tour.
Add that to my list of training snafus: biological-clock mismanagement.
* TODAY: Grand Junction through Colorado National Monument to Grand Junction: 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.
