PAGOSA SPRINGS — At 82 years old, Vince Albert is the oldest rider in the field of Ride the Rockies cyclists, but he’s got the appetite of a 16-year-old boy — especially after a hard day of cycling.
So says his wife, Sharon, and daughter Kimberly, both of whom are volunteering at aid stations and supporting him as he takes on the annual bike tour through Colorado.
“He gets done with lunch and asks whatap for dinner,” said Kimberly Albert, 52, laughing. “He loves sweets. Ice cream for sure, and anything my mom cooks.”
Riders began their seven-day, 447-mile trip through southwest and western Colorado on Sunday, riding 93 miles into strong headwinds from Alamosa to Pagosa Springs. The blustery course — particularly at the top of Wolf Creek Pass — was the topic of conversation among cyclists by day’s end.
“Today was probably the hardest day,” Vince Albert said from his hotel room, recalling the stages he’s cycled in this event over four years. “Over 90 miles of headwind. The first 20 miles didn’t have much headwind, but Wolf Creek Pass was headwind all the way up. I’ve always liked Wolf Creek Pass, but today wasn’t the greatest day.”
Despite the challenges, he pedaled the entire way, eschewing the SAG wagon — the van that takes distressed riders off the course and ferries them to the next aid station. Albert is slender and wears thick black-rimmed glasses.
“I like to climb,” he said. His recovery after the ride was sitting in a hot bath.
Albert was a pipe-fitter in Decatur, Ill., for 39 years before he relocated to Arizona with his wife upon retirement. He started running in the late 1970s, around the time the United States was undergoing a running boom. He’s completed roughly 135 marathons, by his count. He cycled when he was injured and took weeklong bike trips from Illinois to the southern U.S. with his son.
“I gained weight, and a guy I worked with started going to the YMCA to work out,” he recalled of his start with running. “So I started going up there. I had about an hour to kill before the exercise class, so I would go run around the track.”
He first rode in Ride the Rockies four years ago after his wife decided to volunteer for the event at the suggestion of some friends. He’s gravitated back to cycling recently because running has become more difficult — not because his joints or muscles hurt, but because he struggles to get his heart rate high enough to get a solid workout.
“He’s motivated to stay healthy and keep moving,” said Kimberly Albert, who has lived in Colorado Springs for 30 years. “He just says, ‘You gotta move.’”
After Ride the Rockies, he wants to return to more regular running — and even hopes to compete again. The 7-minute-per-mile pace of running decades ago has given way to 14-minutes-per-mile today, but he makes a point of doing some kind of exercise every day, whether that’s walking, riding or running. He still lifts weights on a near daily basis.
“Last year after Ride the Rockies, I didn’t want anything to do with my bike for a while, and I didn’t think I’d do it again,” Albert said. “My wife was going to come here and volunteer, so it just seemed that I might as well come, too.”