Breckenridge, CO to Salida, CO

On Thursday I thankfully woke up indoors, but the the people that slept in tents woke up to a damp outdoors. Along the ride we had a few climbs but most of was down hill. 

Crossing the continental divide again. 

After lunch we had a short climb of about 1 mile but then unexpectedly had a 14 mile descent into a beautiful valley. 

Not sure where this was. 

During the descent. 

During the last 7 miles of the ride we started sprinting away from a thunderstorm approaching. We could see the clouds coming and could tell it would start raining soon. We made it just in time to the host but most others weren't so lucky. After the storm rolled through my friend and I explored town. There were a lot of nice shops to look through and some nice restaurants as well. 

Town of Salida. 

Pretty truck. 

Granby, CO to Breckenridge, CO

On Wednesday we had another really pretty ride with great scenery. The morning was pretty chilly so I started off with leg warmers and arm warmers on. We also had to ride on a dirt road for a while but most of the time is was still enjoyable because we were riding through a national forest. 

Cows on the side of the road. 

Nice fields. 

Dirt road riding. 

Lunch stop at top of mountain. 

View from lunch. 

Bike trail along a river. 

Bike trail through woods. 

For the last section of the ride we went along a really pretty bike path. It had some rolling hills and we passed through some beautiful lakes and woodsy areas. About 10 miles from the host it started thunder storming. We knew the storm was coming before it struck so we sped through the bike trail to find shelter before it rained. We ended up staying in a Wendy's for an hour to let it pass and it was pretty clear afterwards. 

Before we got to the host we were planning on camping outside at a public park. When we got there however we were told that the town does not allow camping in public areas. A really cool Bike and Build alumni helped us out by letting us camp out in his backyard and grilling dinner for us. We ended up having a great time at his place and set up a campfire. I was one of the lucky 10 who ended up sleeping inside, which I was really happy about since it ended up thundering and raining at night. Everyone that camped though said they didn't mind and some didn't even notice the storm. Breckenridge seemed like a nice place for hiking and exploring the town but unfortunately I didn't have time to see it. I'm definitely hoping to return to all of these places in Colorado since they are all so beautiful. 

Estes Park, CO to Granby, CO

On Tuesday we all woke up knowing that this would be the best ride of our lives. We biked 20 miles up hill and 20 miles down hill through the Rocky Mountain National Park. At the top of the park we rode on Trail Ridge Road, which is the highest continuous road in the US and reaches a peak elevation of 12,183 feet. At the top it got pretty windy and a bit chilly so I put my leg warmers, arm warmers and zip up jacket on. The cold wasn't too noticeable though because the sun was shining and we were lucky to get great weather. The entire ride was beautiful and I also saw some great wild life such as elk, a mother moose, a baby moose, and some deer with antlers. After reaching the peak we also crossed the Continental Divide, which had a lake on both sides of it. So far this entire trip I have always ridden with at least one other person but on this ride I chose to ride by myself, which I enjoyed even more. I climbed and descended the hills at my own pace and stopped whenever I wanted to enjoy the scenery. A lot of people also approached our group members and asked what we were doing. I think people were much more impressed by our cross country journey on this ride since they drove through the mountains that we all biked through. We received much appraisal from them, which made the ride even more memorable. 

Morning in Estes Park. 

Bottom of the park. 

Past the tree line. 

Top of the climb. 

View at top. 

Baby moose in a stream. 

After the ride in Granby I stopped by a small bike shop before heading to the host. I talked to a guy who was also biking across the country by himself. He had a mapped out route but he never knew how far he would be going the next day, but he would try to bike between 60 and 100 miles a day. He also was never really sure where he would be staying the day before but would often try to use Hot Showers, churches, or go camping. That night we was planning on camping outside of the bike shop because he had talked to the owner previously. I was really interested in his story and was impressed he was able to travel so leisurely. 

Loveland, CO to Estes Park, CO

Monday was a short ride but it was so beautiful. In the beginning we rode towards the mountains and saw some great views of them. 

Rockies in the distance. 

Saw some great views. 

Then we entered the up hill but it was a very steady climb. 

Rode along a river for parts of it. 

At the end of our ride we had a very steep climb for about one mile. It was very tiring but the top was beautiful. 

Estes park and mountains in the distance. 

When we got to the top we all celebrated and took a bunch of pictures. Most of us met up at that point and had lunch together. 

Elevation sign. 

Other side of the sign. 

After lunch instead of heading to the host we went to the visitors center to find a good hike. We took a shuttle bus up to Bear Lake and went to Emerald lake. The entire bus ride and hike was so beautiful, it looked fake at some points. I took a bunch of pictures and had a great time. 

Red roof is of a hotel that is inspired by The Shining and Dumb and Dumber was shot in. 

Nymph lake. 

Dream lake. 

Emerald lake where we took ice baths. 

Bear lake. 

After the hike our group got split up and I missed the shuttle that three others got on to get back to Estes park. My friend and I asked a couple of old ladies of they were driving back in that direction and they said yes and offered us a ride. My friend Yudi and I ended up getting back down before the other three so it worked out well. When I got back to the host a bunch of people had DM'd dinner which was great and then we went out to see the sunset. We climbed up on these huge rocks and watched the sun go down behind the mountains. It was probably one of my favorite days of this trip so far. 

Loveland, CO build day

On Sunday we had a build day on a Habitat for humanity home. Usually the habitat organization doesn't work on Sundays but since we were here they had us work for a half day. That worked out perfectly since my family was around so I had the afternoon to spend with them. At the work site I mostly worked on painting the outside of the house. It was the most finished house we had worked on this summer so it was nice to see what they often turn into. 

Front of house. 

Side view. 

In the afternoon we first went to lunch in Loveland and then we headed to Fort Collins which was only a 25 minute drive. We walked around the town and I was surprised to see the many local shops and restaurants. 

Town in Fort Collins. 

Some bike stuff in a shop. 

At night I returned the church that the group was staying at. We had our weekly family meeting and I said I had another week with many highs. They included camping, cooking dinner with dinner crew, riding with a few different people, and my time in Loveland. My low for the week was also another high in some ways because although I was really scared during the lightning storm, it was a cool experience to ride in such crazy conditions. I also gave kudos to my prom date for such a great rap performance and also to my sweep partner Doug for helping me during the storm. 

Fort Morgan, CO to Loveland, CO

On Saturday we had our last flat ride in Colorado. I teamed up with my friend Lydia because her dad was meeting her in Loveland and my family was meeting me so we wanted to get there as soon as possible. Four other people joined our group and we pace lined to lunch. After lunch Lydia and I headed out. At around mile 50 the ride became much more exciting as we finally started to see the Rockies in the distance. It was such a great ride as it was a slight downhill with a tail wind and the huge mountains to watch get closer and closer. 

Lydia with the mountains. (Hard to see)

Mountains getting closer. 

The Rockies were hard to capture with a camera but they were beautiful. Lydia and I were the first to the host, which never happens to me. About an hour later my family came and we headed off to the hotel. 

Mom and me in front of the trailer. 

Other side of the trailer. 

After I showered we walked around a near by outlet mall, went to a brewery called the Grim brothers, walked around another outdoor mall and statute park, and had dinner at PF Changs. I was so happy to finally see my family especially since I hadn't seen them in a year or two. 

Me, my mom, Uncle Dave and Uncle Phil at the brewery. 

Holyoke, CO to Fort Morgan, CO

On Thursday my friend Doug and I were sweep so we were the last to leave in the morning. The ride started off great since there was a strong wind but it was mostly to our backs. We did a few bonus miles together since it was meant to be a 95 mile day so we wanted to get a century ride in. We made it to the first lunch stop at a reasonable time but could see some dark clouds up in front of us. As we headed out we prepared with garbage bags in case we needed to wear them for warmth and to put over our camelbacks. 

Doug riding towards the clouds. 

Shot from the van. 

Shot from the van. 

After only a few miles from lunch lightening struck a metal pole about 50 meters from us. I started freaking out a bit but Doug calmed me down by saying it was just a camera (which we both knew was a lie). A mile later another bolt of lightning struck a pole 100 meters away from us and again I started freaking out. Our only choice was to keep riding since there was nothing but open fields around us. The ride was getting more and more difficult though because of the heavy rain and head wind. Eventually after about 20 minutes of riding that felt like forever, we made it to a hotel. We called the group of people in front of us who said they were right down the street at a ga station. Doug and I quickly rode our bikes a little bit further just to be with the team and it turned out almost everyone had been there, some for the past hour. At the gas station we waited for a few hours to see if the storm would pass but the lighting kept coming. Our group leaders talked for a while and heard that the town we were heading to had just had 14 people killed in the past week because they were struck by lightning in open fields. The leaders decided it would be best to van everyone  Fort Morgan due to the storm and time constraints since we still had 50 miles left to go. A lot of people were upset by this since 6 people had never been vaned and wanted to complete the journey on their own. No one had a choice though since it was all for safety purposes. The can could only carry 12 people at a time though and ended having to make 3 trips, each taking an hour one way to get everyone and their bikes to the host. I was lucky since I was on dinner crew this week so I got to go with the first group to the host to DM food since we had no host dinner. When we got to the host I went with my friend to several different places. We ended up getting a lot of food from Arby's, McDonalds, and a Mexican place. 

DM galore. 

A bunch of other people got a bunch of food from other businesses as well so we had another successful host free dinner. The skies ended up clearing up as soon as we left the gas station but since the leaders had already made the call, everyone was still driven in. Some people didn't make it to the host until 8pm, which means they were there for at least 7 hours. I was fortunate to have been the last one to the gas station and the first to leave, so I was only there for 2 and a half hours.