Day 3 - Judgement day
How come I get the former East German coach doing periodics and everyone else gets the “oh just go ride with your grandma as long as you ride for 2.13425 hours.”? And why do I find this East German thing 3 days into camp. I mean these guys just shoot you if you fall behind as an example to others.
So I am climbing this hill up CO road 100 and figure I will be tour de france and ride up hill without my helmet. I signal for the coaches car to come up and grab my lid. Man where is that coaches car when you need them, probably pandering with the podium girls. The guide book says people drive the 7 miles from Salida up to the trail head. Mr. Bill will be happy to know that trailer queens exist in Colorado also! Shoot is was like 2 miles all downhill from town. (This cockiness will soon be repaid)
Do the first 6 miles of single track with no events. The standard route is to go down CO rd. 108. I am wondering why would I waste a perfectly good morning hill climb with a bunch of rocks on a descent. Let’s push on to Hwy 285. It is only another 6 miles.
The second 6 miles finds a pretty good ledge of sketchy talus or scree (help me out here Dirk). I meet a throttle twister. Much prefer having to balance a 20 lbs. bike instead of hundreds of pounds of motor on this ledge of a trail. The motor bikes pretty much thrash the steep sections.
I am just climbing and climbing. Think of walking up a Broken Oak walker hill for oh let’s say about 2 miles. Sometimes the I lean on the bike. Sometimes it leans on me. It is getting to be 1:30 and I can see the clouds tuning up. The 100oz camel back is dry. One bottle of gatoraide is gone. Not sure about the other bottle. There is some bang pow pop lightening exposure on the ridge. Too far gone to turn around now. Can’t stop to rest must push on. This trails false summits keep coming until the cows come home. There is about ¾ in the last bottle of gatoraide. Phew! That should make it to the top.
The altitude watch that I only barely trust is showing over 10K. The map only said 9600 for a peak at Sand Gulch. Between the lightening and the East German coach wanting to leave me for dead on the trail, I keep pushing and pushing.
Finally top out. Most of the steeper descents get walked since the motor bikes have loosened the silt and baseball size rocks. The penalty for missing would be a couple hundred foot slide down till that loan shrub stopped your forward progress. Wishing I had a 26” tire for the rear for some of this. Not sure why those downhillers have not figured out a 29” and a 26” would roxor the DH circuit. Decide to push the seat post in a bit.
I stop and squash the seat post all the way in. I feel like I am riding Rob-0’s bike… well not that short. Still hear Master Nick “Get off the brakes Barney!” and Mutha “You sure are up there a long ways”
AHH! Hwy 285 what a lovely site. Just make it there and you will be good. Put the seat post back up. Whoaa there little fella! not quite that high. Hit 285 just down from just below Poncha Pass mostly cruising in the 25 to 35 range. Dan from Pro Cycles sure does do a good job on wheels.
I can see into the valley and it is halfway socked in. Mt. Shavano is one of those dark blues against a dark gray backdrop. Very scary Scoob.
I 3rd class it into town. it is five miles from Poncha Springs and you can coast it at 15mph. Good thing cause I was blown. I am so sore! Where is the team masseuse.
Protein first 30 minutes…. Tuna fish and gorp!
Stats
Rainbow Ridge trail CO rd 100 to hwy 285.
33.77 miles – except for hwy 285 it felt all up hill.
Lowpoint 6950 Highpoint by the watch 10300.
5 hours
6.7 average – The speedometer was registering 0.0 for the 2 mile up hill walk. The mileage kept adding up though.
12.5 miles of single track
1 fall – on an uphill when I could not get unclipped.
Lesson Learned
You know it may be an epic day when the coach goes back for the water purification tablets. In the things that work column: Bandaid brand advanced healing blister things. I put them on this morning before the ride. They stayed on the whole ride and even the shower and pool afterwards. And I did not feel my heels.
So I am climbing this hill up CO road 100 and figure I will be tour de france and ride up hill without my helmet. I signal for the coaches car to come up and grab my lid. Man where is that coaches car when you need them, probably pandering with the podium girls. The guide book says people drive the 7 miles from Salida up to the trail head. Mr. Bill will be happy to know that trailer queens exist in Colorado also! Shoot is was like 2 miles all downhill from town. (This cockiness will soon be repaid)
Do the first 6 miles of single track with no events. The standard route is to go down CO rd. 108. I am wondering why would I waste a perfectly good morning hill climb with a bunch of rocks on a descent. Let’s push on to Hwy 285. It is only another 6 miles.
The second 6 miles finds a pretty good ledge of sketchy talus or scree (help me out here Dirk). I meet a throttle twister. Much prefer having to balance a 20 lbs. bike instead of hundreds of pounds of motor on this ledge of a trail. The motor bikes pretty much thrash the steep sections.
I am just climbing and climbing. Think of walking up a Broken Oak walker hill for oh let’s say about 2 miles. Sometimes the I lean on the bike. Sometimes it leans on me. It is getting to be 1:30 and I can see the clouds tuning up. The 100oz camel back is dry. One bottle of gatoraide is gone. Not sure about the other bottle. There is some bang pow pop lightening exposure on the ridge. Too far gone to turn around now. Can’t stop to rest must push on. This trails false summits keep coming until the cows come home. There is about ¾ in the last bottle of gatoraide. Phew! That should make it to the top.
The altitude watch that I only barely trust is showing over 10K. The map only said 9600 for a peak at Sand Gulch. Between the lightening and the East German coach wanting to leave me for dead on the trail, I keep pushing and pushing.
Finally top out. Most of the steeper descents get walked since the motor bikes have loosened the silt and baseball size rocks. The penalty for missing would be a couple hundred foot slide down till that loan shrub stopped your forward progress. Wishing I had a 26” tire for the rear for some of this. Not sure why those downhillers have not figured out a 29” and a 26” would roxor the DH circuit. Decide to push the seat post in a bit.
I stop and squash the seat post all the way in. I feel like I am riding Rob-0’s bike… well not that short. Still hear Master Nick “Get off the brakes Barney!” and Mutha “You sure are up there a long ways”
AHH! Hwy 285 what a lovely site. Just make it there and you will be good. Put the seat post back up. Whoaa there little fella! not quite that high. Hit 285 just down from just below Poncha Pass mostly cruising in the 25 to 35 range. Dan from Pro Cycles sure does do a good job on wheels.
I can see into the valley and it is halfway socked in. Mt. Shavano is one of those dark blues against a dark gray backdrop. Very scary Scoob.
I 3rd class it into town. it is five miles from Poncha Springs and you can coast it at 15mph. Good thing cause I was blown. I am so sore! Where is the team masseuse.
Protein first 30 minutes…. Tuna fish and gorp!
Stats
Rainbow Ridge trail CO rd 100 to hwy 285.
33.77 miles – except for hwy 285 it felt all up hill.
Lowpoint 6950 Highpoint by the watch 10300.
5 hours
6.7 average – The speedometer was registering 0.0 for the 2 mile up hill walk. The mileage kept adding up though.
12.5 miles of single track
1 fall – on an uphill when I could not get unclipped.
Lesson Learned
You know it may be an epic day when the coach goes back for the water purification tablets. In the things that work column: Bandaid brand advanced healing blister things. I put them on this morning before the ride. They stayed on the whole ride and even the shower and pool afterwards. And I did not feel my heels.
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