Tuesday, June 30, 2009

easing into an adventure

When I woke up at Echo Lake campground on Friday morning it was 40 degrees, and I decided to drive up the mountain once more before I left. The wind was howling which made it feel a lot cooler than the 25 degrees my car showed.




A cyclist warming up to ride up the mountain with her husband offered to take my picture with the lodge and Echo Lake in the background.




Having assured myself that I made the right call not trying to ride up Evans, I headed west to one of my favorite towns from last year's trip to Colorado. Frisco sits at about 9000 feet on I-70 on Dillon Lake. There are ski resorts all around, including Copper Mountain and Breckenridge within 10 miles. Both of those are accessible by bike trails too.
I got to town in time to have breakfast at Butterhorn Bakery & Cafe before wandering around town enjoying live music and vendors that were part of a BBQ contest on Main Street. I found a bench near the lake and spent the afternoon in the sun with a good book. Then a nice ride on the paved trail over to Copper Mountain and back.




On Saturday I took my time getting to Glenwood Springs. I went a little out of the way to drive to Leadville and back to I-70 via Minturn, covering 2/3 of the Copper Triangle, a ride that my brother-in-law, Bruce, and I are planning for the day before our next Colorado tour in August. Then onto the start. The afternoon was spent checking in for the Bicycle Tour of Colorado, attaching wrist bands, meal bands, bike numbers, and luggage tags. The tent city grew as people from 43 states and 30 some countries arrived for the adventure. Many riders do stay in motels or B&Bs, but many also sleep in the cool mountain air either in their own tents, or a separate tent city set up by ShuttleGuy. This is a service that for a handsome price will have a tent, air mattress, chair, towel, and refreshments waiting for you as you ride into camp. Some nights that looks pretty good, but I like my tent, the orange MSR Hubba Hubba down the foul line.







This picture is not very clear, but it shows some information on rider demographics. In addition to the states and countries represented, it breaks down the ages of the participants. I was mildly surprised to see that 32% of the riders were between the ages of 40 and 49, and 42% were from 50 -59. I was right at home.
Tomorrow we ride!

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