two weeks

I just got back last night from a mini family reunion outside of Aberdeen, SD. The get-together was great, if short, but the drive was painful. Because of flooding on the Missouri River in Iowa and Missouri, I-29 was closed in two different places! Which meant two detours, several miles out of the way, adding about an hour and a half to a nine hour drive. Brutal.

But, in two weeks I'll be in the middle of another CRMBT. I'm looking forward to cooler weather, seeing old friends, and enjoying some fantastic scenery. I'm also excited that some of the routes we'll ride this year will be featured a couple weeks later as part of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.

 We'll ride over Cottonwood Pass, climbing the unpaved side before descending into Buena Vista. The next day we'll head north and west and climb over Independence Pass, down into Aspen, and on the bike path to Glenwood Springs.

 Before those high-altitude days we'll ride through the beautiful Black Canyon of the Gunnison River, and the end of the week will feature McClure Pass and the Grand Mesa.

 I'm aiming for several 20-30 mile rides over the next 10 days, and maybe a longer ride on the weekend. I've also begun drinking more water to help acclimate to the higher altitude. All that's left is to organize and pack, and finalize my itinerary. I'm hoping to ride Hoosier Pass on Friday before heading to Grand Junction. And as long as we'll be so close to the Colorado National Monument at our starting point, several folks are planning to ride Rim Rock Drive and Monument Road on Saturday morning before checking in with the tour.

I hope to have several pictures and some good stories to share by the time I return home. Stay tuned.