FACE AIDS Ride Against AIDS 2010 Blog

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Map of 2010 Route

Map of 2010 Route
You can view the day-to-day schedule, terrain, mileage, and checkpoints by clicking on the map!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Day 17: Hot Springs

We rolled out of Mesa State University around 7:30 this morning with the mindset that we would be working hard today, starting our climb into the Rockies. But, I think we were all pleasantly surprised that the day wasn't nearly as strenuous as we were expecting. Maybe because we've gotten that much better at biking, or maybe because we were expecting the worst, or probably the best option, the 3rd day through the Sierra Nevadas really was one of the hardest days we'll have on the trip and that's what we continue to compare everyday to.

The 3,000 feet of climbing was steadily spread out over 90 miles. I was pretty surprised that we were still in some desert, until finally with 30 miles to go everything brightened up and the green returned (I think for good this time). We also were lucky to bike next to the Colorado River for a majority of the day.

Unfortunately, we had some more flat tires and ran into some construction. At first, we felt like we were flying, as cars stood still in the bumper to bumper traffic. Then we hit the freshly asphalted area and ended up walking through the rest of the construction zone. Luckily we were close to the end of the zone and only ended up walking for about a mile.

We are staying at the Glenwood Hot Springs Lodge in Glenwood Springs, CO, thanks to a generous Stanford alum. After checking in, we relaxed in the lodge's hot springs, which the legs greatly appreciated. We then took our time at dinner, sampling a wide range of food at Juicy Lucy's. I even tried a mussel. All these weird seafoods I've never even had the desire to try before, but if the opportunity presents itself (aka someone orders it and offers up a taste test), I have to seize it.

Tomorrow will hold another chunk of climbing, pushing us further into the Rockies, ending our day in Vail, CO.

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