Hard Days Ride

Wow... Tough day. The morning started out beautiful without a cloud in the sky. The early miles were enjoyable with a few short climbs to get the legs warmed up at ready for some serious climbing. At mile 13 the climb started at 5000 feet. The climb summited 27 miles later at mile 40 and at 11000 feet. While the grade was not too challenging, the LONG steady climb was tough. We descended at speeds in excess of 50 mph and rode into some serious heat... 95 degrees. It was HOT. The last 30 miles was a hot grind with some tough headwinds. We were VERY excited to make it to our camp in Grand Junction were we welcomed cold showers and a great brew pub dinner. It was a very long day on the bike and likely one of the toughest, if not the toughest, ride any of us has ever experienced. Despite the challenges we are having fun, making friends in camp and along the route, telling folks about the HANGOUT, looking forward to a good night sleep, and looking forward to a "rel
atively" easy 63 miles tomorrow... Is there such a thing as an "easy 63 miles"? We hope!

Matt A.