Colorado River Ride Part 2

Today we rode along the Colorado River again, but in the other direction. This was slated as the 'easy' day because the mileage was low (44 miles) and the ride was nearly dead flat. Everybody raved about how great it was and how much they enjoyed the treat of pedaling on flat ground. Many riders commented on how it was a great chance to train for cadence. Good grief. I hated it. It got boring and monotonous and totally reminded me of riding on the dreaded trainer in our living room. With flat riding you never get a break. There is no coasting on flat ground and of course you have headwinds in at least one direction, making it feel like you're biking through sand. Even though we were cruising along at about 18 mph it seemed like it took forever to finish the ride. My butt and back never got a break and I was ready to get off the bike. It was then that I realized that I'm a hill climber. I guess I actually enjoy climbing the hills. Crazy, I know.

I managed to snap this picture of Karlo while I was pedaling. I just loved the shadow he was casting.

We had to say our final goodbyes to our new biking friends. The event was truly great. Everything was just perfect and the group raised over 2 million dollars. It was just so much fun to be in and around all these hard-core bikers and their beautiful bikes. I had flashbacks to Ballroom Bootcamp . . . when Karlo and I were the only ones that weren't carrying 'dance shoes' and I had that, "We are in over our heads" feeling. This was the same thing. Many guys had shaved legs and I didn't even recognize most of the bike brands. I've been a biker for over a decade. I watch the Tour every year, I even have a friend in France that sends me the official Tour guide and I still didn't recognize these bikes. It was a treat just to gawk at them all.


Since the ride was short we decided to head out to Arches National Park (where we rode the day before) for some hiking before dinner, when the sun was starting to cast some interesting light. We only did one hike that was all downhill on the way out and all uphill on the way back. It was then that the previous day's climb started to hit me. My legs felt like bricks and it was amazingly difficult to get back up the hill. I was told that the actual hilly biking would be fine, but the recovery from it would be a big challenge at these high altitudes. Well, I was living proof of that. I couldn't believe how hard it was, both to move my legs and to breathe. This high altitude definitely takes some getting used to.