So, basically I've fallen in love with the state of Colorado. My time in Denver was awesome. Being able to relax, hang out with friends, get some work done, and still ride twenty miles a day around town was exactly what I needed. I spent my remaining time in Denver exploring the city, talking with Rotary clubs, spending time with old and new friends, playing sports, and going out for dinner, drinks, dancing, and of course piniata smashing. Denver has a great trail system for the hundreds of bikers that cycle around town every day, and I used them to go all over the city. I was able to speak to four Rotary clubs in Denver, and was very happy to meet many very interested people. I took a 50 mile round trip bike ride with Kelly Pohl, my friend from the Peace Corps, to Golden, CO and took the tour of the Coors brewery. I gotta say I was more impressed with Anheiser-Busch's tour in St. Louis. I went up to Boulder with my new very good friend Christa Long a couple of times to check out their awesome farmer's market, and also went to a mead & wine tasting. I also had the opportunity to see Fort Collins when Shannon Stehle, a friend from the University of South Carolina, invited me up there to experience Brewfest, which is a sampling festival of a couple dozen of Colorado's microbreweries. In Denver my friends and I played a bunch of grass volleyball at Washington Park. Denver has the best park system I've ever seen. Every few city blocks there is another excellent, big, green park to play around in. Wash Park attracts dozens and dozens of volleyball net owners out each week in summer where hundreds come to play volleyball or frisbee or simply running, cycling, roller blading, etc. Everyone is so active in Denver, and it's so easy to be so. I am seriously leaning toward moving here after this bike ride is finished.

After having a great break in Denver, it was extremely difficult for me to say goodbye and continue on with my journey. Last Thursday I hugged, kissed, and waved goodbye to my friends and forced myself to ride out of town. I had a relatively easy ride up to Lyons before actually entering the foothills and the Rocky Mountains. From Lyons I climbed around 4,000 feet and eventually made it to Estes Park, CO. It was a brutal day of acclimating to higher altitude breathing, and learning how to ride 20 miles constantly uphill. After a long, hard day I finally reached my destination and found the mountain house a friend of a friend of a friend in Denver was letting me camp under the car port. I had a pizza delivered to my tent, called my family and friends, then passed out from exhaustion.

The next day I began what would be the longest uphill battle of my life, both figuratively and literally. Rocky Mountain National Park, and Trail Ridge Road. These two names always made peoples faces contort in a either surprised or painful way when I talked about having to cycle over them. I realized why this day. Twenty-five miles of straight climbing at five miles per hour, towing my 70-80 pound trailer was one of the hardest things I've ever done. But I saw some of the most spectacular, breath-taking views in my entire life and the entire day was a rewarding experience. When I reached the Tundra Zone, above 11,000 ft, I was totally excited to see snow banks and snow fields. It had been many years since I held a snowball in my hand and laughed at how child-like it made me feel to form the ball in my hands. Being the highest road in the United States, my climb on Trail Ridge Road topped out around 12,183 ft above sea level (over two miles high). At the visitor center on top, I saw a herd of elk and actually ate an elk bratwurst from the restaurant up there. Lots of people on the mountain were interested to know why I was cycling over such a difficult road, especially with so much gear. I even had a van full of moms and daughters cheering as I rounded the top into the decent. Coming down all the mountains was quite a wild experience as well. Leaving the Tundra Zone and seeing the snow melting into waterfalls and rivers with all the awesome surrounding trees and mountain views was just gorgeous. Toward the bottom of Trail Ridge Road I saw a couple big herds of elk grazing in fields, and one big moose or elk bull. I didn't see him until I was flying by but I definitely caught a look at some giant antlers. I eventually left the park and finished out the day making it to Granby, CO where I was so tired and proud of myself I sprung for a cheap motel.

My third day of mountain cycling was an 80 mile day to Steamboat Springs. most of the day was small up and downs until I reached the Routt National Forest and had to go up and over Muddy Pass followed by Rabbit Ears Pass. These topped out at an altitude of around 9,600 ft so it wasn't near as hard as the day before. Coming up and over Rabbit Ears Pass a storm blew in and I had to ride the last 15-20 miles in a fridged downpour. The decent into Steamboat Springs was much steeper than the Eastern assent, and with the rain I was definitely having a difficult end to my day. My hands got locked in the clenched position from using the breaks and my body wouldn't stop shivering. But I was excited to get to my destination because Christa had come up from Denver to hang out for the weekend. Finally I made it off the mountain and met Christa at a gas station. Steamboat Springs is a gorgeous, rich, super friendly mountain town with ski slopes surrounding it. It was a busy weekend for the town due to a couple festivals that were happening, but eventually we found a hotel in town that had a vacancy and we checked in. My only concern was that it had a hot tub because I could not get my core temperature up and was still shivering. So I soaked, warmed up, and enjoyed an amazing weekend of hiking and exploring an awesome town. Christa left for Denver Sunday night and I got connected with the local Rotary club for the rest of my stay in Steamboat. I spent three more absolutely amazing days here in Steamboat, in which I'll tell you about in my next blog. But for now, I've got to get my trailer packed and get on the road. Sorry to leave you with a cliff hanger, but I'll catch you up as soon as I can.