Made it to Fort Collins

Hey all!

I finally made it to a hotel in Ft. Collins and they've got internet access! I've got some time before the closest bike shop opens so I can give you a brief update, and soon I'll be able to give some more details.

The trip has been amazing thus far. The first five days through the mountains were absolutely brutal but well worth it. I don't have my notes with me (this is a public computer in the lobby), but I can tell you that I've made good mileage every day through some extremely challenging climbs. The toughest single climb was Monarch Pass on Day 3. Seven miles straight up at about a 7% grade, not a single flat spot the whole way. I kept my GPS on and the graph of the elevation profile both up and down is astounding. Bizarrely enough, though, I felt great the entire time. The first two days were exactly like they were the first time I rode them during my Gunnison trip (that is, tragically difficult and hot), but I never once felt bad all the way to the summit of Monarch. I went very slowly of course, but I felt good.

Yesterday I got to finally ride out of the mountains. That was incredible. No less than 12 miles straight downhill, from over 8,000 ft to the mid 5,000 ft of the Denver area. I'm not sure I can describe how I felt at the first glimpse I had of the plains and then of the Denver high-rises. Let's just say I started to laugh and then nearly cried.

There is sooo much more to say about the past five days, but this is a public computer and I don't want to hog it. Finn should be getting to town today so at some point I should be able to make a full report on his computer. Talk to you again soon!