40 miles. Fort Collins, CO to Estes Park, CO
If youve never been up close in the rockies, then you're missing out on a whole other world of beauty. Riding through today through the lakes and vallies and cliffs and rivers and peaks was totally mindblowing. Dan M and I could barely ride straight because we were too busy looking up at all of the soaring mountains. I've been around the appalachians plenty but this was seriously something else.
There were tons of cyclists out which was really awesome to see. You could tell that the cars were all really used to and considerate of cyclists as well. In a way though I'll admit that i may feel a tad bit less special in these parts(but not really) since we're so used to being the only cyclists in our previous towns and now there are a ton of them.
I found out today the gasping way that contrary to my dismissal of it, a lack of oxygen in the atmosphere really does affect your ability to exercise. Who woulda thought. Yea, lets just say that people were panting a bit harder than normal today but nothing too crazy. Just in case biking 4,000 miles won't put us in enough shape, some high altitude training can't hurt I guess. Can't wait to see what the next 5,000 feet up feels like.
The day really wasn't all that bad. There were definitely some struggles with the oxygen factor at points but with only 40 miles and no crazy climbs we all pulled through pretty well and mostly got in early. Totally not what i was expecting. We did get to see snow caps in the distance and got to an elevation of 7,500, meaning we climbed about 2,500. Dan and i found a sweet river to wade into in which we decided to one up the nearby fisherman by posing for our one handed fish grabbing pictures. Would've stayed in longer if the ice river hadn't made my feet go numb.
Unfortunately i did get super hungry when we pulled into the host. We got a burger in town but even then, with the tiredness and oxygen depravation kicking in, I was just totally out of it. I realized that once i get past a certain point of hunger, not even eating will get me out of the miserable rut that i get in. I really felt like crap and just wanted to curl up in a ball in a corner somewhere. We've all had our moments of crashing and its just part of a crazy adventure like this. I hate knowing that no matter what i can't be my cheery self because my body is just so imbalanced. I feel way better now though and really just need to get some solid sleep in. Hopefully i can really minimize those future occurrences though.
A definite highlight was coming across this huge ark called Estes Ark. This structure was literally a biblical ark that contained every species of stuffed animal ever. It was crazy! Flamingoes, penguins, llamas, you name it they had it. The lady in charge had been doing it with her husband for 25 years total, with this store being only 15 years old and she was really cheery. To think that a career could be spent selling stuffed animals. She at least was clearly loving it. It was one of stores that you know you'll never forget even if you tried.
The actual town of Estes Park was pretty large since it seems to be the central point for heading to all of the surrounding peak. We rolled through the main street which was hugely bustling. the sidewalks were bursting with tourists. Unfortunately it all just seemed so crass to me. There was no real town, just fast food chains and 7,000 different t shirt shops selling silly unfashionable memorabilia. Disgusting was actually the first word that came to mind but maybe thats a little strong. I dono, after all of the quiet communities and fun, flavorful cities we've been passing through this blatant commercial tourist trap just totally turned me off.
We're staying at this awesome alternative high school called Eagle Rock. Its literally in total isolation on a mountain which my quads didn't' quite appreciate. But its basically a boarding school for inner city youth totally funded by the Honda Corporation so tuition is free. Whoa! Its so cool and i totally dig it. Their focus is on really developing these kids as humans and individuals which is something that our black and white education system does not necessarily excel at. We got to eat dinner with the kids and they were really cool. Actually the first time i think we've hung out with so many people near our age. Had this awesome conversation with Melissa about "Threadless" t shirts which we are both obsessed with. You must remember, only second to food, purchasing t shirts is undeniably my major downfall. It was funny since we both saw that we were wearing one and immediately screamed in delight. We were literally trading names of our favorite shirt titles. It was pretty nerdy but totally cool to meet another hardcore fan like that.
Tomorrow we're climbing about 5,000 to Trail Ridge, the highest altitude road in America. It will no doubt be intense. So weird how we'll go from sweating in the morning to being totally layered up in the afternoon. Myself and a few others have probably been waiting for this one day the entire trip thus far. Its just one of those things that you know will be unbelievable but still somehow blows your mind. Yea, can't wait for the magic.
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