:: SEE ALL PHOTOS FROM ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK CAMPING ::
Heather, Beth and I camped out at the Morraine campground over the weekend. We went on 2 hikes and I took at bike ride at 5:00 AM on Sunday! It was a beautiful campground and nice hiking!
We saw some really haggard looking sheep, elk, and chipmunks. I think. I can never remember how to tell which is the chipmunk and which is the squirrel!
I’m sitting in my room, feeling overwhelmingly melencholy and sorry for myself when I get THIS email in my inbox! David Wolman doesn’t know it, but he boosted my mood and completly turned my day around! Left-handers rule! After reading his book, I left a comment on his website, sort of a shout-out from another left-handed Portlander (I can still call myself that, right?) Following is his response:
Amanda,
So embarrassed to only now have seen your note to me and my rough skeleton of a blog. There has to be a way to receive a notice when someone adds a comment to the blog; I just haven’t found it yet. Thanks so much for writing, though, and for the effusive praise in your online journal. Aside from how ridiculously flattering it is, the writing is pretty damn good to boot. Nice work. Your website looks cool too. Antarctica? Wow.
I’m working on another book, this one about spelling. With any luck, it’ll be as readable (and read) as the last one.
Best of luck and again, thanks so much for your kind notes.
DW
___________
David Wolman
www.david-wolman.com
So, should I tell him I spell worse than a pig knits sweaters? 
Needless to say, you know I am going to have to read it when it comes out!
:: SEE ALL PHOTOS FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK TRIP ::
So my father came to Colorado for the 1st time ever! We went to Rocky Mountain National park and took the scenic route up Trail Ridge Road and took some hikes. It was awesome!
…Better known as “Worst Bike Ride Ever” or “Blustery Bike Ride”. Even as I write this, a consistent howl of wind blows outside my window. A few moments ago, a deck chair blew by. What was I thinking to ride on a day like this? I knew a storm was “coming” so I wanted to get out and ride before the storm hit. I thought I might get bombarded with rain, so I packed a jacket and went on my way.
I wanted to ride out for an hour and then turn around, on the highway to Estes Park. I am thinking now a bike is the worst thing you want to be on when caught in a wind storm. As I rode, I thought about how little surface area is in contact with the ground. As I road east, toward lyons, I was bombarded by a cross wind that came from my left and little from the back. It pushed, it gushed, it blew consitently strong and then blew stronger. I had to hunker down, grit my teeth and push with all the strength my arms had to keep the front wheel pointed to the left so as to prevent me from blowing off the road. I got caught, knowing that for some reason it was better to pedal than coast, yet not sure how to stop because as I slowed, the turning of my handlebars had less impact. So the slower I went, the more I blew to the right. So I kept on going. I thought it would stop. What was I thinking? I blew inches from a gaurd rail, and just centimeters from the curb as my arms ached to keep me from blowing into the ditch. My wrists, already sore, throbbed with the pain of trying to keep myself on the road. Finally I knew I had to stop. I slowed to about 6 mph during which the wind took advantage of my pace and blew me right into a pile of grass. The grass must have helped keep my tires put, because as soon as I hit it, I felt control of the bike again.
I waited for the wind to stop. It didn’t. I thought about hitchhiking. I pondered flagging down a cop car. Maybe call a taxi? I didn’t know what to do. Knowing I had little money on hand, and a bike to tote as well, and just an hour before dark, I decided the best thing was to try to get home as quickly as possible. Not that dumping my $2000 bike just to get a ride home seemed like a bad idea at the time.
On the other side of the road, I had a little wind coming from the front, which helped to stabalize me. I felt much safer. And the stress of blowing into a car bothered me much less than blowing off the road, even though the reality is far worse. My face burned rom the wind and dust. My lips turned to tree bark. My eyes stung. My feet went numb from cold. My entire upper body shook from the tension I had to maintain. One strong gust pushed me uncontrollably into the road, all the way to the median before it subsided. I watched in awe as my tires went to the left even though they pointed ahead. I held the bike as hard as I could to keep from falling off. Thank god the truck behind me swerved to the other lane, even though oncoming traffic sped toward him. He didn’t even honk or anything. Could he tell how powerless I was? I must have spent most of the ride tilted at least 3 degrees.
Elation overcame my distressed body when I returned to town. I was close to home, and I knew the trees and buildings would buffer the gusts. Nevermind the debris and branches that littered the roads and the constant siren of ambulances in the distance, I was close. I just wanted to lay down on the floor and let my arms regain consciousness.
When I returned home, I looked up weather.com and found this SEVERE WEATHER WARNING:
/O.EXT.KBOU.HW.W.0004.070607T0320Z- 070607T1800Z/ SOUTH AND EAST JACKSON/LARIMER/NORTH AND NORTHEAST GRAND/ NORTHWEST BOULDER COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET- SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST GRAND/WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST BOULDER/ GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/SUMMIT/NORTH AND WEST PARK COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET- JEFFERSON AND WEST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/NORTHEAST PARK COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET- INCLUDING…CAMERON PASS… LARAMIE AND MEDICINE BOW MOUNTAINS… RABBIT EARS RANGE…ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK… WILLOW CREEK PASS… BERTHOUD PASS…BRECKENRIDGE… EAST SLOPES MOSQUITO RANGE…EAST SLOPES SOUTHERN GORE RANGE… EISENHOWER TUNNEL…INDIAN PEAKS…KENOSHA MOUNTAINS… MOUNT EVANS…WILLIAMS FORK MOUNTAINS…WINTER PARK… ESTES PARK…GLENDEVEY…NEDERLAND…RED FEATHER LAKES…BAILEY… CENTRAL CITY…EVERGREEN…GEORGETOWN…IDAHO SPRINGS…WESTCREEK 920 PM MDT WED JUN 6 2007
…HIGH WIND WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 12 PM MDT THURSDAY…
THE HIGH WIND WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 12 PM MDT THURSDAY.
WEST WINDS OF 30 TO 50 MPH WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE TONIGHT IN THE FOOTHILLS AND OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN EAST OF THE DIVIDE. GUSTS UP TO 100 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS ON THURSDAY.
REMEMBER…A HIGH WIND WARNING MEANS THAT STRONG AND POTENTIALLY DAMAGING WINDS ARE EITHER OCCURRING OR HIGHLY LIKELY. MOTORISTS WILL NEED TO BE ALERT FOR SUDDEN CROSS WINDS. TREE DAMAGE AND POWER OUTAGES CAN BE EXPECTED.
30 miles
13.6 mph av
Me, Beth, and Heather at 6:00 AM
In preparation for the MS 150 this year, I joined Heather and Beth on the 65 miles Elephant Rock Ride. I didn’t enjoy it so much the last year I did it, but I was willing to give it another chance. The route was exactly the same, and I surprised myself by how many memories came back as I made some familiar turns.
Amazing sunrise over camp
I arrived to camp just before dark, just in time to set up before the rains fell and lightning shows entertained us to our sleep. We woke in the morning cold and damp. 45 degrees cold. And it didn’t warm up much until an hour into the ride! But I didn’t mind, I would much rather cold than hot. The rolling hills were many, so many that one of the roads we traversed is called “Rollercoaster Road”! And although there were many rolling hills, none of them were too terribly steep (well, that first hill before breakfast was pretty bad!)
Castle Rock, the town’s namesake, under the sunrise
I forgot how amazing the scenery was! The perfect sky lit up the ample countryside, and the late summer meant that everything was green! I forgot how much we could see Pike’s Peak, and how big it looked! It was amazing, and energizing! Not only that, but the waning blue moon sat in the sky for a few hours in the morning, too. You couldn’t have asked for a more picturesque day!
I dragged for a good part of the day. I wasn’t feeling the biking love. Maybe it was all the food I ate all week. Maybe it was the lack of training I’d done before the ride. Maybe I am just not used to the altitude yet. For whatever reason, I just didn’t have the drive in me. But I still really enjoyed the scenery!
You really can’t appreciate how huge and amazing Pike’s Peak looked
My biggest memories from E-Rock 2004 were that people were mean. I remember a woman trying to charge me for a snack and someone bumping into Heather on the road and yelling at her! This year, while I noticed many people who seemed like normal folk (not all decked out, expensive, racers on a mission), I did pick up on a clear and definite vibe of the ride. Riders do not communicate. In contrast, on the STP all riders pointed out every pass they made, every rail road crossing, every slowing, turning, veering, and even every little crack in the road. 9,000 STEpers managed to clump together so tight they barely leaned over the shoulders of the roads. While many traffic cops and signs are necessary for the STP, it is a very tight ride. This is only possible because of the communication. Now, E-Rock caps at 7,000 riders, but they get the whole side of the road, up to the yellow line, most of the time. Ride organizers try to get people to ride single file on some roads, but it just doesn’t work. Riders don’t talk hardly at all on this ride, and I can only assume this is because, for the most part, they can veer out of the way so far. The problems occurs when this isn’t an option. For instance, on a 35-mph downhill, I had to yell at 3 girls who were slowly swerving on the road, taking up the whole lane and an oncoming truck consumed the other lane. To brake at this pace could be dangerous, and passing on the right of swerving bikers could also be dangerous. Luckily, they heard me and quickly heeded.
I only saw 1 major NO NO. A pack of ROUTE MEDICS were riding 5 abreast and quickly passed a heavier girl close to the shoulder. Busy chatting, the medic on the right rammed into the girl. She nearly topped, but he was able to grab her arm and stop her fall. He asked if she was okay, but didn’t apologize, and was cycling so fast didn’t really give her much chance to respond. I would not expect this behavior of any route officials, least of all medics! I do hope this etiquette is unique to E-Rock and not the character of most Colorado rides!
6:11 AM-12:15 PM
66.67 mi
13.4 av mph
39.2 mph max
2292 ft elevation gain
6200-7500 ft
