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Colorado Epic: Day Thirteen


Crested Butte to Buena Vista

 Remember those two guys I mentioned a few days ago?  I thought they were local pros out of Durango.  They flew past me on one of the passes like I going backward, while having a full conversation with each other as if they were sitting in a coffee shop.  Mark looked them up on Strava. He shared with us at breakfast this morning that they rode from Durango to Ouray and back, for 150 miles, 15,000 feet of climbing, and averaged 19 mph.  For comparison, we rode from Durango to Ouray.  The end. We did 84 miles, climbed 7,874 feet, and I averaged a whopping 12.5 mph.  When people ask, “Heidi, why don’t you become a pro cyclist?”, that’s why.

As for today, it was one of the most perfect days of cycling I have ever had.  Light winds, mostly at our backs, perfect temperatures, gorgeous scenery, and a lovely climb that peaked at just over 12,000 feet, all made for an amazing day.  

We left Crested Butte this morning with a tailwind and a fast, fun descent, down to the turn up Taylor Canyon.  Here we started a gentle, river-grade climb, with a light breeze nudging us onward up the canyon.  We climbed easily, watching the fisherman as we criss-crossed the river.  Up past the dam, around the lake, and then we climbed more.  

I rode Cottonwood Pass last year, and I forgot how much I love it.  The gentle tailwind continued all the way up the climb.  Mellow grades of 3-6% dominated the lower slopes.  Heavy forest gave way to open meadows and spectacular views down canyon.  I could see the summit miles before I reached it, and I watched the cars navigating the switchbacks on the high slopes as I continued to climb.  

True to form, the more I climbed, the better I felt.  The summit arrived sooner than I had hoped.  Greg had prepared a gourmet pasta and salad lunch for us on the summit, so we dined leisurely at 12,000 feet, soaking in the views and answering questions from the number of people who stopped to chat.

They all asked some variation of the same thing: “Did you ride your bike all the way up here?”  Yes, yes we did.  I was tempted to reply, “No, I didn’t.  I actually fell from the sky,” but I didn’t want to be snarky.  

It was time to descend.  The wind was still at our backs, and the descent was smooth and fast.  20 miles went by in the blink of an eye.  Well, it was more like a million blinks of an eye as I was desperately trying to clear the tears from my eyes as I rocketed down the mountain.  

We rolled into Buena Vista, stopped at a coffee shop, and went inside to reward ourselves with all kinds of delicious delights. 

There is not a single thing I would change about today.  It was perfect.  Now it’s time for sleep. Tomorrow is our last day, and we are going out with a bang.  Tomorrow is a Monster.

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