Day 11 - Placerville, CO to Gunnison, CO

Alright, this whole "people being awesome" thing is just getting pretty incredible.  Makes me realize how little respect I have for those people out there who choose to be mean.

Todays ride was brutal.  Physically, it was by far the hardest day.  The climbs were long and steep, the weather changes were drastic and the roads were long.  Out of Placerville, it was pretty smooth for a few miles, and then the long climbs began.  It was pretty gradual for a bit until I had a great, long downhill into Ridgeway.  This town was so great.  I really wish it was not Sunday and all the stores would have been open, but, it was quiet, clean, and surrounded by gorgeous views.  From there is was up and down into Montrose.  And then it was just brutally up hill.  To a point where my body was just screaming.  Then a short downhill, and right back up!

The tough part about these hills was that they were long switchback style.  So every time I thought they would flatten out, or that the pass was around the next bend, they just kept on climbing.  The first of the hills had me sweating so much, I was down to a sleeveless shirt and just bike shorts.  By the time I got to the second of those long ones, it was so cold I was back in my thermal pants, hat and thick gloves.  Crazy.  My legs were burning and my feet were cramping up something awful!

But all the pain was made up for completely and totally by the views and the people I met.

My energy levels were great right off the bat thanks to this house I was able to crash at (a picture of the house in in the last post).  Then, rolling into Ridgeway, I asked around as to where I might get some food.  I was directed to Kate's Place, a completely local food restaurant with a down-home feel to it.  The place was busy, but the food was perfect!  While I waited for my food, a nice guy sat down at my table and we talked biking for a bit.  When the check came, the server told me my meal had been taken care of!  So nice!  Outside, I got to talking with a large group of about 9 people.  We talked biking for a minute, but then the conversation moved to Vibram Five Fingers as one of them was wearing the great shoes.  They were all so supportive, it really boosted my moral as I started climbing.

In Montrose, I tried to visit CrossFit Agoge, but no one was around, so I started the first of the tough climbs.  A woman rode up next to me and proceeded to ride along with me for about 5 miles just talking about what inspires us.  It was so great to have someone with me as I rode, and she had some very rough times she was dealing with, and I was so happy to be able to inspire her a bit.  It's one of the main reasons I do this stuff after all.

Finally, I was coming down off the second major climb, it was freezing cold and the sun was going down.  My plan was to find an area to pitch the tent and crash, and just as I was coming up to what i thought a good area would be, a truck pulled over and asked if I needed any help.  The husband and wife had done a Colorado to Virginia ride a while back with their young daughter, and knew knew how rough they can be.  So they offered to drive me to Gunnison where I could get a hotel room.  We rode and chatted and I am so thankful they decided to stop and hel out.

So, siting here in a warm hotel room, fueled up and ready for sleep, I sit back and smile a bit at just how great people can truly be.  I can not put to words how good it makes me feel to run in to people wh are willing to help out without any need for anything in return.  Being a good person can be defined in so many ways, but in my mind, selflessly heling another person is just about as good as one can be.  For all the good I experience on this trip, even if I see nothing from here on out, I plan to pay forward tenfold.  It is a great reminder that there really is good out there.

Tomorrow I ride up to the highest peak of the entire trip, from just under 8000 where I am now, to about 11,500!

Do some good today people, help make someones day!

Day 10 - Dolores, CO to Placerville, CO

Yet another day with no service. I woke up bright and early in Cortez, CO (4/10) and set off back up through Dolores, CO and into the mountains. It was a steady climb, through Rico, and all the way to a peak of a bit over 10,000 feet! All in all, I climbed just under 5000 feet in 30 miles, very, very slowly.

I finished the day in Placerville (the second Placerville of the trip!) at an empty house that is up for sale. To get to the house, I had a joyous downhill of about 14 miles. And when I mean downhill, I mean I maybe got about 20-40 pedals in the entire way. Besides that, I just cruised in.

I gave a brief little about the trip because there are three things I want to write about besides that. The first is the family I stayed with In Cortez. Friends of an old friend of mine in DC (I haven't seen her in way too long!), Adam, Trayce and cute little Noah were so nice to let me stay at their place for the night. I met up with them for dinner at a great Chinese place, then off to their place where I was able to clean my bike, do a load of laundry and get a great nights sleep. Adam and I hit it off really well and talked at length about adventuring and endurance sports. I plan to be in touch with that great family for a good long while!

The second was a great lunch I had in Rico. I stopped at a tiny little drive through coffee shop where I got a wrap and a coffee, then sat outside with these two cool guys ad chatted for about 45 minutes. One of them is a Mono Skier named Felix Snow (no legs, so he sits on a chair with skies and goes hardcore down the mountain), and he was not only just a chill, cool guy, but a damn well educated one as well. Told me all about the area, how it came to be, where things were and why. Rico is a tiny little town, and he told me it was not a small town, but a big family and they he really didn't want me going around and telling people how great it was as to keep it that way. How around the area was the site of the tallest volcano, and over the thousands of years, the land had dropped to the levels it was at now, some 8 or so 14,000 foot peaks. The craziest thing was that he told me back in the day there were huge bodies of water up there, mountain oceans I believe he called them. So, the San Juan Mountains are a pretty cool place to check out at some point.

He had told me I had to get to Telluruide. But I just wanted to keep on pushing. My time was so slow, I could not bare to think going 10 or so miles out of the way, downhill, even if it was some of the most beautiful land in the world. I will have to come back. As I climbed another pass, a man in a truck stopped to see if I needed any help. We ended up chatting for some time about directions and such (apparently I could have saved myself tons of climbs going another way… oh well!). He then met me upabout 14 miles outside of Placerville where I had stopped for snack and told me he had a place for sale that I could crèche at. Bill turned out to be a damn cool guy. Wild and a bit eccentric, but with a heart as big as these mountains I was riding through. He was just out there to help out, do good things and do it all with an energy I was envious of. I am so thankful to have met him, and I wlll be in touch with him as well for a good long time.

This is a big part of this trip I was excited about, the people I would meet.  I have had nothing but pretty cool things happen all along, even when they were a bit frustrating, they ended up being pretty interesting, and of course, a good story.  My legs are still working fine, the pain in my leg is still there, but not as strong, and my body in general is just feeling like biking is what it's supposed to do.

I'll post again when I can!

Day 9 - Blanding, UT to Dolores, CO

Today was about as lonely a day as one can have.  Lindsey left early this morning, and besides the fact that I just love being around her at all times, it was tough to come to terms with going at this completely by myself.  So, I threw on a Clive Custler audio book and just rode.

A couple points on the day, stopped at a really cool coffee shop in Monticello, UT (the video was done there) and watched as about 4 random people found there way over to my bike in the front yard and just stared at it, it was weird.  This one guy literally just stood there for like 5 minutes, just looking at it.  I could not tell what his intentions were, and I was on the edge of my seat ready to pounce.  But he just walked away after a while.

Stopped in Dove Creek, CO for a quick snack at a gas station, and the guys there were just so damn nice.  If one were to stereotype, most people would just avid eye contact with the type of people they were, but I sat there with them for about 15 minutes talking about snow storms and adventures and such.  I find people who live in towns where the population is like 120, to be so damn interesting.

Rolling hills are tiring.

My butt is really starting to hurt.

Tomorrow the climbs begin, starting with an immediate 4500 footer or so, up to a 10,00+ peak!  Should be a slow few days, but I hear the views are immaculate.

Day 8 - WOW!

Ok everyone, sorry about the short delay in posts, I have been stuck with flaky internet, and the departing of my wonderful support group of Lindsey.  Today's riding has been nothing short of some of the loneliest miles I have ever experienced knowing that she will not be there to share in the experience tonight.

But, to get back on track, yesterday was absolutely the most wonderful experience I have ever had on a bike, and up there with the best in my life.  I can not put to words just how breathtaking this portion of the trip was, but I will say this (before I let pictures do the talking for me): I am going to be spending a TON of time in southern Utah the rest of my life.  It is awe-inspiring, powerful and absolutely the humbling and beautiful scenery I could ever imagine.

Enjoy!

Day 7 - Escalante, UT

Yesterdays ride was a nice one.  The weather was cold, but very sunny, and that helped my moral a lot.  But the best part of the ride, by far, was the scenery.  I love rocks!  The landscape here in southern Utah is absolutely incredible, with towering rock formations, seemingly about to topple over at any moment.  This time of year adds a bit to it as well.  There is this wonderful contrast of so many colors and feels.  The red, grey, black of the rock, the green of the trees and newly growing grass, the white of the snow, and the sharp blue of the ski.  It all fits together and really just takes your breath away.

Today I set off on a steep climb, about 4500 feet up to a peak of a little over 10,000, then it's over 100 miles of fast, scenic downhill until I reach the Colorado River!  From there, well pick up and finish the day in Blanding, UT, the South East corner of Utah.

Until then folks...

Josh Courage

Cedar City

Today I had a pretty good ride into Cedar City; except for the tail end.  I had my first fall of the journey, not a bad one, but a very public one.  I was rolling to a stop at an intersection and could not get my shoe out of the clip, I proceeded to just hit the pavement, hard, then skid along about 3-4 feet.  Geez.  The second downfall was this real bad pain that has been a little numb for a couple days, but at one point today it was so, so bad, I had to stop peddling.  The pain runs down from my lower quad, past the knee and into the front of the lower leg.  I know this is a nerve thing, and I know it originates from the pressure on my butt as I ride.  So, I adjusted the seat a little, and we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Today's ride was pretty nice.  I had The Pelican Brief playing on my iPod, I had the sun out (but it was still in the mid 30's..) and the views were immaculate.  I expect them to get even nicer as I ride into Bryce Canyon tomorrow.

A cool part of today was getting to Cedar City and visiting the two CrossFit boxes (Iron CrossFit and CrossFit Cedar City).  They were so welcoming (as most CrossFitters are!), and both are 100% on board for the May 1st Riding With Courage WOD!  Pumped!

Will report back tomorrow as I head into further into Utah; tomorrow night will be my last night in the state before I reach Colorado.

Still Riding!!

Day 6 - Milford, UT to somewhere past Cedar City UT

Yesterday I was able to get through most of the horrible weather and then hopped on the bike a little before Baker, NV to ride for a while across the Utah boarder and well into Utah.  We picked up and spent the night in Milford, a small town about 55 miles west of north west of Cedar City, where I am headed today.

Being out here really gives a new vie on what life is all about.  Riding along route 50 ("The Loneliest Road In America") I could go 40, 50, 60 miles without seeing any signs of life, except for some random fences, and this road.  I can not imagine what it must have took to build these roads, but it seems almost ridiculous that they were ever created.  Even more crazy to think about are the Pilgrims.  These people, with none of the technology I have with me, with none of the wonderful warm clothing I have with me, they just walked across all this.  I can not for the life of me imagine walking along some of these plains, towards the towering, snow-capped mountains.  It's tough to think anything exists over them, even with my maps and computers and all, it is a very intimidating sight.

What also blows my mind is the people who live out here.  The few I have talked to were incredibly kind, and I have nothing negative to say really; i just can not imagine living in such an area where there is nothing.  Absolutely nothing around you for miles and miles.  I personally have a desire to live like this, but in an area where there are laces to explore, in the mountains, woods, places like that.  There are trailers out here, small little houses, with a tree next to it, and then nothing, as far as the eye can see.  Imagine a life like that.  Most people reading this live in a grand house or apartment, have a car, a tv, a nice sofa and plenty of places to eat whatever food they like.  Out here, you have the land, you have a once a month, few hour drive to re-supply, you have a roof, and you have your mind.  That's about it.

These are just a couple, not-very-well-articulated thoughts that I have had.  I'll keep posting these as they spill out, there are tons!

A couple things that have been cool.  Met a couple nice guys when we got stuck before Lake Tahoe, they were traveling around snapping off pictures and videos. Really cool guys, and run this site:  www.lennonfilms.com.

Had to stop at the dentist yesterday because some serious tooth pain.  I thought I had cut my gum, but, with the help of two great ladies (the doc was out, at both dentists in town!), we found a wonderful piece of beef jerky stuck into my gum!  Gross.  But man does my mouth feel better.  Thank you Kathleen (she pulled the damn thing out, thanks for being my dentist!) and Gretchen (we got your name Gretchen!).

That's it for now, I am off!