Life Elevated, Sleep Interrupted

Thursday July 18, 2013
Maybell, CO to Vernal, UT – 90 miles

Today’s ride started with a long hill that led to more hills and left Cam and I ahead of the pack. We crossed paths with Abram a few times, then came across a freshly killed deer, and a mile later the severely damaged SUV that had killed it. Roadkill is hands-down my least favorite daily encounter on this trip.  I’d say I pass at least four dead animals a day, and they are only more upsetting from the close view of a bike.  When I start to extrapolate those numbers over the whole trip or worse the whole country, it’s seriously upsetting.

Cam and I rode together the whole morning then picked up Celise at first lunch. We stopped at the Dinosaur National Park visitor center for some fun facts and graphic postcards, then got ferocious at the town billboard.

We crossed into Utah a few miles later (record number of stops in a 3-mile stretch) then enjoyed the colorful mountains for the rest of the ride.  Around mile 80 most of our gang decided to take the 14 mile detour to go see/touch real dinosaur bones at Dinosaur National Park.  The bones didn’t particularly appeal to me (especially not with the extra 14 miles of hot desert sun and hills) so Cam and I opted to skip it and continued riding in pursuit of cold beer and sandwiches instead.  We found some right near the host (which was difficult as the town seems to made entirely of car dealerships and motels) and it may have been the best beer I’ve ever had. Cold crisp and refreshing, all I remember is it was some kind of hefeweisen, and it tasted like heaven.

We shuttled to showers at the local rec center, then I rode over to the nearby dollar store to get supplies for my prom proposal. I worked on my crafty props, presents and plan while doing laundry with my chore group, then set it all up when everyone went to bed. I pimped out my date’s (it’s Emily! shhhh!) bike in the parking lot, then went to sleep out on the church lawn, pleased with my work.

Fast forward a few hours to 3 am and all previous ease was replaced with abrupt panic and mad scrambling as 12-15 lawn sprinklers erupted from their hidden lawn pockets and violently assaulted every dry thing in a 30-foot radius.  Among the drenched victims were: me, Cam, both of our sleeping bags, both of our thermarests, all the bikes (except for Emily’s which was safely isolated and decorated in the parking lot – which makes me accidentally the best prom date ever), helmets, shoes, and anything else anybody left near their bikes or on the lawn. Cam found a small patch of concrete next to a shed that was relatively safe from water blasts and we scurried our stuff over there (but not before my sleeping bag had been soaked to dripping) After 10 or so minutes of standing there in shock and mid-sleep confusion staring at the water works around us and hanging up our various sopping belongings, we ducked behind the picnic table there and attempted (unsuccessfully) a few hours of cold, wet sleep before our 6 am wake up.

The whole thing was incredibly funny afterward, like something out of a sitcom. I also learned that Cam had found one of the sprinklers the afternoon before and, thinking it was the only one, placed a small bucket over it before going to sleep outside. That tiny effort was so hilariously futile when we were drenched to the bone, staring at a giant fountain of a lawn, I keep thinking about it randomly the next day then cracking up out of nowhere. It’s also funny because I now freak out (picture captain hook with the tick-tocking crocodile) whenever I hear an erupting sprinkler noise. This noise occurs fairly frequently in Utah (they looooove their sprinklers) and after the traumatic 3am spray down, it’s terrifying.

Hey Maybell

Wednesday July 17, 2013
Steamboat Springs to Maybell, CO – 76 miles

I saw a white tail fox about 15 feet away from my sleeping bag when I woke up this morning (perks of sleeping outside.) Nature is the coolest! I enjoyed a solemn hot coffee and a toasted peanut butter bagel on the back stoop of the house, while taking in the mountain view and the cool morning air.

It was a mostly flat ride, so I made really good time. We left around 7:30am, and I made it in by noon. I rode with Jess, Conor and Jake for bit before lunch,  then Jess, Seth and Jack afterwards. We saw some Bison at the end! Celise asked Seth to Prom when she got in (cuuuute!) and we set up tents and all the camping stuff, then hit up the post office and general store. The town was SMALL (population: 75) and we probably doubled the store’s monthly business in one day. I slurped down a cold orange creamsicle on a hot plastic bench, then joined 7 of my teammates for a game of pick-up soccer at the campsite.

The game was soooo fun and soooo hot. My team lost which was frustrating, but it was so nice to play soccer again I didn’t really care. We all bee-lined for the sprinklers after the game and let them pelt us completely to cool off.  Showers in the bathhouse after that, then dinner crew made some awesome veggetarian chili for dinner. yum. I slept outside under the awesome unpolluted stars, and tried to ignore the aggressive mosquitoes. Fun day.

Day Off – Steamboat Springs

Tuesday July 16, 2013
Day Off – Steamboat Springs, CO

We all woke up fairly early today and started making moves for our various day-off activities. The hot spring crew: Celise, Cam, Seth, Jess, Mike, Abram Kevin and I bused downtown and got breakfast at The Shack Cafe. I ordered the veggie hobo, which was delicious. From there we walked to the grocery store to get lunch supplies, and Julia picked us up there.

We fit the eight of us, plus her, in her five-person Mazda hatchback. It was TIGHT, but entertaining. We whipped up some pb&js then met Julia’s friends at the trailhead. We met Julia’s roommate, some raft guides visiting from Vernal, Utah, and one neighbor whose boyfriend was actually from the same town in Wisconsin as Seth (Nina, WI) and Seth knew him, Crazy!!

  

We hiked a beautiful 3-mile trail up to the hot springs (and in doing so avoided the $10 entrance fee!)  We ate our lunch at some picnic tables, swam around in the beautiful different temperatures pools with other teammate who had found their way there, and sun dried on rocks and lounge chairs.

It was a lovely afternoon. After the 3-mile return hike to the parking lot, we stopped in town for ice cream at the pharmacy (YUM) then Julia drove us to her cabin to hang out.

Holy hell this place was beautiful. The house was built by her roommate Whitney’s great grandfather, and is used exclusively as a summer home (no heat or insulation) for family, friends, and various transient hippies. It was also really rustic with “refrigerators” from the 1890’s, very limited water and several regular bear visitors. It was mecca in the mountains.

We hung out for an hour or so then Julia drove us back to our host. We showered, did a bike clinic  in the parking lot, then Celise, Cam, Seth, Jess, Lydia and I biked downtown to eat pizza and beer at Brooklyn’s.  I shared a pineapple, onion and pepper pizza with Cam (brilliant!) and Seth picked up beers from the store down the street. We ate outside, and It was perfect. Julia and Whitney came and met us and took us to the Art Depot for a public swing dancing type gig called the “Steamboat Stomp.” It was fun but a little intimidating (these people had serious moves!) We had a dark and dreamy night ride back to the host at 10:30. I slept outside again. Absolutely amazing day. I am blown away by the kindness of strangers.

Speeding into Steamboat

Monday July 15, 2013
Kremmling to Steamboat Springs, CO – 50 miles

This morning we woke up early to pack up the campsite, normal routine otherwise. A few of us (Jess, Seth, Mike, Kevin and I – Coffee Crew!) stopped at Big Shooters for coffee on the way out of town. The stop was calm and cozy and the perfect start to a cool morning.

We rode on 40 west the entire day. The morning was full of beautiful, fun rolling hills, and late morning brought some steeper hills as we passed over the Continental Divide.
Lunch was at the summit of our first mountain, and was a nice sunny spot surrounded by wild flowers. After lunch we had a few descents then more hills as we went over Rabbit Ears Pass. The end of it all brought an incredible 7 mile descent, sweeping down a mountainside with a beautiful view of the fields below.  The road was empty and steep, so I flew down it and I reached my max speed so far on the trip – 47.5 mph!! It was incredible.

Our host was a little retreat-ish house/trailer behind a church, and happened to be right on a small river and next to a bike trail that led downtown. Cam, Celise and I opted for river showers to avoid the single bathroom line, then took the free bus downtown with Seth, Jess, Lydia, and Kevin. We checked out the local bike shop and passed some of our team at the candy shop then stopped into Johnny B Goode’s Diner for some lunch.

We ordered a Berry/Hazelnut adult milkshake and some sandwiches, then chatted with our waitress Julia about what to do on our day off tomorrow. As it turns out, Julia had the day off tomorrow too! and she and her friends were planning to hike out to the local hot springs! Being incredibly cool, she invited us to come along! Julia rocks!!

Riding the high from our super exciting tomorrow plans, and taking advantage of the nice kitchen at our host, we walked to the natural foods store down the street to get supplies to cook dinner. We took the bus back to host, all had a quick nap, then began making an awesome veggie stir fry with jasmine rice and sweet Celise sauce (peanut butter, honey, sriracha, soy sauce, and lime.) We ate it, and it was incredible. Yay family dinner!!

After dinner we got cleaned up and headed back downtown to meet up with the whole team for live music at a bar called Sweet Water Grill. We watched Jake jam out with the band for a bit, then had nice time sitting outside, chatting, listening and drinking some craft beer. A few of us had a quick drink at a place called SunPie Bar then got a cab back to the host.

Seth, Cam, Jess and I flagged down the first van/cab we saw and subsequently found ourselves in the company of the most ridiculous cab driver ever. He called himself Porkchop (pronounced Porkchaaaaahhhhhhhp!!), talked about all the cities he’d blown up fireworks in, had a guitar in the front seat, and had no meter. We were bent over crying/laughing most of the ride, and we egged him on as he shouted ridiculous things at our teammates out the window as we pulled in. We asked him how much we owed him and he said “I dunno, 20 bucks?” Pretty sure he wasn’t an official cab of any kind. Hilarious either way.

I slept outside in the small field next to the house/building. The stars were wonderful.

Canyons and Campfires

Sunday July 14, 2013
Granby to Kremmling, CO – 28 miles

Late wake up today: 730am, but my body clock woke me up at 6:45 anyway, so I sat outside in the quiet morning sun for a while.  Jess and I were scheduled to be sweep riders today, but because of the super short mileage people were talking about hanging out at the local coffee shop for several hours, and we didn’t really want to wait around for them. Fortunately, Seth made a plea for us and Arden and Liz volunteered to take over sweep duties for us. Woo hoo! 

Today was an absolutely gorgeous ride. We rode along the Colorado River the whole time basically through a canyon. There were amazing views of the mountains in every direction. Jess, Cam, Seth, Celise, Abram and I left right away and rode together for a 90-minute ride total.  When we got to Kremmling, we rolled past our campground into “town” got some ice cream from Big Shooter Coffee, sandwiches from Subway, then began our beer plan.

Seeing as it was our first night camping, and the campsite was only a mile from the river we had just been riding on, and it was so early in the day, we decided the only logical thing to do was to go buy a ton of beer and drink it at the river.

We loaded up at the only liquor store in town. Abram fit a 12-pack of Coors in his backpack, Jess did the same with a bottle of wine, Cam and I each held a 6-pack of Summer Shandys on our handlebars, and Seth tucked a 30-rack of PBR under his arm like a boss.  We rode our beer laden bikes proudly (and cautiously) 2 miles back to the campsite, and stashed everything under a shade tree while we helped everyone else set up tents.

Thirty minutes later we were on our way to the river. We walked around an airfield, past a graveyard, over a fence and boom, we were there! We ate our sandwiches on the near bank and doused ourselves in bug spray. Determined to lounge on the far side beach, Celise and I were the first ones in the water. It was a little cold but felt good and fresh. The next round of swimmers floated the beer boxes across with them, and we drank lots of beer while swatting lots of mosquitoes, for a long time.

A sudden rainstorm created a mad scramble out of our little river paradise and before you could say “I think it’s gonna hook” people were frantically forging their way back to the other side, beer cases, beach balls and bug spray in tow. I didn’t see what the big deal was, since we were already wet or would have to get wet to cross anyway, so Cam and I lounged a bit longer and split the last beer before calmly making our way back across (making everyone else look like amateurs. duh.) We sought shelter in an old barn/garage type place right next to the river, then made our way back to camp when the thunder stopped and the rain let up.

Dinner was awesome sandwich supplies with vegan bologna, and picnic/salad sides, all thanks to Joseph’s mom!  The evening weather was great, and we enjoyed good food, and crafty drink (make your own shandy: light beer +lemonade!) as the sun went down. Cam and I continued our winning streak by building a killer bonfire from sticks and beer boxes, and we all hung around by the fire listening to music, making s’mores and watching a crazy lightning storm happening over the mountains in the distance. Today was something out of a dream.

Later, right before bed I was called over to the trees to hold a flashlight while Cam and Abram shotgunned a beer. I gladly illuminated their race, and even hung out dutifully as they smashed their empty cans, erupted into a series of burps spits and farts, and Abram began peeing on the nearest tree. Or as Cam put it “literally every disgusting thing they could have done.”

I slept outside under the incredible stars. It was a little chilly, but one hundred percent worth it.  I’ve never seen so many stars in my life, and it was the perfect ending to a perfect day of beautiful nature, fun outdoor adventures and great people.

Trail Ridge Pass

Saturday July 13, 2013
Estes Park to Granby, CO – 69 miles

Anticipating  a long day of hills, we woke up at 4am this morning. It was cold and dark outside, but the sun was slowly and colorfully making its way over the mountains as we departed. We all left in one big heard, then tapered off into smaller groups in the first 3 miles. I ended up riding with Mike and Will all day, which was fun, as we hadn’t ridden together much.

We entered Rocky Mountain National Park around mile 15, and began our trek through the pretty park and the scenic switchbacks of Trail Ridge Pass. On our way up we were passed by several passenger vans with bikes strapped to them, and usually about an hour later a group of smiling people would fly down the mountain past us on those same bicycles, waving idiotically. It was infuriating but motivating at the same time. We were doing it the right way, and would enjoy our ride down that much more.

We started at 7,522 ft and after many hours of 6mph climbing, heavy breathing and scenic overlooks, made it to the 12,183 ft summit right after lunch. It was the most accomplished feeling, working that hard all morning, being so patient, staying mentally and physically determined, then standing at the top of a mountain, looking out at the world, seeing everything we’d worked so hard for stretched out below us. I’ve never seen a view like that in my life, and every picture I took fell so hopelessly short.

That mountain pass and the road we were on (34 West) is the highest paved road in America! I think the switchbacks made it much easier (albeit slower) than the straight up and downs of the Appalachian mountains, but the higher elevation and thinner air of the Rockies presented it’s own challenge.

Lunch at the top of the mountain was very chilly. The boys basically put on snow suits to prepare for the descent down the mountain (seriously, arm warmers, leg warmers, extra shirts, gloves, rain jackets, and buffs. Live a little, guys)  I decided I’d be fine with arm warmers and my rain jacket.

12,183 ft!

We had one more tiny climb after lunch, then I was flying down the side of a mountain at 40mph for 30 beautiful minutes of trees whirring

by like water colors, mountains and valleys glowing majestically in the

distance, warm sun on my face, cold wind whooshing all around me muting the rest of the world, watery eyes, and wild hair flying in every direction, and my bicycle and I flying through nature like a fierce wild animal. It was bliss, and worth every inch we climbed that morning.

Turns out I made the perfect decision clothing-wise. When we reached the plateau at the bottom of the mountain the boys immediately began peeling off all their layers complaining of sweat, while I ate a snack and continued to bask in the glory of that descent.

Wild Moose!

A few miles down the road we saw a bunch of cars pulled over, and pulled over ourselves when we realized they were taking pictures of a mama moose and her baby, 20 ft from the road. So Cooool!  Then another mile down the road we stopped again to watch a giant heard of elks running by. Yay nature!!

Wild Elk!

We exited the park a few miles later and finished the last 10 miles or so on the side of the regular highway.  Not nearly as cool as the park, but then the excitement picked back up when we got pulled over by the sheriff.  He claimed we were holding up traffic by riding in the traffic lane (even though I was riding the white line, and the boys were in the shoulder). I explained that shoulder is often full of glass and road debris or in this case a sporadic rumble strip which I didn’t want to ride on, and that cyclists by law, have the right to ride in the traffic lane.  He said something about not having room or feeling uncomfortable passing us, to which I replied “we only require 2 ft of passing room, these lanes are wide enough that you wouldn’t need to swerve at all, and you can always switch lanes to pass” He mumbled something about being safe then walked back to his car and drove off. Cyclist win!!!

Also, Kyle did this..

Only sold in Colorado!

We-were the second group into the host and decided to hit up the local Mexican restaurant for some much needed sustenance. Later I powered through a freezing hose shower with Celise before a rainstorm, took a nap, did laundry with my chore group while drinking some Colorado Native beer with Seth and Cam, and went to bed. Pretty epic day.

Hills, Rain, More Hills and Hummus

Friday July 12, 2013
Boulder to Estes Park, CO – 67 miles

Great breakfast, including eggs, bagels and YOGURT! which was good because today ended up being long and tough. The morning was intervals of very steep climbs and short curvy descents.  I had a major derailleur issue on the first big climb and fell off from Cam, Abram and Mike. Kevin helped me adjust things on the side of the road and I rode with him, Seth, Jack and Nora for a while, then caught up with Jess and Emily, and we seized a roadside lounging opportunity. A few mile up the road we came across a fresh spring with a hose spout, which was super refreshing in the hot weather. A few miles later we found lunch, which was awesome because I had for some reason been starving all morning.

We rolled into lunch just as the clouds and rain did.  I managed to dig my rain jacket out of the bag pile in the trailer (thank goodness) and I rode with a fluctuating group of Jess, Nora, Kyle, Emily Jack,and Kevin for a few miles in the rainy hills, then eventually Nora and I pulled ahead and rode the rest of the way together. The last few descents were a little scary, as we were once again flying down a mountain side with cold rain pelting us in the eyeballs, but we made it into Estes Park (Go Noren!) and up the last few steep hills to our very isolated host: The Eagle Rock School.

No dinner provided, in fact the school had very strict requirements that we stay in the gymnasium area and not use any of the other facilities, make any noise, or interact with anyone on the campus. So, 30 soggy bikers took cold showers and hung out in a big boring gym most of the night. Kyle made a run with the van to pick up the pizza Seth got DMed, and a few of us went with him to grab a few things from the grocery store.  I splurged on some hummus and pita chips and had a tiny hummus party with all the vegetarians in a corner of the gym, before our town hall meeting.

Also of note, Cam found these stickers in the gift shop at the top of the mountain (while buying a poncho, hah!) and he bought Celise and I each one! Raven had bought one in Boulder and Celise and I went on a mad hunt looking for them, but to no avail. After such  a tough day, it was a really great surprise and really thoughtful of him.  I love my teammates so much.

Build Day 7 – Boulder

Thursday July 11, 2013
Build Day 7 – Boulder, CO

The Boulder Habitat had their stuff together! I think they were the most impressive group we’ve worked with so far. They had a bunch of different projects for us to do and great leadership and directions, so we didn’t end up standing around all day.

I ended up in a group with Cam, Will, Ben, and Mike (hangin with the boys) as we all elected to be on trench digging detail instead of painting or laying flagstone. (yayy manual labor! suck it painting)  We started out by pulling and digging out large weeds and shrubbery in the front yard that the big machine/truck thing wouldn’t be able to get. Then we moved over to the right side of the house to begin digging a large trench for the cable and electric wires.

It was awesome!! It was so fun getting sweaty and dirty and really exerting myself. It was also awesome because I didn’t get to plant a garden this year or work out in my yard, so it was a nice reminder of how much I enjoy working outdoors and getting down and dirty with some nature.

Boys standing around while I do all the work

We took a break for lunch midday and some super nice community ladies brought us sandwich fixings (including vegan bologna!) while Phil (site manager) gave us a habitat presentation. He focused a lot on energy efficiency and the history of Habitat, and it was pretty cool!

Day two of hose showers at the host, then off to Lazy Dog for free dinner provided by Earth Balance. I had the Tuscan salad with sweet potato fries and a summer shandy. A few of us wandered around a bit then caught the second van shuttle back to the host. I slept on a couch for the second night in a row 🙂

 

 

 

Bikes and Beers

Wednesday July 10, 2013
Denver to Boulder, CO – 35 Miles

Today was a mystery ride that began with a 5 am wake up.  I was grouped with Seth, Conor, Frances, Sam and an alumna Kristen.  The ride was beautiful, with lots of trees and sunshine and rolling hills, then at mile 15 we hit the previously hyped up surprise stop for the day – Coors Brewery in Golden Colorado. YAY BEER! We were graciously greeted by the Coors staff and fed an awesome salad bar lunch before breaking up into groups to tour the brewery.

I was in the third group, led by Brendan, who was a little out of tour guide practice and admittedly kept telling us information he wasn’t supposed to. (aka best tour ever!)
I learned that Coors had been part of Colorado since 1873, they produce 18 million bottles of beer a day, and they have the world’s largest landfill free brewery! They are super environmentally conscious and recycle almost all of their byproduct and waste, which I thought was super cool! Unfortunately since we still had 20 miles to ride and Bike & Build rules state no drinking and riding, we were not allowed to taste any beer during our visit.  We did learn about some new ones though, and made plans to try them while in Colorado.

The second part of the ride had some big hills, but also some nice views and we all arrived at the host super early in the day.  Hose showers followed, quick turn around, then we took the bus into downtown Boulder.   Celise and I popped into a few shops and I bought Chris a cool t-shirt. Then we met Cam, Lindsay, and Lydia at a Bar/Restaurant called “Lazy Dog” for beers and snacks on the roof. Good Afternoon 🙂

Back at the host, a bunch of the church kids cooked us an awesome dinner of shish kabobs, fruit kabobs, salad, and lemonade. Yum!! Short Bike clinic afterward and we were back on the bus to downtown.

Jess, Cam, Seth and I got beers at an outdoor music thing in the middle of the street and enjoyed watching the old people around us get super drunk and rowdy. We met up with Celise and Abram afterward and trekked over to “The Bier Garden” for giant pints of German and Czech beers – great atmosphere and great beer. Next was a hole in the wall bar called “The Walrus” for beer, peanuts, and free well drinks for ladies?!! Jess and I decided we were going to start a dance party, and boldly started dancing alone in the middle of the empty bar floor. We slowly lured in more and more groovers, the rest of our group showed up and within 20 minutes we called it a success as the whole place was packed and the DJ was eating it up. (Shot Stop pt.2!)  Cabs home at 12:30 got us in just in time for our 1AM curfew. Great day and night.

Build Day 6 – Denver

Tuesday July 9, 2013
Build Day 6 – Denver, CO
Spent the day installing staircases with Seth, Kevin, Zack, and Celise. It was pretty cool and different, but there was a lot of lag time in between bracket hammering and staircase installation.  It’s unfortunate that the Habitat groups we’ve worked can’t better handle our large group of volunteers. I don’t blame them, as it must be difficult for 4 – 6 staff members to instruct and supervise 30 people all at once – especially when some projects require them to do specific tasks/measurements/risky maneuvers. It’s just frustrating to feel so able and ready to get things done, then end up being so inefficient and having no control over it.

A few of us opted to walk down the street to a restaurant for lunch (in lieu of PB&Js) and had awesome giant burritos at a Mexican restaurant called Westerkamp Steak House (WTF?) The owner of the restaurant also offered us free dessert (because he was awesome!!) so we all freaked out over some super sweet and crispy sopapillas with ice cream.

After shuttling back to the host, we showered at the local ymca, then a few of us (Cam, Jess, Seth, Seth’s GF, and Mike) rode bikes (in lieu of van shuttles) to a potluck a few miles away hosted by Bike & Build Alumni. The potluck was awesome. There was so much food and a ton of it was vegetarian. Turns out there is a huge community of B&B alum in Denver, so it was interesting to talk to some of them too.

After dinner, the same group of us rode on a sweeeeet bike trail along a river to the Denver REI.  I bought a few snacks and ogled a ton of sporty clothes and bike gear, then we rode back through the cool summer streets of Denver in the nighttime. It was beautiful and sooo much fun. I like Denver a lot.