Looking down the hill towards Durango
Looking out over the hills surrounding Durango
Looking back up the mountain as we headed into DurangoI left a brisk Cortez this morning at 8:15 where the temp was 54 degrees for our first real climb into the Rockies. Today we covered 44 miles, most of it uphill. the last nine was downhill which made for a awesome descent. The view near the top of the mountain was incredible.
The only weather issue with today's ride was a brief but cold rain shower at 22 miles into the ride. Thankfully i had my layers on. a few of the other riders had to stop and put extra clothes on; I just kept pedaling. Pedaling to stay warm.
Today's ride peaked at 8,200'. I made sure I was smiling as I went the last mile up to the top as friends of mine who drove this same highway a few weeks ago told me they saw a lot of unhappy bikers climbing this hill in the rain and sleet.
On the descent I hit 39 mph as the shoulders of this road were great. There was also very minimal traffic for a Friday morning.
Once at the hotel, the good day turned bad! Several of our group me included have been suffering from altitude sickness these last several hours. Not fun! I've been resting in bed since early afternoon.
4 comments:
Hi Mark! The mountains are beautiful in a car, we cannot imagine what they would be like on a bike.
We are glad to hear you were smiling when you rode that last mile. Wonder if you will make the front page of the local paper tomorrow with that smile?
Just think in another day or so the mountains will be behind you.
Keep up the good work!
Tim & Julie
Mark,
I had dinner the other day with someone who said that they kept oxygen in the family vacation house in the Rockys. Sorry that I didn't get that informtion to you sooner! You are truly an inspiration to all of us that have or are about to reach age 50. Hang in there, its got to be mostly downhill from here!
Sandy
I'm glad you were smiling as you chugged up the mountain. Congrats on conquering another day! I hope the altitude sickness passes so you're back at 100% before embarking on your 140mi day. You have two good carrots dangling out in front of you - the hot springs and mom's visit in Taos. Hang in there, you are doing awesome!
-Nat
Hi Mark,
By the time you read this, you'll probably be fine; altitude sickness goes away almost immediately once you reach a lower altitude. If you will be approaching higher altitudes again, try Diamox 125-250 mg taken twice a day, ideally starting 2 days before you ascend and continued for 3 days while at altitude. I will be happy to call some in for all of you if you let me know where to.
Sorry Durango wasn't more pleasant. You sound as though you are more than holding you own and the blog is a blast. I look forward to the new entry every day. Beautiful day here in FL. I think I will go swim. Slept in too late to really do a long bike ride. Marcy should have a copy of the article in the paper for you.
Ride on......
Rick
Post a Comment