Today's Distance - 106 Miles
Yesterday my family and I enjoyed a rest day in a place I've wanted to visitn since I was 13-years-old - Mesa Verde, CO. More specifically, the Cliff Palace of the Anasazi (see picture at top of Saturday's post). We had a great time on the bus tour, as we went to Spruce House and then Cliff Palace. Sarah and the boys have decided they want to build a kiva in the back yard. Of course, how they plan on working around that big French drain in the middle of the yard, I have no idea!
The day started out really beautifully. Amy and I woke up very early and she drove me the ten (very winding) miles down the side of the Mesa to the five mile mark so I could pretty much begin where I would have left off. As we got into the car and pulled away from our hotel we saw three young male deer (or possibly elk) crossing the parking lot. They just looked at us very nonplussedly and continued on their way. We then made our way down the Mesa enjoying the quiet early morning and the views of the sun coming up over the mountains. I made all my preparations and Amy filmed a bit for the dcocumentary as I climbed my way out of the final small valley and prepared to bomb down hill for four miles of 6% descent! With the sun coming up on my right and the chill of the early morning it was heaven!
Eventually I hit level ground and it was time to pedal my way towards Pagosa Springs. I was hoping to get there by 2:30 so I could meet with Jim McQuiggin who wanted to take a picture and do a follow up interview for the local paper, the Pagosa Springs Sun. Despite the fact that we had just had a rest day, we are having another tomorrow because one of the big things Pagosa Springs is known for is Hot Air Ballooning. Why Hot Air Balloons? Let's go back in time thirteen years and three weeks.
My wife and had been plagued by unexplained infertility and after three years of trying we were finally pregnant. It was coming to the end of my second year of teaching and one morning, instead of waking me up to make the long drive out to Syosset, NY (we were still living in Manhattan at the time) my wife woke me up to inform me that she needed me to go the nearest Duane Reade and pick up some supplies for her as she was in labor and we needed to go to Mt. Sinai Hospital. "Whaaaaaaaaattttt?!?!", I shouted, "how long have you been in labor?" "About two hours," she replied. So I rushed out, got the supplies, we got everything ready and we caught a cab with a nice driver by the name of Solomon (a wise cabby in NY has its perks). He got us there in no time flat and as I was paying him I noticed my lovely bride was wandering across the street! Despite the fact she had been in labor for hours now she was drawn by something in the park. That something turned out to be a hot air balloon that was being inflated in Central Park as part of a promotion. It was then that I discovered her fascination with hot air balloons and her burning passion to have the chance to fly in one. If they would have allowed her, she would have gone then and there. Fortunately for all involved (Sarah not the least) it wasn't really a possibility.
So fast forward thirteen years and a few weeks and Amy is going to get the chance to do that tomorrow. We've confirmed the ride with the operator and as I was riding today much of what I thought about was how happy she's going to be when she finally gets to lift off tomorrow.
Most of the ride today was just a blur. It was hot, it was hilly (but no major elevation changes) and at one point someone in the division of signs screwed up because just when I thought I had 15 miles to go it turned out I had 35 to go - talk about being a bit put out!!!!! But I just sucked down some energy gel and I kept on going. Once the caffeine kicked in I was good to go, only my sore bottom gave me any trouble.
Eventually I got to within ten miles of Pagosa Springs and I could see some rather ominous clouds looming in the distance. It was my hope that perhaps I could beat them since it seemed as if the wind would blow them away from me. And then the wind shifted and it was pretty clear they were going to intersect with me about the time I hit Pagosa Springs. It was time to time trial again! So I dug in and started pedaling for all I was worth. It was then I saw my saviours in their black van swoop over the horizon. I quickly refueled and Amy told me I was only 10.8 miles away from the hotel - I could do this! And the race was on!
Since there was lightening flashing in those ominous looking clouds Amy decided she would leap frong me in case I needed to jump in the van to avoid becoming what Sarah has dubbed "Deep Fried Daddy". Every time she would leap ahead, I would pull up and she would give me the new mileage, "6 miles, 4.2 miles, 3.5 miles, 2 miles" and then the skies opened up just as I hit the top of the last decline that would take me into town. At that point I was already soaked and stopping to get in the van didn't make much sense so I decided to just keep riding in the rain down the busy road and hope I wouldn't lose control, slide into the road and get squished by a semi truck.
Well, as you can see I survived. Amy was flipping out following behind me and watching me careen down the road in the pouring rain (I could barely see to tell you the truth), with semis only three feet away but just as I got to the bottom of the decline the rain started to let up. I was soaked but I decided to call on Jim at the Sun office just in case I could catch him. It turned out I had just missed him. After waiting around for the rain to finish I headed off to the hotel to shower and dry off. We rescheduled the interview/photo shoot for tomorrow after the balloon ride and with any luck it will bring another donation or two to Sunrise!
And now after a well deserved meal, it is time to get some shut eye before the great balloon ride! (Oh, and as this is being finished way after the actual day, here is a link to the article that was done from the follow up interview http://www.pagosasun.com/latest_photos/cyclist.html)
And the report for the day;
FFR - 14 Deer, 12 Birds of indeterminate species, 1 skunk, 1 rabbit, 1 squirrel
RRL - 1 cooler, 6 cooler lids
Stay well and I'll update more from the road!
For another perspective on our journey check out Amy's blog at http://www.crosscountrymama.blogspot.com//
To help us get the kids to Sunrise go to https://www.wizevents.com/register/register_add.php?sessid=1809&id=1056
Check out our website at http://www.connorsarmy.org/
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