This 67 mile ride felt like 200. The wind knocked us back right from the start, especially after the day before, which was also very hard due to wind. On this leg however, we not only had grueling winds, we had approaching storms for most of the day.
They caught up with us at the Colorado line and the storms made a hard ride harder and more dangerous. The roads had virtually no shoulder so it was hard to avoid the painted line and for the last 25-30 miles the pavement went from wet to dry and back to wet, making it challenging to ride consistently and predictably.
After the last SAG stop at mile 40, a rag tag paceline that had provided emotional support, if not much help with crosswinds, fell apart and we all did the best we could to get in to the hotel. We all did, but it was totally exhausting. There was over 4,000 ft of climbing and the hills, both big and little seemed to come one after another. The crosswinds were so strong that I looked at a friend just ahead of me and her bike - with her on it - was at pretty darn close to 45 degrees. She was getting blown from the side of the road to the center line. For a while there was rain that felt an awful lot like hail. It just was not a fun ride. It was work, hard work. But the people I rode with and I persevered and we made it. We fought for every mile, every .10 mile at the end.
We celebrate every state line with a margarita party, which we did last night, along with delicious Mexican food prepared by the fabulous chef, Sue Lincoln. But even that was tempered because it was so cold and windy. I was very happy to put Day 9 behind me. Onward!
The storm is coming, but these ranchers were just finishing herding the cattle.
Colorado cowboys
We are still a long way from Walden, CO, but this is a fantastic milestone along the way.