Home to Heaven and back..

Yesterday I had planned to get up and go for a smaller mountain bike ride, return and work on my project.. This was the plan until I watched lance Armstrong win stage 4 of the Tour de France and the day suddenly changed.. Man those guys were so awesome yesterday. So my mind started thinking..... Hmmmm......

.... There is a ride event in CO called the "Triple Bypass". It is a 120 mile road bike ride that climbs 10,000 feet vertical. It's big.. They sell out every year really fast but I saw some available entries on Craigslist for the ride -THIS WEEKEND. I thought I might want to do it and I had some inspiration so I did a small *TEST* yesterday to see if I was in the right condition for it. This posting is about my test..

Why do this?

One of the reasons I love biking is because there is no better way to see a place than on a bike. There is no car roof obstructing your view.

You are out in the open, powered by yourself, learning more about your capabilities, knocking down your limitations, smelling pine needles and listening to your favorite music...

Because you have no absolute destination you can make direction changes on the fly and it's all good.. You'll still see the amazing things you'd never have seen in transit on the beaten path..


There are chemical bonuses that really enrich the experience when your body reaches sustained target heart rates etc. Your body releases endorphins (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endorphin) which calm you and make you feel remarkably competent and stronger than ever.

The excitement of the fast moving ride itself causes your body to release adrenaline which gives the buzz of a fine glass of wine paired with the best mental focus your body has to offer.

This combination, in my opinion, appraches some tangible form of explanation as to our purpose on Earth. It is not our only purpose and the activity is not necesarily biking. Whether our creator is spontaneous primordial soup followed by years of evolution, or a single God, this creator is communicating, using a language that engages all of our senses at once, that if we want to live well we have to live full...

This happens in a lot of activities but for me it is not as easy to percieve as on the bicycle. For example - your body will release endorphins while running - but since you are beating the crap out of yourself with pounding you don't percieve it as clearly as on the smooth bike (noise vs. signal). The result? The best ideas I've had ever have originated on the bike and it is always accompanied by a deep belief than I can accomplish them.. There is nothing like it.


So here is the ride I did with some photos from my iPhone: My goal: to do something that stacked up to the triple bypass. I was still deciding what this would be as I pedaled away from our house:

- I started at my front porch and set off for Mt. Evans. I got a flat tire literally 100 meters from our house which was not a good sign! Good thing I brought two spares!

- I took the platte river trail/Bear Creek trail up to Morrison

- From morrison I continued on 11 mile climb to Evergreen.

- Filled up on water in Evergreen at the Gas station. Talk about a gas station with a view!

Highway 74 turn off to 103 - destination: Mt. Evans

Temperature drops with altitude (probably 8500 feet at this point), snow capped mountains popping up all over the place.

Approaching Echo Mountain ski resort

Non-stop, relentless UP UP UP.... No breaks for 18 miles of climbing up to 11,500 feet.

I pedaled here?

Stopped to send this photo to Julie from my iPhone.. "Honey I'm (much more than) ok!"

Echo Lake and Mt. Evans Lodge
Heading down for Idaho Springs
Oh Crap! I forgot I'd have to climb Floyd Hill :( Ouch! 75 miles down, 35 to go!

All said and done I clocked 108 miles and climbed 8300 feet of vertical. I'd need another 12 miles and 2000 feet elevation to do the Triple Bypass.. I think I could manage - but may save that for next year..... I already got what I needed from this ride and I have an Xterra Triathlon to save up for next week..

Here is more info about the ride: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/8219615