My ride today climbing up Lizard Head Pass is dedicated to 1LT Nicholas Morris from Denver, CO. We want to honor him and say Thank you, 1LT Morris, for your service and sacrifice for our country. You are truly a hero! Please take a moment to read his story and watch his video!
Today I woke up early and prepared myself for the first ever big mountain ride. I was so excited. We were served breakfast in the quaint community room of The Mineshaft Inn and had a good chat with the host. I made my final preparations and then headed outside. Oh my goodness, it was so cold! I came back in the room with Kelly and told her no way was I riding yet until it warmed up in the 50’s. Yes, I’m a little wimpish when it comes to cold weather. Just a few days ago I was melting in 104° and now I’m and ice cube at 44°. I held off until check out time around 11. It finally was 54°. I did my little stretches and helped Kelly load up the car. I got to sit awhile and chat with the host again and his adorable dog Huckleberry. Awesome name, awesome dog. He kept my legs warm for a few minutes.
On the way out of Rico I past a miner’s shaft. This quaint little town is so cool. I got to follow Dolores River for most of my 12.5 miles to the top of Lizard Head Pass. I was so thankful for the gradual climb to the top. It was nothing like the climbs in NC where I did some training rides. It was nothing like I expected. Of course I didn’t set any speed records nor was I trying to. I was just soaking up every bit of this. Sometimes I hardly noticed I was climbing because the scenery demanded my attention: snow-capped mountains, green and yellow meadows, and just plain beautiful vistas. I was so happy today! Love riding in places like this. 360° of pure beauty! I found my rhythm and kept climbing. I stopped to take a lot of photos. Julie Andrew’s “The Hills are Alive” was playing on repeat in my mind. I even belted it out when I passed a yellow meadow with the mountains in the background. God I love this with everything in me. I feel alive. As I was feeling like I was making great progress a speed cyclist passed me by and I suddenly realized I was crawling up the mountain at at snails pace. Lovely. I like to think it is the altitude that is keeping me from the super sonic speed that he was traveling up hill. Then another guy, Will, came flying up on me while I was taking some photos. I asked him if he had a rope he could tow me up with since he wasn’t struggling at all. He laughed and stopped. We chatted a bit and had a Powerade stop together. (Thanks Coke for your donations) He told me that the pass was just a few miles away and to plan on enjoying it a bit up there. He takes this pass often and travels a bit with his wife on some adventures. I bid him farewell and we both began our final accent solo to the top.
When reaching the top I was so giddy. I did it! 10,222 ft! My little legs carried me and Loco all the way to the top! So happy. Yay me! I wanted ice cream to celebrate, but no such luck, only a bag of almonds. Kelly and I saw Will at the top again and we chatted some more. He asked us if we were going to Telluride for a late lunch. I told him I wanted to get to Ridgway so we weren’t going to make the detour to Telluride. He said we must stop there to at least see the ski town. He said he would treat us to pizza and beer if we did. He twisted my arm and it was settled. Pizza and beer were waiting for me at the bottom of the pass. He headed down and I told I was going to take my sweet time down to enjoy every mile. He told me about a lake I would pass on the descent and to pull over and take a picture of it. So on my way down I was hitting my fastest speed ever going downhill right when I saw the lake. A big 36mph! I was using the brakes a lot and was glad for the pull off to give my hands a rest. Trout Lake was beautiful! I sailed down Lizard Head Pass with a big smile on my face. I followed a bike trail into Telluride and met up with Kelly and loaded my bike. We met Will at 3pm at the Brown Dog Pizza place and had a nice time chatting and eating. We highly recommend this restaurant. Great pizza and beer. I had thought I’d get back on the bike after lunch but after two beers and pizza I felt more like having a nap, not to mention we stayed for a few hours and in Telluride. It was 5 before we left and I knew my day of riding was over. I only got 28 miles in today, BUT I met a new friend AND got to see a new ski resort area that I would have flown by without a second thought. I am glad we took the detour and had a relaxing afternoon.
On our way to Montrose, Co we passed Ralph Lauren’s incredible ranch. Lord have mercy, let me tell you he is blessed beyond blessed with views like this everyday!!! Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can certainly buy you views of absolute Peace and awe! Happy for him and and happy I got to see it from a distance. It’s beautiful. We got to Montrose around 7 and neither of us were hungry. We decided to just go to our hotel and call it a night. We stayed a Super 8 right on East Main St. Thank you Aunt Nancy again for your personal donation. We were able to stay two places with it. We both love you so much and I thank you for believing in me. The Main Street was really busy so I was really glad I was safe in the car and not on the road. Tomorrow I want to ride to the Blue Mesa Reservoir. It looks like it will be a hard ride, but doable. I am loving CO.
Hope you enjoy the photos! Thanks for all who have supported us through your prayer, encouraging texts, and donations through this journey. We appreciate you so much! Thank you also to those who have supported HFOT. Your donations to them help our disabled vets like 1LT Nicholas Morris get a chance at reclaiming some of their personal freedoms in a new home. Many thanks!
Night y’all, Be Blessed