Courage Classic Complete!

Howdy from Evergreen!  I'm here for the evening, then off on the roadtrip!  

Today I finished 21 minutes earlier than last year for the exact same route.  I overall did better than an hour better than last year.  When I finally make it back home, I'll run the spreadsheet and be able to compare tours.  The first two years we did different routes; the last two the same.  Will be interesting to compare.

Ok, for the pics:

Meet Steve (left), and fearless leader Rob (right).  I rode with these guys last year and had a great time.  This year, I think that I was more trained than last year, and was able to hang with these two Coloradans.  We have our finish medals displayed, which are handed out to us at the finish line by current patients of the Denver Children's Hospital.  The come all the way out to Leadville to hand out medals.  This is my fourth year to ride, and every year I joke about coming all the way up her to have a heart attack that hasn't happened yet, or that I'm just nuts, or I don't know why I put myself up for this torture.  The truth is, the last uphill from the lake, after covering 10,000 feet of elevation change in three days, 150+ miles in the mountains, and just breathing hard for hours on end on Vail Pass, this is the reason:  I start thinking of those kids and the fact that they have put up with the pain everyday from whatever it is that ails them.  Their pain doesn't go away.  And so, when we finish around the lake, and head up the last incline back to Lake County High School, I just get emotional, the pain goes away, and I get that 12th wind. 

Team Courage is made up of kids that have been treated.  Maybe some others, but my understanding is that you just can't ride on that team; you have to have a connection.  Well, they have a time when the team officially crosses the finish line every year.  They make a preemptive announcement, and everyone gathers around the finish line to cheer them on.  The thing that caught my eye and made them teary, was the fact that leading the team was a guy using a hand bike.  If you ever have seen one, there's no legs involved.  The pedaling is done entirely with the arms.  It can be painfully slow, especially going up Vail Pass, which requires a paramount effort by itself.  I passed him on Vail Pass this year.  He led his team across the finish line, and there is something that just affects me about that guy leading the team, 100 plus behind.

Spectacular.

 If you've ever been to Copper Mountain, you might recognize this.  It's the entrance thru the village with the wooden bridge.  This is the starting line for Days 2 and 3. 

This is a shot of the beginnings of Fremont Pass, my favorite pass of the three on the Tour.  /Frankly, it's a pain in the legs, ass, and just about everyting else.  But it is beautiful.  This morning, the valley was filled with clouds, an interesting phenomena.  Just weird to see them that low, but we are about 9,000 feet or so, so I guess it's all relative.

This is the view at the top of Fremont Pass.  Pictures don't do justice.

And this is the decent off the pass.  This year I hit 43.4 miles an hour down this way, and was able to maintain 25+ mph for 20 minutes after leaving the summit.  Riding a bike 30 miles an hour for 15 minutes constantly will dry your eyes out.   The cool day helped things, and just made my tour complete.

I want to thank Rob and Steve for having me for another year.  I'll be once more for sure, and for you guys that have said you want to go, next year might be it.   It's totally worth it.

I'll leave you with a final picture, from today, which is what today looked like most of the day.  God makes beautiful things.  I have seen many in the last three days alone; many more to come.

Bye Bye Copper....see ya next Courage Classic time!!