Day 39: Continental Divide, Glory, etc.

July 14, 2022 in Walden, Colorado

Today, Dad and I had the most glorious, rewarding ride of both of our lives. It was the kind of ride where nothing else mattered but our bikes, and it reminded me how awesome this trip is a hundred times over. We finished around 70 miles, 47 of which were primarily uphill, and we decided there were 9 distinct parts of our incredible ride, each like their own short ride.

Part 1: Beautiful morning hills

We spent a chilly morning chasing the sunrise over stunning hills and plains, setting up a magnificent day of riding.

Part 2: Sunny canyon climb

I have never seen anything like the Colorado canyons in my life. There are simply no words. That ride is one I will remember for the rest of my life.

Part 3: The helicopters

Once we'd turned off our first rode we hit the uphills leading up to the continental divide. In the not-so-far distance, we spotted four distinct helicopters over the mountains, seemingly flying in circles.

Part 4: Burned forest

Dad figured it out first–– there had been an awful wildfire in the mountains. I later learned that it was the East Troublesome Fire, and it had killed 193,812 acres of beautiful forestland in 2020. The only things that were thriving two years later were thousands upon thousands of gorgeous wildflowers. It was an extremely sobering experience to see a disaster like that, and even kind of inspiring to see the wildflowers that now thrived.

Part 5: Continetal divide

Just after lunch, the real climbing began, and it was grueling. With grades up to 6% (that is quite steep) and almost 6 miles of unrelenting climbing, it felt like a triumph of human nature to start to see the top. The sky opened up as we reached the continental divide sign, and it felt absolutely incredible. It may very well have been the single proudest moment of my trip.

Part 6: Flying down the mountains

No downhill has ever felt this good. Dad and I glided down the opposite side of the continental divide on awesome curvy mountain roads. Incredibly, there was a distinct line on the road where the rain stopped and the sunshine started. I can't imagine you kind that many other places in the world.

Part 7: Rockies ahead

As the downhills flattened out, we could once again see a mountain range looming in the distance. They were so huge, and so reminiscent of a snow-capped drawing, we almost couldn't believe they were real. It was also at this point that we started to regret having a small lunch.

Part 8: The one where we snack

Hallelujah! A store! The Rand Store (in Rand, of course) truly saved our lives. We had cheese sticks, cranberry nut mix, Snickers bars, and giant bottles of Gatorade, and felt like new humans. It is truly a testament to the satisfying nature of the Snickers.

Part 9: Sinking seat and the final views

We biked about 12 miles past our snack stop and realized my seat had been sinking and sinking, and that I need a new screw to hold it up, as mine had been stripped. In order to preserve my knees and to keep the Best Ride Ever awesome in our minds, we took the truck the last 10 miles back to the host.

After our ride, we relaxed and watched "Only Murders in the Building" again, which we still love, and fell asleep in the comfiest beds on this side of the Mississippi.