Suck it Continental Divide!

As you can see I have crossed the Continental Divide.  I’m following I-70 through the Rockies, though I’ve only had to ride about 8 miles on the interstate itself.  However as the highway approaches the divide it cheats by going through a tunnel under the mountains.  A tunnel that cyclists can’t use, and instead have to climb Route 6 over Loveland Pass.  It took me 1 hour and 15 mintutes to cross the Pass, of which 55 minutes were going up, and 20 were spent going downhill, not pedalling, and going “Wheeeee!”  And “Brrrr”, because most of the downhill was in the shade and is at least 15° cooler than in the sun.  Plus going 30+ MPH creates its own wind chill factor.  Halfway through I remembered I had bought gloves specifically for that scenario, which helped.

Honestly it wasn’t that bad.  Certainly not as bad as I made it out in my mind.  Today’s climb of Vail Pass will probably be harder since it’s a steeper grade though not as high.  Overall the Rockies have been great so far.  Slow, I think I averaged 9 MPH yesterday, but not the worst climbs.  I had a harder time in PA, though part of that is because back then I didn’t have thighs bigger than fat dachshunds.   The weather has been warm during the day, and not too cold at night.  The scenery is gorgeous, and a welcome change of pace from miles of farmland.  Now that I’ve written all this (and flipped off an inanimate object) the next couple of days will kick my ass, but I say bring it on.