Day 5 in Boulder and the trip is awesome....more on the previous days - but have to recap my ride today. We spent the last 3 days in Estes Park- 8000+ feet near the Rock Mountain National Park. Amazing cabin in the wilderness. Here is what we found in our front yard!
Today was out last day and we started with Archery....for the record- 3 rounds of arrows, 4 each and 1, yes 1 of the 12 actually hit the paper- not the bulls eye or the 3 surrounding rings- but the white paper. The rest shot over, under, around, in the ground.... so the Biathlon will not be in my future. I'm just sayin
We headed up to the Rocky Mountain National Park- 12,000 feet of stunning beauty!
After the great fun and adventure of 12,000 feet we headed down and I decided to ride home to Boulder. 36 miles - 3000 ft down :) and a few rollers. As I headed out it began to sprinkle which soon transitioned to rain- steady rain as I climbed out of Estes Park. As I rode along Kathleen and the kids drove by...I decided if they stopped and asked I would definitely get in the car, but they waved. On I climbed and climbed....the rain got heavier and heavier. At the summit it dawned on me that the descent in the rain would not be fun- but it was pouring, no place for shelter and I soldiered on. A rock, or so I thought, hit me and then another and another....not rocks hail. Soon it was painful and I was a bit scared...I wanted to stop by it was so slick I was not sure I could stop- eventually I had to stop as it was killing me- I saw a barren tree ahead and aimed for that, breaking slowly....I reached it and as I hit the gravel I slid into a branch and cut my nose. Seeing shelter under a tree without leaves offers little respite- I waited it out and considered calling for a ride, but there was no place to wait and it was pouring. Back on the road, carefully riding, and hail returned. This time I found 2 mailboxes to sit under and listen the the hail pummel the metal. No pictures, phone would be ruined in a minute!
Finally hail ceased and the rain was no big deal. Eventually I saw the dry road but there were drops falling.... oh no, my worry was the storm was moving at the same pace as I. No I out rode it and was soon in the sunshine and warming up fast. I wanted to get off the highway and took a detour, longer than I thought, but took me to a nice spot I had visited on Sunday. With the storm over and drying out I realized I was bonking hard. Thankfully I found Mary's in the town of Hygiene and scarfed a turkey sandwich, espresso and was rolling. Checked in with my sis and decided to meet her for coffee at the famous Amanti's
Good old iPhone directed me to another Amanti's in an office park....arh! rain again, lost and grumpy! Finally arrived, dry and enjoyed a much deserved iced latte and chilled with my sis!
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