June 20, 2017

We left Laramie this morning at 6:00 a.m.  The temperature was 47 degrees.  It was cold enough that  we needed to wear our leggings and long sleeves. That lasted about an hour as the temperature began to rise. 

We needed to climb out of Laramie, in fact at one point we saw over 8000 feet of elevation.  By noon it was getting pretty hot.  90 degrees was the forecasted high.  Jeremy at on point checked his phone and it was 98 degrees.  It was hot today!!  What make the heat so difficult is that yesterday morning we wore our cold clothes for five hours. 

Once we climbed out of Laramie, we needed to drop 3000 feet in elevation.  We had a lot of down hill, but we also had a lot climbing as well.  For most of the day the wind was in our face.  That even made a difference on the down hills. 

By the time we reached Fort Collins, we needed to refuel.  We ran though several gallons of water and Gatorade today.  Fort Collins is a beautiful college town.  Jeremy told me he is calling Christy tonight and telling her to look for places to move to in Fort Collins. 

All day long we road along side the Colorado Rockies.  They are stunning with the snow covered mountains. 

As the heat intensified, I found myself wearing out.  Two long days in a row was taking a toll on me.  Jeremy did not seem to wear down.  He has tremendous stamina.  At about 2:00 in the afternoon we stopped in Longmont for refueling.  It was there that I received a phone call for Sheryl saying that she was close to where we were.  We sat there and waited for her and mom to come.  That was an amazing experience to see them. 


We talked for while and Jeremy and I unloaded our panniers in the car which made riding so much easier.  From Longmont we had 15 miles to Boulder.   That 15 miles was the longest 15 miles of the entire trip.  I was exhausted and I simply wanted to spend time with Sheryl and Mom.  We road 110 miles today.  One more mile would have done me in!

My brother Herm came down the mountain to pick up our bikes and to take us up the mountain.   Herm has done a lot to make our stay here a good one.  Tonight we went out to eat in Nederland to one of our favorite places.  We are also staying at a guest house next to the property that my brothers and I have. It was fun to take Jeremy and show him some of the things we have done to the property.  One thing we did was build a tree house where Sheryl and I will sleep in a couple nights later this week. 

The sights we are seeing at the guest house will re-energize me for the the second leg of the trip.  In the mean time I am going to enjoy the next several days with Sheryl and family. 


It is good to be alive! 






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