More madness…
As if going to the BikeJournal.com Reunion 2008 in Loveland, Colorado isn’t enough. As if signing up for the “Epic Century” ride on that Saturday isn’t enough, (includes a 30-mile climb at 6% to 7% average grade to just shy of 10,000 feet).
The hosting club, Club Hypoxia (motto: Oxygen or Altitude, Pick One), has added a special Pre-Reunion ride on Wednesday July 30—three months from today, exactly.
Worse, yrs trly has decided to advance his travel plans one day in order to partake of this madness.
The ride? To the summit of Mt. Evans. Fourteen-thousand, two-hundred and sixty feet. It’s reputedly the highest paved road in the world. From the entrance station at Echo Lake (10,750 feet), where they extract $3.00 to ride up it on a bike, it’s 14 miles at 5% to 6% average grade to the summit.
The plan is to begin the ascent at 8:00, in order to be back down by the afternoon. Apparently it’s typical for thunderstorms and hail to begin after twelve. (See the Bicycling Mt. Evans page.) I infer that it means three hours for the climb (7 MPH average with a hour’s worth of 5–10 minute rest stops), a little time at the top, and 45 minutes coasting back down.
Sounds like a great little warm-up ride for the Epic Century three days later.
So anyway, I was telling my parents about it over dinner last night. I said it was the highest road in North America. My dad challenged me, “The highest road, or the highest paved road?”
I lost it.
“Does it really matter?” I fired back. “Your 51-year-old son, who smoked for 35 years, is riding his goddamned bicycle to the summit of that mutherfucker at 14,200 feet and change. Does it really matter if the fucking road is paved or not?”
They just returned from a trip to New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. Their Buick never made it to 14,260 feet.
I will.
Edit
And then it’s all better after checking this thread on the 50+ forum at bikeforums.net, wherein yrs trly posts a pic modeling his 50+ jersey, and women from NorCal and SoCal go wild. (See posts 12–14.)
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:30 pm EDT
hahahahhahahahahaahhaha! WTG, Bruce! Pansy LIKE the mature and calm and FUCKING way you talk to your daddy. hahahahhahahahahahahahahhahahahahha!
See you in Colorado. Except for that part about you are going to be at the top of all the mountain tops and I will be dead on the side of the road, 15 feet from my tent, due to the extreme exertion Colorado bicycle riding promises. Save me a cinnamon bun, at least.
May 9th, 2008 at 2:51 pm EDT
Bruce,
That’s the best laugh I’ve had in 2 or 3 weeks. Thanks!
Dvg
June 25th, 2008 at 4:05 pm EDT
Bruce, I just read this Mt. Evans shit, Are you fucking nuts? I wish I could experience that ride myself. Here’s my email for you anyway. Send me something on that metric century through the parks if there is anything.