Of mountains and mole hills

Yesterday might have been our first day in the Rockies, but today was our first real climb. We started the day on winding, confusing bike trails that lead in and out of subdivisions, ski villages, and golf courses. It rained off and on all morning and by the time we made it to he base of the first pass we were wet, annoyed and already tired. We slowly climbed up the 11 mile Vail pass that was not quite gradual enough to be easy, but gradual enough to be possible. We made a wrong turn, did some extra climbing, and met a few people along the way.

After nearly two long hours of climbing the summit was within sight. As we rounded the lake at the top of the pass the skies, which had looked ready to dump since the base, opened up on us. Rain quickly turned to hail as we rushed toward the van parked at the summit. After the hail let up we began our descent. What is usually the best part of a climb turned out to be a miserable experience. The path was narrow and slick keeping us at around 15 mph, and the wind made the cool mountain temperatures seem freezing. Halfway down the hail started up again and we took shelter with some other riders who were on their way up. By the time we got down to the base we were drenched and freezing and looking for a bathroom. We wandered around a resort village for a while, stopped in a bar and finally met up with the rest of the group.

 After eating in a gas station we set out to finish off the last few miles on a bike path, and saw lightening in the direction we were headed. We waited it out for a bit, but it wasn't seeming to completely let up, so we called it a day and took the vans in to the town of Vail. Our hosts for the night had an awesome house in Silverthorne. They had nachos, snack bars, water, post cards and every kind of Oreo made by Nabisco waiting for us when we got there. They also directed us in to town where I hit up the Pearl Izumi outlet and picked up a pair of bike shorts for $30 and a light jacket that I am in love with. I'm not sure I'm ready for another day of climbing tomorrow.