Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Bicycle Tour of Colorado

Dustin, Caleb, Roger, Paula and I took off Saturday after Dustin's Loveland Lake to Lake Triathlon (see pictures at bottom) for Glenwood Springs, Colorado to start our week-long bicycle tour. Roger, Paula and Caleb are following D and I in an RV as we bike this week.

Caleb hanging out as we set up camp night 1 in Glenwood Springs.
Getting ready for our first day of riding
DAY 1: Glenwood Springs to Hotchkiss - 84 miles over McClure Pass - 4,000 ft. climb
Sunday Morning - Happy Father's Day D! (and Pops and Rog!)
Words cannot really express the pristine beauty we encountered day one. I don't think this smile left my face the whole day. During the long months of healing last fall, I dreamed of this moment... riding through the rockies with 2 good legs. Thank you SO MUCH JESUS!!

"Arise, shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. Look around you and lift up your eyes look around you then you will look and be radiant. Your heart will throb and swell with Joy." - Isaiah 60:5
D and I at our first aid station... lots of PB&J and fruit - yum!
As I sit here trying to find the words to fully convey the beauty of this day, God's word is the only thing that comes close to expressing the way I felt climbing and soaring through the mountains... filled with the Joy and Peace of our King:

"You will go out with Joy and be led forth in Peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song before you and the trees will clap their hands." - Isaiah 52
... We love you Jesus! Thank you!

"You will fill me with joy in your presence!" - Psalm 16:11
Climbin' McClure Pass:
"I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you. I am the Lord your God and I will strengthen you." - Isaiah 45
At the top of McClure Pass. What an awesome climb!
On the descent...
"The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He iwll quiet you with his love. He will rejoice over you with singing." - Zephaniah 3:17
"I run in the path of your commands, for it is YOU that has set my heart free." :) - Psalm 119:52
We made it in 4 hours... what an awesome day!
... home to our little guy STANDING! :)
Day 2: Hotchkiss to Grand Junction - 94 miles over Grand Mesa. 5,400 ft. elevation gain.
WILD FLOWERS... YES! :)
"They sought the Lord eagerly and He was found by them. So the lord gave them rest on every side." - 2 Chron. 15
... a beautiful mountain lake on the way up... Your creation, Father, is AMAZING!!! :)
40 miles up, 5,400 feet and 4 hours of climbing - we made it (actually D made it in more like 3 hours... then waited for me:)
An aid station at the top
Our descent off Grand Mesa... WOW!



... 6 hours of riding... nothing like getting off the bike to see family!
Sunset Monday evening... :)
"You are God. You have made your light shine on us." - Psalm 118:27
Ok, so today was our short ride - 63 miles, relatively flat... the LONGEST 63 miles I've ever ridden - dry, hot, and really boring scenery, D's back end and the note card of verses I have taped to my bike got me through. (Let me explain the D's back end deal: when it's HOT, wind in your face and all you can see in the distance is a LONG highway that seems to never end, I hunckered down and drafted behind him - it made it doable... for those of you that know D's "gift", the ONLY time being "behind him" is a good thing.
Thanks for leading today, D!
What I look at to get me up the hills and through the long stretches :). Thank you for carrying me Jesus!
SO, we made it and you know what they say - all's well that ends well!! Turns out a town called Ouray was only 30 minutes away, so after 4 hours of riding, we jumped in the RV and drove to this BEAUTIFUL mountain town for the afternoon - WOW!
We did a SHORT:) hike to a water fall in Ouray.

So, tomorrow marks day 4 of riding. Up to this point we have ridden over 240 miles and climbed over 10,000 feet. My legs are a bit saucy, to say the least. Tomorrow's our last day before our day off in Crested Butte. We ride 95 miles over 2 passes into Crested Butte... I get a bit overwhelmed thinking about it, but then am reminded how important it is to stay in the moment - don't get ahead of yourself, Heather! God will carry you one peddle at a time... ENJOY the breath-taking scenery!!! YEA! ... K, there's my pep talk! Crested Butte, here we come! :)

Here are pictures from D's Triathlon Sunday. He finished 2nd in his age group. We're proud of you D! :)

3 comments:

Ryan M. Camping said...

Looks like an amazing trip you guys!

Bev said...

I am absolutely amazed and in awe of what you two are doing. What a beautiful way to see God's creation!

Grandma Paulie said...

So proud of you both :)