We are in Colorado for the USA Pro Challenge, which begins on Monday, having flown from New Orleans on Friday morning to Grand Junction. A group of six of us from New Orleans are joining a large contingent from Colombus, Ohio, as well as a couple from Atlanta and another two from Sonoma County. There are about 20 of us altogether on this tour organized by Lizard Head Cycling Guides. This will be similar to the 2008, 2009 and 2010 trips to the Tour de France, but on American soil. We arrived a few days before the race actually starts, with a view to getting acclimated to the altitude before the really hard mountain riding begins. Louise, Donald and I flew up Friday, leaving New Orleans in the morning and arriving in Grand Junction before lunch. Our hotel was near the airport, and once we were settled in, we were off to a nearby mall for lunch and to get a new cellphone for Louise, who had left hers in New Orleans by accident. Our first adventure done, we came back and took our bikes out for a little warmup spin around Grand Junction. It was brutally hot but, surprisingly, none of us really noticed the altitude, just under 5,000 feet. We met a few of the other tour participants before dinner, and called it a night.
Saturday morning, we were supposed to leave around 9:00 to be driving out of Grand Junction to begin the first ride, down to the Gateway Canyons Resort, but didn't actually get going until after 10:00. Avoiding a little bit of heavy traffic, we started just outside of town for the ride down to Gateway.
The Garmin map & data are here, showing a fairly easy ride, a decent amount of climbing, but nothing too steep, either going up or coming down. The ride was through desert country, but the views were spectacular. I can't say much more than the photographs show. . .
The group left in dribs and drabs, and I ended up riding the entire distance alone, with Donald passing me near the beginning, and three of the Ohio gang coming by me with about 10 miles to go.
Finally, I pulled into the resort, which was in the most beautiful setting, surrounded by mesas. The luggage van wasn't arriving until later in the afternoon, so we spent the rest of the day lounging around the pool. Even though we all wanted to get showers and clean clothes, it turned out to be a great opportunity to get to know some of the others in the group, so by dinnertime when the last few had arrived from Grand Junction in the van (including Rodney & Scott, who had flown in Saturday), we had all sorted each other out. That was the first nice difference from previous cycling trips, where it had taken several days for everyone to loosen up and become friends.
A few photos show just how beautiful the place is, although it is literally in the middle of nowhere. Truly. . .nothing for at least 50 miles are far as we could tell. There is something that passes for a town, outside the gates - a few buildings, a gas station & school and a diner. There seemed to be lots of activities possible, rock climbing, hiking, fly fishing, etc., but we didn't have time for any of that. But, it looks like a delightful place to come back to.
Relatively early to bed, in anticipation of the first real group ride in the morning.
A few photos show just how beautiful the place is, although it is literally in the middle of nowhere. Truly. . .nothing for at least 50 miles are far as we could tell. There is something that passes for a town, outside the gates - a few buildings, a gas station & school and a diner. There seemed to be lots of activities possible, rock climbing, hiking, fly fishing, etc., but we didn't have time for any of that. But, it looks like a delightful place to come back to.
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