Thursday, 18 May, 25 miles (40 km)
Whenever I’ve ridden a big pass on a bike tour, like Beartooth in Wyoming or Trail Ridge Road in Colorado, I’ve written up a cue sheet based on info I could gather. The cue sheet would let me know just where I was at in the ride and how far I had to go to reach the pass or summit. It would also give me an idea of how hard each section would be to complete.
For example, one section of Trail Ridge Road might be:
Many Parks Curve – mile XX – grade 5%
Rainbow Curve – mile XY – grade 6%
And so, I had a mental cue sheet prepared for leaving Australia that spelled out each leg of the journey and how hard I thought each would be emotionally. Saying goodbye to Nigel didn’t get percent grade – it got ‘not rideable’. It was certainly the hardest and worst thing I’ve ever had to do in my life. But the other legs of the journey were manageable and I somehow made the trip with some semblance of grace and composure.
The bike box came through all three flights, layovers, and a shuttle ride to/from a hotel in LA with barely a dent in the box. It’s never come through looking that good. I dropped it off at a bike shop in my parents’ town to be reassembled and tuned. And then we went for a ride… to test the reassembly of the bike and myself. We both seem okay. Here are some pictures from our first easy rides around the valley in Colorado where my parents live.
I am ready to take off out of Colorado to go find work and a place to live – to just get on with things – but my mom wants to come with me to have a mother-daughter road trip. So we can’t leave until 6 June because of her various appointments. The in-between time is driving me crazy… but I guess it is just a taste of things to come in the future as my parents’ needs increase. I just want to get somewhere, get a job, get an apartment and start exploring new roads š