Day 17: Grand Junction to Montrose -- Chris pedals with Chris

Miles: 74
Total trip miles:1264
riding time: 5:10
avg speed: 14.3
max speed: 34
weather: sunny in the morning with threatening clouds after lunch, 80's, variable winds in the morning and stiff 20 mph wind from the east (headwind) in the afternoon.
Alt change: +1200' to 5900 in Montrose
Flats 2 today for total of 7. Puts me in 2nd place!
Pictures are here.


This was a day with variety and surprises. My 6th flat of the ride and third "hotel flat" to start the morning should no longer be a surprise but it always seems to be anyway. Getting real good at fixing flats for sure and this fix removed one of my patch jobs -- which is where the leak was coming from said diagnostician and CSI expert, Sean.

The early route involved a bit of Grand Junction traffic but mostly bike path along the Colorado River. Pleasant stretch to loosen the legs at a moderate pace. We had a good sized group moseying along for some time -- until we hit the road again and that first real hill. That spread things out a some. Soon we reached Rt. 50, the road that would take us all the way to Montrose. And that is where we encountered the Bicycle Tour of Colorado as well. A steady stream of cyclists stretched out in both directions as we merged in, very identifiable in our AbB Jerseys which we all wore.

Soon we were carried along by the excitement of it all, going faster than we ordinarily would with so many opportunities to pass others and try to keep from being passed. We got ourselves a little stars and stripe clad pace line going with the Seans out front making the rest of us look better than we were.. The wind was at our back, the day was still cool and road surface was smooth. Perfect conditions for ---yet another flat.

Cranking up a hill trying to at least hold my place in line and suddenly I felt that now all too familier mushy feeling underneath me. Stop, drop the rear wheel, unzip the rear bag, extract the tire tools, pry off the tire edge, pull out the tube followed by the stem, pump the tube to find the leak location at 6 o'clock and then go to that spot on the tire to find that little sliver of glass that I'd run over 10 miles back. Extract said glass, pull out my good tube and blow some air in, insert into the tire and muscle the bead over the rim until you hear the pop. Snap the pump end on the valve and start muscling in the air until the bisceps start freezing up -- that and the 90 lb pressure on the guage say that's all you'll get. Slide on the rear wheel, lock on the quick release, spin to make sure it's still true, collect all the stuff that came out, helmet back on, check the berm lane for bikes cranking up and off I go again. This little routine has become routine -- sort of like blowing your nose.
My sweethearts of riding buddies were waiting at the top of the hill and we rode on to the SAG stop 5 miles down the road. Gloves off, hands wiped and disinfected, initials by our name, water bottles filled, cookies and fruit ingested, and something amusing to say to Gerard whose been bored all morning watching all this craziness from inside the silver van. Soon we're back out, pedaling by BCT AID station #2 with its porta-johns, blaring music, and carpet of laid out bicycles. Still taking pictures and enjoying all of the sights and sounds, Bob and I are cruising in tandem, passing folks on the left as they ride right. But one of these looks a bit erratic from where we are and I am just about ready to yell : "Passing left" when it hits me that this rider has cerebral palsy and is cranking, steering, pushing, straining, balancing as absolutley best he can. I ride around and slow for the guy riding just ahead of him and ask if his buddy has CP -- which of course I know the answer to already.

That opens a whole torrent of bike to bike conversation. Finally we have to stop to get all 3 of us to talk, to get pictures, to share testimonies, to encourage and to swap stories and dreams. I learn that Chris Ray is from NYC, riding his first real organized ride and it's the BTC, of all things! He's made it through the first two days -- tough ones for sure. He's been taken in by Rick and Katie out here in CO and they are loving Chris' spunk, grit and determination. Who does that remind me of??? When we get on the bikes to resume I am suddenly overcome with emotion. Here I am, riding to further the PwP mission and to do what Pete no longer can, with a man who is as determined and gritty and straining to overcome the limitations he was dealt as Pete is. A man who gets on a bike to be just like everyone else out here.

I was so overcome with emotion that I could not stop weeping. It was as sudden as it was surprising. In some strange way, Chris, in that moment, had fulfilled one big reason I was here. Thanks so much Chris. Without that flat, I would have remained ahead of him and our paths would likely never have crossed.

My camera begain to beep insistently when I tried filming Chris, so had to stop and disengage the batteries to make it stop. By that time, Rick and Chris had turned into BCT AID station #3 and I could not spot them easily in the press of riders all over the place. As I was leaving, a lady stopped to ask about our XCountry tour and of all people, it turned out to be Rick's wife Katie. So I got to exclaim and exhult with her and her friend Jane that we had run into each other. I pedaled on, had lunch and then hung onto a fast pace line until I caught up with Chris and Rick again so I could ride the last 20 miles with them. We talked some more and I just enjoyed the many memories of riding with Pete all this evoked.

I got to share my day at route rap and then we all walked way up the road to a very overfilled restaurant where we waited for some time for an absolutely delicious spaghetti dinner and pie for desert. When I got back to the room well after 8:00, Jim and I both changed our rear tires to put on our spares with every expectation that this would reduce the flats we were both experiencing. We shall see about that. These roads are very hard on tires and on tubes!

Tomorrow is a 5000' climbing day as we climb to 8000+ feet in several ups and downs stages before reaching Gunnison. The BCT does the same route plus an additional leg from Gunnison to Crested Butte. Today, I could truely say as the psalmist did:

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.