day 2 Estes Park to Grandby 67.4 miles with 5600' of climbing.

This morning we got up and got ready at 5am as we were loading our luggage at 6am.  The temperature was 55 degrees with not a cloud in the sky and no wind.  After loading luggage 10 of us went to McDonald's and ate breakfast and were on the road by 645am.  We had a slight climb from town up to Rocky Mountain National Park.  When we got there there was not anyone at the booth so everyone got in for free.  There were 4 of us that have the parks pass, but did not get a chance to use it

After leaving the gate the view and scenery only gets better as you go up.  We saw lots of wildlife today, more on that below.

I rode with John and Barb Solely from Ohio.   John did the ride across with us last year and his wife meet him in Sioux Falls and was at the beach at the end.  This year she is riding with us and she is having a great time and we all stuck together until the very top of the climb.  We all we going uphill at our own pace and we would stop every 2 to 4 miles for a break to give our legs a chance to get oxygen back in them.   the higher you go the worse it gets and the legs don't want to function.  So we took many breaks as we went upward.  We had our 1st rest stop at mile 13 and we were ready to eat and refuel the water bottles.  I drink allot when I climb and whenever we get a chance I fill them up.  The next stop was at the top of the climb at mile 27 which is all uphill.  We started the day at about 7400 ' and climbed up to over 12,000 today.  This was a personal best for me as I had been to 10880 before 2 years ago in Wyoming.

At mile 18 we hit a pull off that had portable toilets and I was getting low on water and thought I would fill the bottles up, wrong no running water.  A couple from Enid Oklahoma overheard me and said we have all the water you need in the back seat help yourself.  I filled up the bottles and thanked them for the water and we moved on.

The trail ridge road is very narrow in spots and there are not any shoulder to keep out of the way of cars.  I have to say that the drivers were very good and gave us a wide berth when they could. 

When we got above the tree line above 11000 feet we saw some elk and there was a great big 6 point pull in velvet that was crossing the road right in front of us.  I got a few pictures but after he was almost across the road.  John got a really good one that I asked him to give me a copy of.

We was more elk all the way up to 12000 feet as they are up high to get away from the insects.

After getting to the visitor center before we started the downhill we stopped at our 2nd rest stop of the day and filled the bottles and ate.  Johns wife Barb doesn't like the downhills so they stayed and were going in the truck down to bottom and ride the rest of the way in from there.  I was going to ride by myself, but Sarah who is a Police Officer from Longmont along on our ride was ready at the same time.  We left and rode the rest of the way in to town and had a stiff headwind all the way.

All in All this has been one of the best and scenic rides I have ever been on, the weather was great, sky was clear and the wildlife were very cooperative.  I felt allot better today than yesterday even though we were 3000 feet height in elevation which was a plus for me.

Tomorrow we have only 48 miles with 3600 feet of  climbing so it should be another great day.