Durango to Pagosa Springs; Saturday, September 22. 57 miles; 3400 feet of climbing over Yellow Jacket Pass.
I rode again this day, some climbing, a little descending, about 30 miles total. Another good day in the saddle.
Jody, on the way up Yellow Jacket Pass.
Jody, drinking water.
Beer may be a recovery drink, but not until after the ride!
Janie, on the way to Pagosa Springs.
Colorado. What more is there to say?
(Photo by Joe Tonon)
As always, Jody rode from the hotel. Joe and I jumped in the car, and I got on the road about ten miles into the route. Jody's bike is lighter, he's stronger and faster. Depending on the day, he catches me earlier or later. I've been climbing, but not like Jody. I've been descending, but not like Jody. It's a system that's working well for us. Joe drives, he puts me on the bike, I ride. Jody catches me. Joe drives me forward. And so the day goes. And every day getting stronger.
Janie and Jody, together on the road from Durango to Pagosa Springs.
(Photos by Joe Tonon)
One of the challenges of being on the road for days at a time is the food. Breakfast is often provided at the hotels where we stay, although while we were in the desert it frequently wasn't served until hours after we were on the road. Yes, hours. When you leave at 5:00 am, breakfast at 7:30 just doesn't cut it. We ate a lot of yogurt with granola in our hotel rooms.
As we moved into the mountains, the temperatures dropped, often into the 30's overnight, and we began to have later start times. Breakfast at 6:30, on the road at 7:00 or 7:15, as the sun came up and warmed the day. But hotel breakfasts can wear thin. There are only so many days one can eat a banana, scrambed eggs or premade omelettes with fake cheese, nearly stale bagels, weak orange juice. We did eat in a Denny's somewhere on the road - maybe Cortez? funny how the towns run together - and reveled in the variety. And the fresh poached eggs!
Snacks on the road. Every day. When you're riding up to 7 hours a day, you have to keep adding fluids and fuel, fluids and fuel. Oatmeal bars from Costco. Trail mix. Bananas. PBJ sandwiches. Clementines. Chocolate chalk bites. OK, that's not quite fair. They're really chocolate protein bites, which provide a great boost of energy, but seriously. If you're not in need of the boost? Nothing but chalk!
Lunch on the road. We're very glad we kept the camp chairs, stowed in the Thule box on top of The Little Darkness. We've had PBJ sandwiches. Yogurt. Chips. Trail mix. More fruit. And on one glorious day with each Nicole and Joe, wraps with hummus! Add avocado, grape tomatoes, sliced almonds, greens. Yum, yum, yum.
Jody and Janie, enjoying lunch at Chez Tonon.
Joe and Jody, talking about the rest of the route,
after Jody climbed Yellow Jacket Pass.
Joe and I arrived on the outskirts of Pagosa Springs, pulled over and waited for Jody. As we waited, we watched a pair of state troopers giving a roadside sobriety test to a woman who was way more interested in talking than she was in testing. This was around 11:30 or so in the morning. Talk about having a bad day - we do not think she passed.
Roadside sobriety testing.
Dinners on the road have been interesting - some fabulous, some mediocre, some just plain interesting. We always ask at the hotel desk for recommendations. Sometimes we ask for vegetarian friendly restaurants, although not if the top picks are either Mexican or Italian. Once I asked, and got this response: "Well . . . maybe the brew pub. They've got salads." As if lettuce were the only option. We ate Mexican that night.
I liked the energy of cooking, the action, the camaraderie. I often compare the kitchen to sports and compare the chef to a coach. There are a lot of similarities to it.
~Todd English, celebrity chef, restauranteur, author, entrepreneur
No comments:
Post a Comment