2 Wheel Adventures

This summer I did a lot of biking and I am going to share my adventures.
CHAPTER 1 : MINNESOTA
May and June were filled with bike rides in northern Minnesota. Each weekend consisted of a 70+ mile ride with guys double my age. Days with PB&J sandwiches at miles 40 and 60 and uncrowded county roads winding through lakes and forests. Oh and humidity too. One sunday, a group of 3 of us rode 80 miles and I decided I wanted to finish out a century. So, at 3 in the afternoon, in the hottest part of the day I went out solo for 20 miles to finish it up. All in all it was a six hour day, but finishing a century is a great feeling.
CHAPTER 2 : COLORADO
June 20 -28 I rode in Colorado with some fellow Iron Rangers and 1600 people from around the world. The Bicycle Tour of Colorado was the task at hand. I had done this ride twice before and was going out again. This summer's loop took us from Glenwood Springs to Hotchkiss, Grand Junction, Montrose, Crested Butte, Buena Vista and back to Glenwood. A nice 550 mile loop with some good climbs including McClure Pass, Grand Mesa, Cottonwood and Independence Pass. The last two topping out at over 12000 feet.Cottonwood pass
was 14 miles of dirt to the summit and a rippin' downhill with straight stretches of 12%, really fast. Coming out of Grand Junction we rode through the Colorado Monumument and man was that cool. As if 550 miles in six days of biking wasn't enough, a few of us biked Mt. Evans the very next day. Mt. Evans is the tallest paved road in North America going up to 14,200 feet. We started in Idaho Springs and climbed for 35 miles to get to the top. Long day but well worth it, so was passing motorcycles on the way down.
CHAPTER 3 : FRANCE
I got the chance to visit an exchange student we hosted a few years ago this summer. They live in Crolles, near the Alps. Lucky for me, the grand daddy of them all, Le Tour de France was going on less than 100 km from their house! I got to see the big boys climb Col du Columbiere outside of Grand Bornand in stage 17 as well as the individual time trial in Annecy the next day. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. So sweet.
Also I did some riding in the Alps by the student's house as well as some riding in Basque Country near the Pyrenees. Those hills are steeeep. Good fun, what a time!
CHAPTER 4 : WYOMING
Back at school and trying to get out on the bike whenever my homework load allows. Hopefully we can get in some good rides before the snow flies!

keep the rubber side down,
adam