Conquering Vail pass

Hello sea-level friends. This weekend, on a whim, my husband and I escaped the 100º heat in Boulder and fled to mid 80º heat in the Rocky Mountains. We decided that, hey while we’re here, might as well climb a mountain on our road bikes. So, off we go to ride up Vail Pass. Sitting at 10,500 feet in elevation, this is no small hill to climb, but we were both hungry for the challenge. We started in Vail Village which is 8120 ft in altitude. The bike path up the mountain is 10 miles, so, yeah, you ascend 2380 feet in 10 miles. Mmm hmm, that’s around 238 feet per mile. Let me tell you, I felt every single one of those feet in altitude. There are about 6 miles before you really start climbing, so a nice warm up. But when the climb comes, it really comes. It basically hits you in the face like a wall and then doesn’t ease up until you get to a point where you realize, Holy Shnikeys I’m on top of a mountain.

It was my own, personal little L’Alpe d’Huez. It was indeed the most challenging ride I’ve ever done. But, I feel like I could do anything now that I’ve accomplished it. Much like STP, or centuries in general, there is so much perspective to be gained by forcing the mind and body to do something it’s not quite prepared to do. That and the post-ride meal was the best food I’ve ever eaten.
Here are some shots of the trail and my championship pose as Queen of the Mountains - though there was no one there to award me the polka dot jersey. I would have taken more shots, but every time I stopped it was to regain consciousness, catch my breath and put my lungs back into my chest.

Path to the top.

Queen of the mountains!