Day 7 Pikes Peak

So had a big breakfast and started drinking lots of water in anticipation of riding up Pikes Peak.  Kristen had said this helps with dealing with the high altitudes.  The mountains back east are baby humps compared to this one at over 14,000 feet.  I'm going to come out and say it first, we fought the mountain and the mountain won.  Well really it was more like our bike batteries lost.  Scott was upset we didn't make it further but we had a number of issues conspiring against us.  Initially, Scott had planned on driving to the Crystal Lake parking lot and riding from there but it was going to be a hot day and we didn't trust the ac to run off of solar.  It would have gotten too hot for Virgil. So we rode from the campground which tacked on quite a few miles and hills.  We made it to the half way point of the Pikes Peak Highway.   I must say I didn't mind turning back.  I was suffering from a bad headache and the high altitudes makes you feel very out of breath.  I was also getting worried about the traffic getting more heavy as the day wore on.  There was not any roadway to bike on so you had to ride the white line.  There were no guardrails either.  My state of anxiety was high.  At the half way point a person on a regular bike stopped.  After a few he took off for the summit.  I must say I was rather surprised at how defeated Scott was even going to the suggestion we hike the rest which by road was 10 miles. But off we went back down the mountain.  Me with my brakes on continuously and Scott far ahead.  At the next turn off Scott is waiting for me to tell me not to use my brakes too much because they will overheat!!!  Off he went after that lovely advice not to be seen again until at the base.  Scott said he reached a speed of 50 mph and it was exhilarating.  Not so me.  I even stopped part way down because my hands were cramping from using the brakes so much.  I was completely exhausted both mentally and physically.  I had just enough energy to take a shower and eat a frozen dinner and tend to Virgil.  I think I fell asleep at around 6:30 and didn't get up this morning until ten of five.  

Popular posts from this blog

Start of France trip - September 14, 2023

Image
It was hard dropping Virgil off this morning but he got the penthouse suite.  Felt especially bad because there was no Shady to keep him company.  Developed an eye infection, that required antibiotics.  They had sent the prescription to Naples Walgreens.  I got there at 9 sharp only to find out that new hours starting today was opening at 10.  So ended up going back home to take Virgil and leaving straight from there to Portland bus station.  It all worked out, just a bit more stress.  Ate at Legal Seafoods in Logan airport and now sitting in gate area with hour to kill before boarding.
Read more

Saturday, September 16 - Palace of Versailles

Image
My first draft somehow got deleted due to operator error.  I will attempt another but much briefer.  We walked from the hotel to where we thought the tour group was to meet but spent some time figuring this out.  Our tour guide Momo was quite a character, very engaging and personable. He gave a brief history of the palace and off we went by golf cart to explore the surrounding gardens and fountains.  There were four fountains depicting the four seasons.  Back in the time of the king there were whistle boys whose job was to turn on the fountains right before the king arrived and then run on to do the same for the next one the king would come to.  All the water used in the fountains and such had to come via aqueduct from Paris.  It was all very impressive. We then moved on to the bicycle portion of the tour that explored the outer regions of the palace grounds.  This included Marie Antoinette's getaway compound including her home, extensive gardens ...
Read more

Day 1 of travels to wherever.

Image
We started out on time.  Stopped by J & D' s on way out.  Shady (and Danielle) had a rough first night.  Can't thank them enough for watching her while we are away.  We made our first travel decision to take the longer but more scenic way to our first overnight location. It was well worth it. Beautiful areas of New York and Pennsylvania.  We arrived at The Promised Land State Park around 5.  Spectacular area, but very crowded camping. It was very interesting to watch the various large groups set up camp around us.  The group across from us was especially interesting to watch as there were too many supervisors and not enough workers.  Add to this it looked like they had never set up the tents before this and they didn't get to their evening meal until almost dark.  More conversation ensued on getting their tab...
Read more