Day 25 Winter Park to Denver 140km Uphill 4527 ft Downhill 7811 ft

First off I would like to back track and write about last evening. Remember Barb talked me into attending the Peloton last evening…while it was kinda like going to church when you don’t want to. Maybe you go out of tradition or maybe you go because you’re afraid you’re parents will find out you skipped out…so you go. And then a marvelous thing happens. You’re blessed. Though unworthy of this blessing because of the attitude you went with, you’re still blessed. God is gracious and good.

I’m so glad I went last evening. The YMCA Ranch that we are staying at was a physical and spiritual interlude. We could sit in the lounge on their leather couches and blog or email to our hearts content. It was a much needed rest in a busy week, but back to the Peloton. The YMCA Chaplin delivered an encouraging message. He talked about his years in the mission field and then expressed admiration for what we are doing. Then the 15 cyclists that are leaving us in Denver came to the front and another person stood beside each of these cyclists (so a total of 30 people were speaking). Each departing cyclists said a few words and then the other person also said something. It was emotional and it provided me with insight into some of the cyclists that I had not biked with. We had communion and closed the evening in prayer. This entire service has strengthen and made our group closer. We are a community. It will be sad to see the 15 cyclists leave but we welcome the 15 (or more) that are joining us.

Now for today’s events. The morning started off cool…52F. I declined the leg warmers figuring that we would be climbing shortly. Wrong! We did not stay in Winter Park yesterday, in fact we were at least 10km short of Winter Park, so the climb didn’t start till almost a good hour after we had started peddling. John’s nephew, James is cycling with us today. He lives in Denver and knows the route. Someone commented that we should name this tour…’The John Vandersteen’s relatives tour, because we keep bumping into John’s extended family!’) Back to the route….It was decided early on that we would each ride alone and meet at the summit. I caught up with everyone in Winter Park, another tourists town. We left this town together, but quickly got separated on the first incline. Last evening the talk at supper was about how tough this climb was going to be….switchbacks and all. Several cyclists were so freaked out that they took a SAG ride to the summit. Seriously folks, it wasn’t that bad. I rather enjoyed the climb. At one point up to the summit I thought to myself, ‘boy this relatively easy, either a lot of people are praying for me today, or I’ve just gotten stronger as a cyclist.’ On the altitude chart the summit is around 15 miles of climbing, I think it was less. Several younger lads passed me on the way up. As they would pass me they would say and encouraging word. When I reached the summit I was high fived and congratulated. Elevation at Barthoud Pass is roughly around 11,200 ft. They are doing some construction at the summit, so they had taken down the elevation sign. We opted for a photo with the mountains in the background.

Andy, Louie, myself, Gerry, John and Barb (James was the photographer

and Pete stppped to take photos, so he is still climbing)

Just a quick note. I'm thankful that the elevation has not affected me. We do have several people that are walking a tad unstable this morning. Teresa Hoekstra has not been able to ride the last two days, in fact she is just a struggling to breathe. I know she'll breath a hugh sigh of relief when she can talk and carry on with her regular activities as we start to descend to a lower alititude.

It was a fast 13 miles to the bottom. I hit my top speed of the trip….73.1km. Very, very sweet. We had decided that we would meet in the little town of Empire (the bottom of the climb) for coffee. How exhilarating to see all the cyclists pour into this coffee shop. Everyone was pumped from the descent.

Pay close attention to the posted sign, 'No Bicycles or Skateboards on Sidewalk'

James led the rest of the way into Denver. Andy asked me how I enjoyed the climb to Barthoud Pass. I told him that since this would be our last pass of the entire tour I wanted it to be tough. I wanted to cry with frustration; instead it was slow going, but extremely doable. So later in the ride when we came upon a 8% climb for 2 miles, Andy said to me when we were panting at the top, ‘are you happy now?’ Be careful what you wish for! The rest of the day was fast paced and mainly downhill. We cycled thru a winding Bear Creek canyon.

John wanted us to stop for an ice-cream 20 km from the end, but Barb, and I wanted to get in early because our husbands have come for the weekend. So we comprised and decided to meet at the RCA church in Denver that was serving us refreshments…only 6 miles from the end of our day. Pete caught up with us at this stop. We didn’t stay long, but a sincere thank you for the warm welcome and refreshments that the RCA church put out for us.

A warm welcome from the RCA church members

Denver Christian School here we come. Although James said we had no more climbing (he lied) we still made it to the school in record time. 143.6km later, average speed of 23.1 and total bike time of 6:11:50.

Music was playing as we biked in the parking lot. Cheerleader from the school quickly handed out cold bottles of water. Home made cookies, goodie bags, free hair cuts, Colorado postcards with postage attached ready for us to use were just a few of the perks this community had ready for us. And best of all, Ralph was waiting for me. Ralph and I

I’m not sure who suggestion it but our regular pace line plus our spouses choose a quiet corner and we held hand and prayed a prayer of thanksgiving for the many gifts that God has provided us with during the 1st leg of this journey. We also remembered Tyler Buitenwerf who broke this collarbone in two places earlier today and he will need to go home and have surgery within 3 days. It is the end of the journey for Tyler. We also remembered Elizabeth W who was paralyzed one year ago today in a training ride for the 2005 tour. We are all at the mercy of the drivers on the road, and both of these people remind us how fragile and how quickly life can change.

Next step was gathering what I needed to take with me to the hotel, no camping for me tonight, instead I’m slummin’ it at an Embassy Suites. Ralph flew in with Lynda Vannoord (Pete’s wife) and Ann S (Bert’s wife). What a luxury. We’ve shared a leisurely meal with Pete & Lynda and now it’s time to settle in my King size bed (a far cry from my little tent with my luxury edition 3inch sleeping pad!). Tomorrow we need to be the school by 9 a.m. for a 2 mile bike ride to the celebration service. I’m looking forward to this service. Now what to do with the 4 pillows that are stretched out on this massive bed!

Good night all, Cynthia