Day 1 in Denver

The following day we rode about 50 miles to Denver. It was a great ride with two last steep climbs before we got out of the mountains, but they were only one and two miles each. Other than those climbs it was nearly all downhill except for a couple streets in town. At one point we crossed an overpass of I-70 and the view was gorgeous. Behind us was a breathtaking view of the Rockies and in front of us the road sloped down and all you could see for miles and miles were flat plains. It was almost metaphorical because we could see the last 1,000 miles behind us and the next 2,000 miles in front of us.

From there we rode through Evergreen to Lookout Mountain. At the top of Lookout Mtn is a gorgeous view of the Denver skyline with plains and mesas all around. It was pretty impressive. From there is one of the wildest downhills we've had. They were the tightest switchbacks we've encountered on the trip so far. We were actually violating the speed limit for most of the descent. Plus we saw three deer, including one that ran across the road right in front of me in the middle of the paceline. I've never before had to slow down to avoid hitting a deer, but it ran right across and jumped over the guardrail on the other side.

From there we road through Golden and right along the Coors brewery and arrived in Denver at Invesco Field where the Broncos play. We actually got to go on the field and they had put "Welcome Journey of Hope" on the jumbotron, which was sweet. After a quick lunch we rode to the state capitol. Joe Martinez from the fraternity showed up at the arrival downtown at the capitol, which was a pleasant surprise. There were also three TV crews and the governor showed up.

After cleaning up we went to Pedal for Pennies, a fundraiser for the Colorado Special Olympics sponsored by Push America and KRG Capital. The athletes get pledges from sponsors based on how many laps they ride around the lake in City Park in Denver in a 45 minute period. After a brief rainstorm, the riders got out and the winner rode 12 laps - he was really moving. I talked to him afterwards and he said he rode everyday, which was obvious from how he rode. Then KRG sponsored dinner, including awesome sundaes with brownies, and we had a dance with the Special Olympics athletes, which was a blast.

After Pedal for Pennies, I went out to a brewpub on 16th Street with a bunch of guys from the team where Joe met up with us. It was a lot of fun to hang out, especially since I don't get to catch up with Joe often enough.