The Rockies are behind us!! What a day and what a week. We did close to 90 miles today and had the long, tough climb up Berthoud Pass at over 11,000 feet. Before starting the ascent to the pass, we passed through the ski town of Winter Park. Just before getting to Winter Park, I saw Julie parked on the other side of the road. She had one of our cyclists sitting in the front seat. He had been involved in a tangle up with another cycle and had flipped and broken his collarbone in two places and his helmet was cracked. He is from my small group on the tour and from Grand Rapids. He was very disappointed that he could not continue on the tour and will be catching a ride home today with someone driving toward Michigan. I stopped and had a prayer with him in the pickup and tried to console him. That is the second person that I have come across shortly after a tour ending injury and the disappointment of ending the ride shows as tears in their eyes, and that is not from the injury pain.
The Berthoud Pass climb was in the beginning of the day and after it was conquered, you find yourself mentally letting down after a major obstacle like that is accomplished and you still have about 63 miles to go. We had driven through Berthoud Pass years ago and had forgotten how long it is. The scenery was beautiful. It has several switchbacks and you could see traffic way above you and had to get to that point. On the other side of the pass, it was a great long downhill ride at 40+ mph.
We still had several smaller, tough climbs before the final descent into the Denver metro area. We are camped at Denver Christian High School’s athletic field. The Denver area churches had a great welcome for us this afternoon. They had several folks cheering us on when we arrived and actually had a couple cheerleaders giving us a welcome. They had a live DJ in the parking lot playing music and making announcements and had a whole bunch of homemade cookies, pop, and water and welcome packets for us. It was great. Tomorrow, we bike to a different school park for worship with them. They are hosting us for lunch and dinner. Wow!
This weekend, we lose about 15 people from the tour today and gain another 15 or so. Russ Johnson from Holland is one of the new riders. I had ridden in training with him a couple times out of Providence Church in Holland with a group of guys. Dave Geerlings from Holland joined the tour in the Salt Lake City area.
This week, we pass the midpoint of the tour duration. Time is really flying and I have trouble keeping track of what day it is. When we arrived here in Denver, we were blessed with some mail from friends from back home. What a treat and what support. We thank God for those encouraging notes.
Love to all, P & J.
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2 comments:
Pete & Julie
We enjoy keeping up with your trip!
Congratulations on the half-way mark. We continue to uphold you in prayer.
We have been many of the places you are passing, but did not see them from a cyclist perspective.
What an awesome trip.
We do plan to go to Madison Aug 10 and hope to be able to have lunch with you.
Carol & Jerry
Hi Pete and Julie!
Congrats for making it to Denver!! My cousin's wife, Nancy Nieuwenhuis, is one of the riders joining you in Denver. (she's from Connecticut) We were just in Colorado a year ago, and can picture many of the places you are riding through. We remember seeing bikers while there and commenting on how DIFFICULT it would be! You were on the screen again today --this time the picture of you at the Continental Divide. Many prayers on your and the team's behalf!
Joni Brookens
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