Chasing Mailboxes rides 969 miles through Colorado
It is interesting when a traveler comes from out of state (the state being D.C., the city being Washington D.C.) to ride a bike in Colorado. We have some big mountains here and wide open spaces between towns. Riding a bike in Colorado is not for the faint (or weak) of heart. I would think will has as much to do with it as way.
As the saying goes - if there is a will there is a way, only this couple took on the Rocky Mountains over a 13-day bike trip on a tandem bicycle!
Maybe I could do the miles and the passes, but I definitely do not think I would ever choose their way of doing it. Either I wouldn't survive the trip or my partner wouldn't survive, likely both. But that is precisely what M.G. of the bike blog Chasing Mailboxes achieved with her husband Felkerino in July 2014.
Read their story: Colorado 2014: By the Days and Miles (with links to their daily blog posts)
Their stated achievement:
Number of riding days: 11
Total days: 13
Total miles: 969 (plus some additional miles riding around towns for meals and miscellaneous errands)
Average mileage per day, including rest days: 74.5 Miles
Average mileage per day, not including rest days: 88 Miles
Number of Unforgettable Moments of Awesome: Too many to count
Cities and towns they visited as they pedaled around Colorado:
Day 1: Boulder to Kremmling, 150 miles
Day 2: Kremmling to Carbondale, 87 Miles
Day 3: Carbondale to Paonia, 62 Miles
Day 4: Paonia to Ouray, 100 Miles
Day 5: Rest Day, 0 Miles
Day 6: Ouray to Durango, 75 Miles
Day 7: Durango to Pagosa Springs, 65 Miles
Day 8: Pagosa Springs to Creede, 68 Miles (here and here)
Day 9: Creede to Gunnison, 106 Miles
Day 10: Gunnison to Leadville, 105 Miles
Day 11: Rest/Backwards Pedal and Crankarm Day, 0 Miles
Day 12: Leadville to Winter Park, 83 Miles
Day 13: Winter Park to Boulder, 68 Miles
Read more: Colorado 2014: By the Days and Miles By Chasing Mailboxes
I have been a long time reader of Chasing Mailboxes since I first read about her on another blogging friend's website Suze Cycling. Chasing Mailboxes organizes Coffeeneuring Challenges almost every year that I delight in reading. The idea of riding somewhere for fun, in the depth of winter fascinates me. All my friends are pounding out watts in compu-trainer classes or out on frozen cyclocross courses. I like her style. I am now very impressed with her ride across Colorado.
I hope their bike ride offers inspiration to other visitors to Colorado.
This week, the USA PRO CHALLENGE professional cycling stage race begins on Monday, August 18th in Aspen, Colorado. The pro riders will race 550 miles in 7-days of racing. When you compare miles, M.G. and Flekerino rode 969 in 11-days, I'm not sure if they'd want to compare speed, but I dare any two pros to ride 969 miles on a tandem bike over numerous mountain passes in Colorado.
On second thought, I'd like to see Lucas Euser and Jens Voigt give it a try.
.
It is interesting when a traveler comes from out of state (the state being D.C., the city being Washington D.C.) to ride a bike in Colorado. We have some big mountains here and wide open spaces between towns. Riding a bike in Colorado is not for the faint (or weak) of heart. I would think will has as much to do with it as way.
As the saying goes - if there is a will there is a way, only this couple took on the Rocky Mountains over a 13-day bike trip on a tandem bicycle!
Maybe I could do the miles and the passes, but I definitely do not think I would ever choose their way of doing it. Either I wouldn't survive the trip or my partner wouldn't survive, likely both. But that is precisely what M.G. of the bike blog Chasing Mailboxes achieved with her husband Felkerino in July 2014.
Read their story: Colorado 2014: By the Days and Miles (with links to their daily blog posts)
Their stated achievement:
Number of riding days: 11
Total days: 13
Total miles: 969 (plus some additional miles riding around towns for meals and miscellaneous errands)
Average mileage per day, including rest days: 74.5 Miles
Average mileage per day, not including rest days: 88 Miles
Number of Unforgettable Moments of Awesome: Too many to count
Cities and towns they visited as they pedaled around Colorado:
Day 1: Boulder to Kremmling, 150 miles
Day 2: Kremmling to Carbondale, 87 Miles
Day 3: Carbondale to Paonia, 62 Miles
Day 4: Paonia to Ouray, 100 Miles
Day 5: Rest Day, 0 Miles
Day 6: Ouray to Durango, 75 Miles
Day 7: Durango to Pagosa Springs, 65 Miles
Day 8: Pagosa Springs to Creede, 68 Miles (here and here)
Day 9: Creede to Gunnison, 106 Miles
Day 10: Gunnison to Leadville, 105 Miles
Day 11: Rest/Backwards Pedal and Crankarm Day, 0 Miles
Day 12: Leadville to Winter Park, 83 Miles
Day 13: Winter Park to Boulder, 68 Miles
Read more: Colorado 2014: By the Days and Miles By Chasing Mailboxes
I have been a long time reader of Chasing Mailboxes since I first read about her on another blogging friend's website Suze Cycling. Chasing Mailboxes organizes Coffeeneuring Challenges almost every year that I delight in reading. The idea of riding somewhere for fun, in the depth of winter fascinates me. All my friends are pounding out watts in compu-trainer classes or out on frozen cyclocross courses. I like her style. I am now very impressed with her ride across Colorado.
I hope their bike ride offers inspiration to other visitors to Colorado.
This week, the USA PRO CHALLENGE professional cycling stage race begins on Monday, August 18th in Aspen, Colorado. The pro riders will race 550 miles in 7-days of racing. When you compare miles, M.G. and Flekerino rode 969 in 11-days, I'm not sure if they'd want to compare speed, but I dare any two pros to ride 969 miles on a tandem bike over numerous mountain passes in Colorado.
On second thought, I'd like to see Lucas Euser and Jens Voigt give it a try.
.
