Day 2 and 3 - Steamboat Springs to Craig to Rifle

The Coach is back on-line. I apologize for the lack of participation in posting. I have to tell you that I'm doing well to get showered, fed and to bed. Lisa has done an admirable job in bringing you at least some of the details. Granted, it lacks the testosterone infused commentary that comes from yours truly.

Day 2 was a relatively quiet one. We did have rickety start with a flat tire on the Cervelo. Here is a picture of Cubby and Coach during the fix. We did end up with a blow-out on the first tube. Talk about scare the hell out of you. I set the tire down after pumping it up and BANG!

Team Bizzo spent quite a bit of time riding at a comfortable aerobic heart-rate. Roughly translated, we tried to ride at 50-60% of the maximum heart rate. Overall, it was roughly down hill for the 45 mile trek from the hotel in Steamboat Springs to Moffat County High School in Craig. You've seen some of the shots of tent city and the bicycle security area.

We did have a little sprint/finish competition between the Bizzos. Cubby was not able to contest the sprint because of his knee problem although he did have the first go which Coach was able to cover. Immediately after Cubby's go, Hammer immediately went on the attack. Again the Coach had to cover the attack. At this point the road was relatively flat, we went into a high speed right hand turn and the road took a menacing turn uphill. Coach and Hammer immediately went to guns up the hill. As for the winner, let's just say that the guy with the University of Michigan jersey finished about two (2) minutes up.

After the ride, we hung out and waited for the Princess to drop off the camping supplies. We immediately went to work at setting up the Taj, short for Taj Mahal, in the tent city. Thanks to Mr. Hammer, we had the chateau among chateaus. Lisa promptly bailed on the test-fest and headed out to Glenwood Springs. Team Bizzo went in search of grub. First try was at the city park where the city was hosting a dinner. The problem was that they ran out of food. We walked around looking for a good place to eat in Craig. Needless to say, we had very limited choices. Team Bizzo ended up dining at JWs on cheeseburgers and fries. Not the best dinner in advance of a 90 mile ride. After dinner, we caught the local bus back to the campground. Ended up having a very good night's sleep.

Day 3 started with a beautiful sunrise:

We were on the road @ 6:30am. I haven't done the official poll of the Bizzos, but I'm voting for today's ride as being the most difficult so far. Here's some interesting facts about the ride:

• Distance - 89.52 miles
• Ride Duration - 6:06:12
• Temperature @ Start - 35 degrees
• High Temperature for ride - 103.7 degrees
• Coach's Calorie Consumption - 5,950

The ride ended up being an endurance ride into the fires of hell known as Rifle, CO. All three of the Bizzos suffered at some point during the day. The road, CO-13, was mostly chip and seal with an unbelievably narrow shoulder. Big oil field trucks were continuously buzzing the riders. Pucker factor was unbelievably high. I'll poll the boys tomorrow and let you know the results.

Well....it's time to shut 'er down for the night. Please keep posting your comments.

The Coach