Tour de Colorado - Wednesday

We can tell from the beginning it’s going to be another hot day.  Fortunately, we aren’t planning on dragging the truck too far.  Just a few miles along the highway to the top of Rabbit Ears Pass (so called because of a local rock shaped like, you know.)

The riders are on their way up from Breckenridge and while we know it will take them a while to get here, we aren’t sure when the officials will be closing the road so to make sure we aren’t blocked out, we get an early-ish start and soon have our spot staked out by the highway.

It’s at the top of a 9,426 ft. high pass.  The type of hill I would need a fork-lift truck to get my bike up.  We’re looking down a long, straight stretch so will have plenty of advance notice when the riders are coming.  Even so, we know they’ll be passed us in a flash.  However, when you’re following a tour, the cyclist going by is only a small part of it.  It’s the carnival atmosphere amongst the waiting spectators which makes it all worthwhile.  The bikes are just the icing on the cake.

Beer gets drunk, jokes get cracked, photos get snapped and friendships get made.  It doesn’t get much better than this.  If the Internet access hadn’t crapped out when we crested the pass, we would all have been able to use our Smartphone Apps to know exactly where the riders were but no matter.  A helpful support car came along a few minutes early to let us know that Jans Voigt was leading the field by a little over 2 minutes and sure enough, a little while later he hove into view.  41 year old Mr. “Shut Up Legs” himself.

He wasn’t smiling but then, he was riding 106 miles today, almost all uphill and I sure as hell wouldn’t be smiling either.

Four more riders ground their way passed us and then came the pack.  Looking mean and angry, they didn’t seem to be going much slower than when we saw them on the flat.  So it was no great surprise when we learned later that despite dragging everyone else up the hill, Voigt was beaten in an exciting sprint finish after losing the lead only a couple of miles from the finish.

Sorry Jens, but we had a great day all the same.