Turning the Rockies into a pile of rubble

Hey everyone, I'm going to keep this pretty short so I can go crash in a little bit. On the 4th of July we started in Dolores and biked up over Lizard Head Pass (10,222 feet) before descending into Telluride. Since our next day was supposed to be very long we decided to push out an extra 13 miles, all down hill, to Placerville. We then got in the cat and headed back up to Telluride for celebrations.

We met up with Brian Werner, a Couch Surfer, who graciously allowed us to stay with him. We spent all afternoon by the poolside with Brian's friends just hanging out and enjoying ourselves. The fireworks were very cool, or so I'm told. I fell asleep before the show started because I was really tired and we had a long day the next day.

In the morning we drove back to where we had stopped and got back on the bikes. The route started with a 12 mile uphill then fell 38 miles into Montrose, CO. We had a long lunch, got some supplies from Sports Authority, and got back on the road. We had two more peaks into Sapinero, but decided to push another 26 (flat) miles to Gunnison. We stayed at a campground just north of there and took our rest day the following day.

We woke up in the morning and went white water rafting with the Scenic River Tours. It was a lot of fun and at the suggestion of our guide we spent the rest of the day at a town called Crested Butte. There, we found a little coffee/book shop and spent the afternoon sitting outside, reading, and taking in the fresh mountain air. It was all very refreshing.

Today we had a 33 mile ride to Sargents, CO which is at the base of Monarch Pass. 10 miles of uphill later we were atop the Continental Divide, 11,312 feet above sea level. It is the highest point of our trip and provided a great view. The 23 miles down into Salida were the easiest of the trip... way too easy. We are about to push out another 13 miles to a campground in Howard, CO. It will make tomorrow a lot easier and there is a nice cold river to swim in! Gotta go, so see you later!

Dave and me at 11,312 feet. As always, trying to represent Stanford Crew.

Answer to the last trivia question: Partners in Health. 10 points to Christie Lehren who has grabbed a commanding control of the leader board!

Today's Trivia Question: What is the significance of the Continental Divide?

Lizard Head Pass

Hey everyone, sorry this video is a couple of days late, but this is our Fourth of July video post. I also just want to give a shout out to Elaine Breeden. She's in Indianapolis right now at the US National Time Trials (or whatever its called). We tried to do it in the video, but the memory card ran out before we could recordit. So good luck Elaine and hope everyone had a happy 4th!

Rolling on into Colorado

We got an early start this morning, pushing off from the hotel at 7:30. Mr. Kubiak joined us for the day and it was great to have another fresh face in the group! The day's route called for 82 miles of mostly flat riding with maybe 1,000 feet of gained elevation. 37 miles in we reached the Colorado border. Lauren and Mrs. Kubiak met us there, we posed for some pictures with the sign and headed on out.

Eight miles later we paused for a lunch break in Dove Creek. Mr. Kubiak immediately got back on the bike and headed out while Dave and I lamented how much we ate, fell into the Sprinter, and took a half hour nap. When we finally got up we rode on and finished the last 35 miles or so. Ten miles out we met up with Mr. Kubiak and finished the day. The hills were green, but rolled all the way into Dolores (luckily, we ended on the downhill!).

We arrived in Dolores, CO around 2:30. It's a small town, but is loaded with charm. The buildings are old but the people are friendly and the river that runs parallel to the town makes for a great outdoors area. The team gladly sat in the Dolores River for a half hour or so. The current was fast but we managed to find some rocks that rose slightly out of the water so we could enjoy the beautiful July sun.

We just returned from a wonderful dinner at the Dolores River Brewry and are enjoying a quiet evening around our motel/cabin that we are staying in. Tomorrow we climb 3K feet up over Lizard Head Pass (10,222 ft.) and then descend into Telluride. It's about 65 miles and the grade is gradual, but we are going to try to get an eraly start so we can see the 4th of July parade that goes through Telluride around midday.

I suppose this is officially the start to the Rocky Mountains. Since the beginning of the trip people have been wishing us luck on the Rockies, but frankly (I could possibly eat these words) I'm not that intimidated. We just spent the past 2.5 weeks in the mountains; in Nevada it was not uncommon to do three peaks in a day. So even though both major passes we go over are 10K+ (10,222 and 11,500) since our base is already 7,000-8,000 ft, I think it should be very doable. Not easy, mind you, but not devastatingly difficult. Check back in a week to see if my words hold true!

Answer to yesterday's Trivia: The Four Corners are formed by the state borders of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. With three correct answers, Sean Keeley is awarded 9 points. (Good work Little Man!)

Today's Trivia Question: 100% of the funds raised through Face AIDS are matched by private donors and thrown behind the work of what organization? (Hint: Paul Farmer founded this organization while still a medical student). (10 points)

Day off in Blanding, UT

After forgoing our rest day in Hite, today's day of rest was a welcome relief. In the past five days we've travelled several hundred miles, climbed multiple peaks (even up over 10,000 ft!), and endured some bitter heat. A day off was just what we needed.

I planned on sleeping in but old habits die hard, so when the rays of the morning sun broke through our windows at 8:30 my slumber was over. A couple cups of coffee later I was more or less ready to face the day.

Over breakfast Dave, Lauren, and I decided to drive down to the Four Corners, just over an hour outside of Blanding. We hopped in the Sprinter and drove off. It was sort of what we expected: underwhelming, touristy, and probably not on the exact location of the Four Corners. But hey, that's what we were looking for! We took some photos (check back for Dave doing a back bend, one limb in each state. We need to stretch more) and headed back to Blanding.

The afternoon was a lazy one. The TV droned for a while as we slept, read, or did whatever else we were doing. In the evening we met up with Lauren's parents. Her father had work in New Mexico so her mother flew in and they drove up to see us. Mr. Kubiak will be joining us on tomorrow's ride which is exciting- we're always looking for new riders!

That's all I have for now. Tomorrow (knock on wood) shouldn't be a bad day. 82 miles with 1000 total feet of climbing. The weather calls for clouds so it should be cool, but we hope the rain holds off. We'll pass the border into Colorado tomorrow. The 4th will be spent in Telluride which we are very excited about. But now it's getting late and I need to hop into bed for tomorrow's ride. Thanks!

Answer to yesterday's trivia: Our names are as follow: David Andrew Evans, Lauren Emma Kubiak, and Austin William Carroll Keeley. 5 points go to Christie Lehren for getting my middle name correct!

Today's trivia question: What are the four states whose borders meet at the Four Corners? (3 points for each correct state)

Ride Against AIDS (256 photos), by Dave Evans

Hey guys, we finally posted all of our photos online. Click on the link below to check them out. Enjoy!
http://www2.snapfish.com/fbshareredirect/p=13321246550673819/l=1416903020/g=1022535020/redirectURL=share/otsi=SALBBL/AlbumID=795155020/a=1022535020_1022535020/usercomments=I_xqd%20like%20to%20share%20my%20Snapfish%20photos%20with%20you.%20Once%20you%20have%20checked%20out%20my%20photos%20you%20can%20order%20prints%20and%20upload%20your%20own%20photos%20to%20share./counttext=256%20photos/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Trivia Contest Standings

The ongoing contest for the title of Trivia Champion is very (maybe a little) too close. So far we have a three way tie for first:

• The Lilley Family (10 points)
• Matty Pru (10 points)
• Katie O'Neill (10 points)

There's still plenty of time to get in the running for the final prize, a Face AIDS DVD and a kiss from our own David Evans (as noted before, the kiss is optional ;-) ). Keep checking back for more questions, and keep the comments coming!

Disappointment strikes but the team deals

Since Dave and I began planning our route we had been looking forward to stopping at the Hite Recreation Area on Lake Powell in Utah. Our maps spoke highly of the area and the park's website showed pictures of a beautiful lake surrounded by high red mountains. As such, we scheduled one of our off days there. Yesterday we had a short 50-mile day to get to the park and we were anxious to relax by the water and enjoy ourselves.

Sadly, things did not turn out as we wanted them to. The last 10 miles or so were difficult, not because of the terrain but because of the heat. It was near 1 PM and the temperature was over 100 degrees. When we finally pulled into Hite we found the beautiful lake we expected, but the shore was bare, facilities were few and far between, the heat was blistering, and we were constantly pestered by gnats.

Trying to make the best of the situation we headed 4 miles up the road to Farley Canyon, another point of access to Lake Powell. We swam in the lake for a little over an hour and enjoyed the sun, but soon the heat got the better of us and we headed back to Hite to find some shade.

In the evening we enjoyed a small dinner in the car and then went for a swim. After wading to waist deep water I dove forward, thinking the water would get deeper. However, the water actually got slightly shallower away from the shore and I ended up scraping the sand on bottom. I came out with some scrapes on my chest and forehead. Though unsightly, the scratches are surface deep and should be gone in a week or so.

By the time we were done swimming it was dusk. Tired, we opted to forgo pitching the tent and sleep in the van for the first time. This turned out to be another terrible decision. It was hot, uncomfortable, and didn't offer as much space as we expected. We woke in the morning not very refreshed and greeted with another 100+ degree day.

The night before we had decided to push on to our next stop, Blanding, and take our rest day there. So Dave and I were back on the bikes and pedaling. It was a 75 mile ride through extreme heat and dry weather. The first 40 miles or so were a steady uphill so both us riders were pretty spent. All in all we spent 6-7 hours in the saddle because of the constant uphill and heat.

We're currently in Blanding and will be taking our rest day here tomorrow. We might take the hour car ride to the Four Corners, so I will try to get some photos of that up. Lauren's parents are driving up from Albuquerque tomorrow and are graciously putting us up in a hotel, so thank you very much! As always, thanks for reading and check back for more soon.

Answer to the last Trivia question: beehive. 10 points to Katie O'Neil!

Answer to the BONUS question: Allosaurus. (Dinosaurs are cool).

Today's Trivia Question: What are the middle names of Dave, Lauren, and Austin? (5 points a piece)