Courage Classic Day 2

Day #2, Sunday

(The post about Day #1 of the Courage Class is here in case you missed it.)

Another chilly but beautiful morning. Our ride started with biking between Copper and Frisco on the bike trail. Almost all downhill. The trail from Copper to Frisco is one of the most beautiful bike rides I have ever done.

Day #2 includes the Family Bike Ride. Mike rode about 15 miles with Zack in the bike trailer. Go Mike! Lots of families were out doing the ride with their kids today.

Mike and Zack veered off to meet me at lunch and I continued on for the rest of the loop. We went around Lake Dillon next.

The Aid Station at Lake Dillon was run by Firefighters. Nice.

We biked up to Keystone and then next stop, lunch. Just one road in between: Swan Mountain Road. Another new road to me. I had no idea how tough this was one was and I was not expecting it. Holy Buckets! The last quarter mile I was in so much pain. My feet were on numb and prickly, my eyes were stinging, my legs were on fire, my butt was sore miles ago, and my mind was screaming, “Quit this stupid ride and get off this blasted bike!” Cyclists around me were struggling and breathing hard. Some were stopping to walk. I have a number of techniques I pull out of my hat for dealing with pain (distraction, prayer, concentration) but this time what worked was I thought about the pain as all one condensed ball of red-white-hot energy in front of me. We turned a corner and I saw vans and people standing at the top of the mountain cheering. I imagined throwing the ball of pain up to the top of the mountain and the energy pulling me to the top.