#Tuck&Roll, #DumpsterFire, #Triumphant
After everything was cancelled in 2020, including the TripleBypass which I was signed up for, I decided to do it this year. The course was a bit shortened from the original 120 miles ending in Vail and not Avon, but the 15 miles that were taken of at the end were all downhill. Not sure how I felt about that (Oh, wait. Yes, I was. WTF? That’s free speed!)
I knew a few folks who would be out there and Judy and I would ride together.
Because Covid was having its third spike with Delta, I decided to drive instead of flying, and Phil came with me. It would be between a 14 and 16 hour trip which was doable in one day while taking turns. We were leaving early early Friday morning, so on Thursday I took the dog to be boarded at Shady Acres and loaded up all of the cats to be boarded at my vet. While unloading the cat carriers I tweaked my left lower back. Nothing too bad. I was sure it would resolve itself.
We left the house at 3:30am and drive straight through to Evergreen, CO to our AirBnB. After 14 1/2 ours of sitting in the car, while picking up a suitcase my back seized up. Like, can’t stand up, holy sh!t that hurts, is somebody stabbing me? After standing hunch over for several seconds I was able to straighten up very slowly, but I couldn’t sit down, stand up, don or doff my shoes or pants, or roll over in bed (seriously, roll over in bed? What muscles do you even use to do that?!). I sent a text to my chiropractor’s personal phone number begging for advice (and an appointment on Tuesday when I would get back into town), and he was sweet enough to oblige and gave me some advice, ending with “if it is really bad, don’t ride.” (as if…) Shout out to John “TheTriDoc” Tuggle.
I took it really easy all morning, then took a hike to see if that would loosen it up. Walking wasn’t too bad, but I was still having trouble getting in and out of the car. I was really uncertain about whether I would be able to ride my bike. The TripleBypass is 106 miles over three mountain passes with 10,000 feet of climbing. Even if I could sit on my bike, could I stand up if I needed the extra momentum to get up the hills? I had no idea.
Friday night I slept like poo since every time I would roll over I felt like someone was stabbing me in the back. I got up at 5:00am on Saturday and hobbled out to the car. I felt like if I could get to the starting line, I could get to the finish line. But I also feared that I would be calling my husband as soon as I started climbing the hills…and the ride started at the base of a pass.
I was able to get on my bike, but clipping into my cycling pedals was a bit of challenge. All my pain was on my left side and I clip in right foot, then left foot. But I was having trouble lifting my left foot to get it on the pedal. This is not really something you can just change to the other foot in one day. I’ve been clipping right to left since 2007. It was taking me 3 or 4 tries to get my left foot clipped in. I looked like a total rookie. But I. Could. Ride! I tried to stand up on my pedals and I. Could. Stand! OK, I can totally do this!
Yeah, this Triple Bypass thing.
As stated earlier the TripleBypass (the Triple) is three mountain peaks with 10,000 feet of climbing. The ride was Saturday, August 21, 2021 and as you can see it was a cloudy 55 degrees when we started in Evergreen (so, definitely not Texas).
As you can see from the elevation graph (green line) above, it starts at the bottom of a hill. So even thought it was 55 degrees, I knew I would warm up pretty fast. I have done the Triple before so I “knew” all I would need was a windbreaker for the downhills. I wore cycling shorts, a short sleeve jersey with my arm coolers (thin separate arm sleeves that keep the sun off my fair skin), socks and cycling shoes, with fingerless gloves.
Back up a minute. Since I could barely get around the day before, when I found these socks I had to buy them because, of course, the ride was going to be a dumpster fire.
We started on the Squaw/Juniper Passes (I think that little bump at the top is the two different passes, but everyone considers it one hill).
I determined that I was going to go really easy if I had any chance of finishing this thing since, while my back was not actively hurting, it was definitely letting me know it was not happy.
The ride is pretty casual and there is a metric shit-ton of people. Riders as far as the eye can see in front of you and riders as far as the eye can see behind you. If you are an extrovert, it is really easy to start up random conversations with the people riding near you. If you are an introvert, it is really easy to be really uncomfortable because random people keep trying to talk to you.
Judy and I pretty much stayed together, but occasionally she would get ahead of me before I could catch up. Inexplicably, my back was feeling a lot better (although I was still having difficulty with my pedals). When I got to the first rest stop which is almost but not quite at the top of the pass, I did a quick stop to refill my Gatorade bottle with something called Base which tasted like bananas I think 🤷♀️, and refilled my water, then ate 1/4 of a bagel with peanut butter. I didn’t see Judy (or Thomas, Janice or Bert), so I went on.
About two miles later there was this great vista view and I decided to take a selfie. Judy texted me as she was waiting back at the rest stop so we decided to meet at the vista point instead. As I was waiting, I started a conversation with a random gal and she mentioned that she might need to find some Chamois Butt’r (the stuff we cyclists put on our nether regions to fend off chafing). I said, “I have some Chamois Butt’r!” I had a small traveling packet that I had stuck in my jersey pocket “just in case” and which I offered to her (because that is how we cyclists roll). I was definitely making friends.
As pretty much anyone will tell you, I carry everything with me on a ride. If you need it chances are, I have it.
Judy and I hooked up again and headed out. It took 2 hours and 07 minutes to get to the top of the Squaw Pass. I donned my windbreaker and started down. It took 32 minutes to get to the bottom, and it took so long because there was a head wind.
I have to say, it was a little chilly coming down the hill, but a lot of fun!
Over the Squaw/Alpine Passes is Idaho Springs. From Idaho Springs we would ride through Georgetown and at some point start up the Loveland Pass. Thing is, as you can see from the elevation graph, we are climbing from Idaho Springs all the way to the top of Loveland Pass. Pretty much 30 miles of climbing so it’s hard to know when you are actually starting the Loveland Pass climb. We stopped at a gas station to use the restroom and have an iced espresso, then continued our climb.
At this point I turned on my music and mini smart-speaker, because sometimes you need some motivation to get you up a 30 mile hill. As soon as it starts it’s Enter Sandman by Metallica. I’d call that some motivation.
We got to the second rest stop and imma be honest, I have no idea where we were, but we replenished our drinks and got some kibble – potato chips and a sugary gel, refilled bottles, then continued on our way.
Judy fell a bit behind me and I rode along talking to whoever would acknowledge me. Ran into Matt Miller and his group, rode up to guy while Wheel in the Sky was playing and he said “I love Journey” so I slowed down to ride with him until the end of the song. Rode up to a gal who said, “Dua Lipa? Will I look like her when I finish this ride?” I replied, “Maybe after you take a shower…”
A lot of this section was on the bike trail which is separate from the road and tree-lined. The trees blocked the wind, but also blocked some of the sun and it was getting chilly again, but since the trail was narrow I did not stop to put on my jacket. At the end of the trail is I think what is considered the base of the Loveland pass and also the lunch rest stop. I ran into Bert who looked like he was going to freeze to death and we talked while I waited for Judy. Judy had stopped to put on her jacket so she was wearing it when she came in, but still freezing. We grabbed some pretty yummy sandwiches and a couple of Cokes (something I never drink except when I am climbing a 30 mile hill) and headed to the enclosed tents since it was now about 45 degrees and cloudy. WTF Colorado? WTF?
While we were finishing our lunch and talking to a bunch of random people (of course), someone came into the tent and said “The pass is closed!” Apparently, they were not letting any cyclists on the Loveland Pass (Route 6) due to an injured cyclist and it sounded pretty bad, though we really didn’t know what happened (later it was determined that a rider had a heart attack and did not survive 😪).
While we waited, we got colder and colder. The medical tent started giving out those silver space blankets you may have seen at the end of a marathon. It is thin, shiny and plastic and they retain heat. They come in a tiny little packet, but open to about 5’x5′.
We were all wrapped up like baked potatoes and I commented that we should keep the blankets to stuff in our shirts to keep our chests warm on the descent. Even though it came out of a packet that was about 2″x2″, when I folded mine up it looked like every fitted sheet I have ever folded in my life. I was able to stuffit in one of my jersey pockets, just barely, for safe keeping. This ended up being a great idea, so yay, me!
The Pass was reopened after about 45 minutes and we all exited the tent and inexplicably it was sunny and 65 degrees. Judy and I ran into Thomas as we were leaving and we all three started the 7 miles to the top of the Loveland Pass. This should be fun.
In my humble opinion, this is the hardest part of the ride. I had my music going and powered up the pass.
We made it to the top!
I hate coming off the Loveland Pass because the road is in horrible condition with all sorts of potholes and switchbacks with S turns. I ride my brakes the whole way down because I do not want to die flying off the side of a mountain on my bike. I put on my jacket, stuffed my space blanket between my jersey and jacket and, since I had a gaiter in my pocket that I was using as a Covid mask, I thought what the hell, I’ll use it as a gaiter. Not only was I not cold coming off the pass, they had fixed the road and it was super smooth (but I still rode my brakes the whole way down because I am a pussy).
We had about thirty-five more miles left and one last pass, the Vail Pass. This does not include Swan Mountain, which I have been told “does not count.” I have never gotten a good answer as to why it does not count. I feel like a 4 mile climb should “count”.
Once we got over Swan Mountain is was a slight incline all along a bike trail to Copper Mountain then the last pass! We are so close! My back is still feeling fine, the sun is shining. We’re gonna do this!
We ride along the bike trail which really isn’t bad, mostly about a 1% grade until we get to a section that finally goes down hill a bit. Weeee! Matchbox Twenty’s “How Far We’ve Come” is rockin’. I’m rollin’. Hey, lookit that sign that says “Slow. Sharp Turns.” I made it through the first turn. And if I recall correctly, I did hit my brakes…
(notice how fast yellow turns to dark blue)
So the GPS was not keeping perfect time with the ride as I was, in fact, on the trail, but my rear wheel slid out as I tried to make that second turn while going too fast and .. tuck and roll! You can see how my speed goes from the moderately fast yellow to a dark blue skipping over all the greens and various shades of blue that should have been between.
I went down on my left side, but I tucked my left shoulder in (tuck & roll, baby!). My shoulder and hip took the brunt of the fall. Judy was right behind me, but apparently took that “Slow. Sharp turns” sign to heart and did not hit me (Yay!). I believe she said something along the lines of “Oh my God, are you alright? Didn’t you see the sign?”
The first thing I checked was my shoulder to make sure I did not break my collar bone or separate my shoulder. Nope and nope. The next thing I did was make sure I could move due to my previous back pain. OK, not only was I able to move, but my back did not hurt at all. What the hell? We later agreed that this must be like in sitcoms when someone gets amnesia and when they get hit in the head again, instead of having debilitating brain swelling they are cured. Just like when you go to the chiropractor, I must have popped my back into place. I bet when I see my chiro on Tuesday he’ll just throw me down a flight of stairs and call me healed. 🙄
Also, even though I wrecked moving fast on pavement, I had just one little spot of road rash on my knee and didn’t rip my jersey or shorts but had a tiny hole in my arm cooler sleeve. I was very oddly not hurt. Judy and I decided that I must be like Zoe from Tarantino’s movie “Death Proof“.
I asked Judy to get my bike off the trail so no other cyclists would hit it, and then to check it out to make sure I didn’t break anything. (Yes, I yelled, “How’s my bike” like very cyclist does after a wreck). I crawled into the grass on the other side of the trail to retrieve my smart speaker which flew out of my bike bag on impact. Sorry Rob Thomas, but no more music today. I need to pay a bit more attention to what I am doing.
Everything checked out. There is a slight wobble in the front wheel so I loosened my front brakes so they wouldn’t rub. I readjusted the rear brake, but everything else seemed ok since I did not fall on the drive side (where the chain and derailleur are).
I recommended we get back to riding before I started to stiffen up (and I was pretty sure I was not going to be able to move my arm the next day). But only 30 miles left. 👍
When we got to the next rest stop I wanted to ride through, but Judy thought we should probably stop and get a bit of food in us. And how right she was. They had a table full of little plates of bacon! I had some bacon, then some bacon, then I ate something else (not really sure what, don’t remember) and had a half a can of coke. Just as we were about to get back on the trail it got cloudy, then cold, then it started raining again. Damn it! Jackets back on!
From here to the base of the Vail Pass the trail looks flat but actually had an incline (of course) and this is where I started to lose steam. I think it was a mixture between 75 miles of riding, all that post wreck adrenaline wearing off, and the cold… oh and that fact that my front tire was half flat but neither of us noticed after the wreck. 🤦♀️ (I only realized it when I was putting my bike in the truck at the finish line).
The Vail Pass climb was probably the hardest for me and it is usually the easiest since it is not very steep and it is not very long. I spun up in my granny gear and could hardly stay in front of the guy on the elliptical bike. It’s like a gym elliptical machine, but it is on wheels (you know I was not gonna let that guy beat me).
When we got to the top of the Vail Pass they was a mini rest stop and both Judy and I had run out of water and sports drink (I hadn’t thought to fill up at the last stop). Now all we had to do was coast down the last 13 miles.
I hadn’t even taken my jacket off since it never really heated up, but now we had 13 miles in the cloudy damp cold to ride down hill. I first 5 miles of the descent had some S turns and I took those signs very seriously (we did pass a cyclist who did not heed the signs and whose friends were tending to him), but once the road straightened out I went as fast as I could while shivering.
I damn near froze to death and was oh-so-happy they shortened the ride by those other 15 miles (the miles I was bitching about missing out on in the beginning).
I was able to finish, and I still felt ok – no back pain, shoulder and hip still ok (and still ok two days later, which is really kinda weird), but that was a tough ride for me. Going in with all of the anxiety and uncertainty as to whether I was going to be able to ride at all, and the very eclectic weather all day required a lot of extra energy on my part. Energy I could have used at the end. Then wrecking just put me in a different mind set (I will be getting my bike checked out this week and the front wheel straightened before I ride on it again to make sure there are no cracks that I did not see).
I will say that Team Evergreen puts on a great ride. Very well supported and very safe. Both the Squaw and Loveland pass which are on roads (Vail is on a paved bike trail) were closed to motorized traffic (besides the Ride SAG and Emergency Vehicles). The weather was better on Sunday, but what are ya gonna do? If you are considering doing the Triple, I do recommend it.
jredtripp 