Three weeks ago we were able to ride up the east side of Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park when the road was still closed to vehicles. On June 1st we rode the west side from Shadow Mountain Lake to the summit.
Our friends, Earl and Claire Marie, hosted us in their vacation home on Shadow Mountain.
After a good breakfast we started at 8:00 to chilly but windless conditions. The road was open to cars but apparently most folks hadn't gotten the message because the road was only very lightly traveled. There were elk and moose to view but fortunately they were down in the meadows and not on the road.
It was surprising how much snow had melted in 2 weeks. At the east side of the summit where the snow had been 15' deep it was only a mere 8-10' deep. With a run-off that rapid, it's no surprise that downstream towns are experiencing flooding.
I do confess that my gratitude of being able to do this sort of riding is blended with my ego of pride of accomplishment. It is fun to talk to the car tourists who see us at the visitors center and cannot even image bicycling a mile. I try to explain that 5 years ago I thought I was going to collapse from exhaustion from pedaling 13 miles on a bike. Perhaps there is a person or two that I've encouraged to "just do a little more than you did yesterday". We each start every day from where we are. How about you? Where are you and where what are you going to do today?