Day 17 - Chama, NM to Alamosa, CO

Daily Stats:
Time: 5h05m55s
Distance: 141.26km
Avg Spd: 27.7km/hr
Climbing: 1,432m

Today we entered Colorful Colorado!  And I can't describe how much I loved the ride today.  Lots of climbing, blue skies and beautiful scenery.  I felt good despite yesterday's tough ride, and was able to let loose on the climbs a little bit.  I was in my element.

Two mountain passes greeted us in the first half of the ride: Cumbres Pass (10,022ft) and La Manga (10,220ft).  We climbed over 600m in the first 23km to the first pass, then another 150m over another 5km to the top of La Manga.

Here's me at the first summit with my riding partners for the morning: Joel, Rachel & Marc.

And me at the second summit.

The ride up was through the most stunning, green valleys I've seen.  The scenery almost made it feel like we weren't climbing at all...

The descent from La Manga was a thrilling 8km run dropping almost 500m with some spectacular views.  We didn't stop for photos on the way down, but Marc and I had so much fun going down we decided to turn around to climb it again to take another run at the descent.  On the way up we snapped a few more photos of the mountains...  and I can't describe how much I loved the ride today.

Camp tonight is at the Alamosa Family Recreation Center.  We've got hot showers, a gym, exercise equipment and (again, most importantly) Wi-Fi.  The tents are pitched in the field next door, and are currently being buffeted with some ferocious winds.  Rain was threatening earlier, but it looks like it's blowing by.

That's the excitement for today.  Keep sending emails, folks I'd love to hear from you.

Also, we have a few mail-drops through the tour...  if you'd like to send a post card (or Birthday card [July 25!]), you can send it to the addresses below.  Items should arrive a week before the date noted.

Saturday, July 27

Sea to Sea - Stephen Byl c/o Sylvan Addink, 1802 E. Court Street, Iowa City, IA 52245

Saturday, August 3

CRCNA - Sea to Sea (Stephen Byl) Attn: Luanne Barnes, 2850 Kalamazoo Ave SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49560

Saturday, August 10

CRCNA - Sea to Sea (Stephen Byl), 3475 Mainway, PO Box 5070 STN LCD1, Burlington, ON L7R 3Y8