Colorado Trail, 2022; Epilogue

After reaching the end of the Colorado Trail on 2022/08/07, I spent a few days in Durango, couch-surfing at Matt and Liza's house. They were gracious hosts. Mark and I had driven to Durango together, and the original plan was to drive home in his Subaru, but he'd already returned home. My first plan was to rent a minivan and drive home. I even had the perfect audio book purchased, to listen to on the drive home through Nevada, on Hwy 50 - Basin and Range, by John McPhee. But I got quotes for a mini SUV - no minivans available - from Hertz in Durango, and it was a no go; $1300 from Durango airport to Oakland airport. Budget was no better. I briefly considered buying a $1000 car in Durango, driving it home and selling it, if it made it. Lauren, had a better idea, she got me a plane ticket from Durango to SFO for $400. That left the bike and gear, what to do? I ended up dropping the bike at Durango Cyclery for shipment, via bikeflights. I was able to cram all the rest of my stuff into my duffel bag, except clothes, which went into a smaller duffel as carry-on.

To save money, the flight was for Wednesday 8/10, leaving me three days in Durango. The next day I began wandering on foot. I didn't want to ride my bike. I'd been in Durango several times before; 2002 with Lauren, on an mtb road trip while Grandma Toni cared for Sam and Lulu, 5 and 3, 2009 for Single Speed Worlds, 2015, at the end of our Molas Pass - Durango CT trip. I had some landmarks to visit and some appointments to keep. 

Chad Cheney, someone I admire quite a bit, a coach for both Durango Devo and Fort Lewis Cycling messaged me on instagram, congratulating me, and I inviting me to join him for coffee at 81301 Coffee. I gladly took him up on the offer, thinking I'd eat some breakfast there. Matt & Liza were both working, so I headed off on foot to visit with him. I wasn't ready yet to ride a bike, nor was my gritty bike ready for use. We had a really good, two-hour talk. He's the mayor of Durango, everyone seemed to know him, he had a kind word, nod, wave for everyone who did. 

Annie, Chad and Chops, who we coincidentally met in 2013, at the beginning of our first Colorado Trail adventure, in Silverton

One of the people who came in I recognized from the trail. I'd been filtering water and eating lunch at Celebration Lake when Payson McElveen rode by. We both exchanged "hey", and he just glided away, up the hill on the next segment of the CT, which I'd be pushing. We briefly spoke. He interviewed Neil Beltchenko, winner and record holder for the CT. Chad told me to listen to it, and I did, and it was fascinating. I already have a lot of ideas for how to do this trip better, and that interview added to it.

Chad had good words for me, as well. I absorbed as much coaching wisdom from him as I could. Chad is one of the few people who perfectly get it, as far as youth mtb coaching is concerned. We could all learn from him. It has nothing to do with being fast, having been fast, knowing how to teach skills better than others, it's all about heart, empathy, understanding, seeing people, knowing how to evaluate them and get them where they want to go. He gave me a baseball card, Tim "Rock" Gaines. We shared some information, too. I'm going to follow up with him, and their Coach Training Director, Sarah Tescher. 81301 just had muffins. I had one and some coffee, but I was getting hungry.

I stopped in at Durango Cyclery, reminisced, had a nice conversation with Scott, I think his name was. Chad had told me they might have a few copies of the SSWC 2009 magazine - I'd missed out on one. I bought some swag, a pair of G2 brake pads (my ears and hands told me I needed them) and he gave me a magazine. My stomach was growling. I asked for food recommendations and they told me about the food court on 11th. I asked if the Durango Diner was still in business. "Yeah, but it's a greasy spoon." I knew where I was going.

When we'd started the 2015 CT trip, we'd both had The Cure at the Durango Diner:

2015, The Cure

One of the weird things about riding the CT is that I never really felt hungry. I'd made it to noon, the day after finishing it on just a muffin and coffee. But I could feel that hunger returning.

2022, The Cure

The owner told me his trail name, he'd done the CT as well. I got The Cure with sausage, sunny-side up, and it was glorious. So good.

The next appointment was to get my free beer from Carvers. I forget who told me, but someone on the CT said that, if you finished the CT in Durango, you were eligible for a free beer from them. I stopped in, checked my story with two hostesses at the front door, and they confirmed it; it's a specific beer, the Colorado Trail Nutbrown Ale. I thanked them, and said I'd be back that evening. I finished my hot, sunny walk back to Matt & Liza's just in time for the afternoon storms. Jon, formerly of Berkeley, CA and his partner Rebecca wanted to join Matt, Liza and me for dinner. Rebecca wasn't feeling well, but Jon joined us at Carvers, and we had a nice dinner and conversation and yes, I had that Colorado Trail Nutbrown Ale. Actually two, the first one free. It was delightful, and the recognition felt very good, to me. I needed that little bit of validation, a ceremony I guess. I enjoyed it, and it was good to see Jon again.

We wandered around, getting ice cream, checking out some of the many secrets of the Strater hotel. The next day Liza felt it was important to get me back on my bike. She felt that if she could help me reignite some of my stoke for the bike, I'd be alright. In addition to being an accomplished Financial Analyst, she's also a bad-ass pro mtb racer, having won a 50-mile race the weekend before. She was on an off week, which was good for me. I'd removed all the bags, and emptied their contents, hosed the bike and bags off and lubed the chain. I replaced the brake pads - freshly installed before the CT - as they were toast. I think the final descents of segment 28 in the rain finished them off, as they were honking and felt like they were down to the backing plates. I was right:

I'd also let some water out of my frame. Liza pointed out that the "pee hole" sometimes gets blocked by dirt. Many was the night I was snug in my tent & bag, while my bike sat in the weather, on this trip. The Yeti ARC is actually a very light bike, it felt unreal, unloaded for the first time in weeks. 

One of the first things I said to Matt, when I arrived was this bizarre request, "Do you have a scale?" I'd been thinking, the whole trip, how I'd tell this story. I'd lain in my bag at night, phone in Airplane mode, narrating my days to a notes app, which is how most of the day's stories came to be. One of the things I wanted to capture was how heavy my bike and bag were, on arrival. I would be taking that gear off, and I sure as hell wasn't going to put all back together / on the bike when I got to Oakland. He brought down a bathroom scale. I got on it, then got on it with the bike. Did the same with the backpack. The bike weighed 57lbs. I don't know how much it weighs unloaded - I'm in Oakland, my bike still hasn't shipped from Durango - but it's light. What weighed so much? I can't say. The food on my fork leg was down to about 1/2, and the pack had about 1/2 of its 100oz bladder full of water, and about one day's food left in it. I had lost 12lbs myself, down from 230 to 218. (205 was my healthy racing weight, circa 40 years, 195 was my health racing weight, circa 20 years.)

Back to riding with Liza. She's an early riser, and I was, recently, too. We got to Twin Buttes around 7, did a nice, muddy loop and were back to her house in time for her work. I enjoyed it, but the initial climb was still a bit more than I was ready for. I did notice some itchy, cotton-ball feeling in my lungs; fluid. Two days of rest at lower altitude, I was still feeling it. I coughed some up. The trails there are really nice, I'd be happy, if that was one of my backyard rides. Durango riders have it good.

I visited Durango Cyclery again, to give them my bike for shipment. Joe, the owner told me about a bicycle exhibit at Fort Lewis. Chad had mentioned it, too. I walked slowly up the Sky Steps (529) in the hot sun, and across campus to the Center for Southwest Studies building, where the exhibit "Looking Back, Racing Ahead - 50 Years of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic & Durango Cycling Culture" exhibit was on display. I snapped a lot of pictures, here's an album of them. They're worth your time, if you're a bike nut, like me. The two Fuller brother's bikes might have been my favorite part - one is on the ceiling at Durango Cyclery - and also Tracy Wilde's art work. I'd met her in 2009, when Jacquie Phelan, who was traveling with Lauren and I, introduced us to Tracy. Tracy gave us a tour and showed us her artwork, then. She's been working as a mechanic at Durango Cyclery, but I heard she was injured. I asked Scott at the shop to say hi to her, for me. 

Liza and I did one final town walk before it was time to fly home. 

Durango's airport is tiny. I got a call over the PA while I was waiting, and they let me know they'd removed two CO2 cartridges from my carry-on. I'd forgotten all about them, as we drove to Durango, "Could have been bad," the guy told me. I was home in Oakland, CA, reunited with my wife Lauren, and in bed by midnight, Pacific. I've been sleeping a lot, since finishing the trail, and a general fog of mental and physical tiredness is lifting. I did one ride in Oakland with Lauren, and while the legs felt sleepy, everything else felt easier. I think that time at altitude, riding and pushing all day for two and a half weeks will leave a good affect, on my body and brain. 

There are many people I have to thank, for making this trip possible. I could not have done it without their help, love and care. Lauren, thank you for eating up most of my 2022 vacation on this selfish pursuit, and for your love and support, Mark, for always saying 'yes' to crazy adventures, and for being a good travel partner and planner, and for giving me water filter, bowl, battery and food after a trying segment 14, Evan, for the mechanical support in Downieville, the trail angels A, C and K on segment 6, Jason, for being our Trail Angel, rescuing us from the monstrous first wilderness bypass, cooking us excellent meals, shuttling us to Kenosha Pass, riding with us, visiting us in Frisco, bringing me fuel and beer, introducing us to Micah, to Annette and Brad of the Cathedral Ranch Cabins, for running such a caring and amazingly helpful oasis on the La Garita bypass, Jake for the company, and the advice about bone broth, Matt & Lindsay of Black Burro Bikes, for good conversation, beer, bike mechanic work and trail advice in Buena Vista, Simon Stewart of Buena Vista Bike Co, for parts and trail advice and for being a friendly, familiar face in the middle of the CT, Erik, Christine and Josh, for giving me a wonderful day and night in Silverton, and a pre-dawn shuttle to Molas Pass, and Liza and Matt, for the loving welcome to Silverton, the happy days of re-entry into civilization, the ride to the airport.