Triple Bypass (continued)

As you can see in this picture of Charlene and Brian at the finish line, they were pretty excited about finishing! I think they were shooting for 10 hours, but ended up finishing in just under 9 hours! I have to say that even with the quick pace, they looked great at each rest stop. Other folks would pull up and immediately flop on the ground or start complaining of cramping, but they just rolled up and would say something like "that was a tough climb, but great"! It was really nice being the "sag hag" for riders who were truly having a good time and accepted the day as it came. I'd hear some riders being snappy with their support crew as the day wore on and they got progressively tired and fatigued. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a bit that way myself. Charlene & Brian were an inspiration to me not only in their athletic ability, but in their ability to keep a positive attitude and be in the moment (good or bad) the whole day!



After my arduous day of support (it wasn't arduous in the least, but don't tell them!), Charlene & Brian treated me to a meal at one of their favorite restaurants in Breckenridge- Rasta Pasta! The food was really good and the setting was so relaxing- a patio next to a flowing stream! You know I can never have a good meal without taking pictures of it! This dish is called the Tortellini Jamaica Mon! It was ricotta cheese tortellini, "secret" spices, bananas, pineapple, and grapes! It sounds like an awful combination, but was actually quite tasty! Not an earth-shatering experience, but quite nice. Our entertaining waiter recommended the Juju Ginger beer brewed by the Left Hand Brewing Company out of Longmont, CO. It was very smooth with just a hint of ginger that didn't leave a bitter aftertaste and went well with the subtle fruit flavors of the pasta dish.



While sitting around on the side of the road and walking around on my photo safari, I was wishing that I had a hat that would cover both my face and ears. I had brought a ball cap, but I'm not really a ball cap kind of girl. Right next door to the Jamaican restaurant in Breckenridge, we found a great little shop with lots of straw hats. Although I'm not really a cowgirl by any stretch of the imagination, I had seen my riding partner Suzanne wear her straw cowboy hat to keep the sun off her face (and to cover up her helmet head) after rides and I thought it looked great on her. So, I tried a few on and ended up getting a pretty cool straw pseudo-cowboy hat for myself. You'll have to wait until I wear it out and about for a pic though! We also couldn't resist taking each others' pictures in this Rasta man silhouette outside the restaurant!


From Breckenridge, we took the back roads home and went over Hoosier and Wilkerson Passes. These clouds were just amazing as the sun was setting. At the crossroads of Hwys 9 & 24, we stopped to check out these couple of buffalo hanging out by the fence. There's a little fenced in area with a bench to stop and admire them, so we pulled over so I could get a few pics. It's not often that they are this close to the road.


They are huge animals and are very intimidating. I took a few pictures from a distance to feel out their aggressiveness before I got closer to the flimsy fence holding these gigantic creatures in. Once I got closer I realized why the fence didn't need to be more hardy- it was electrified!

From there, it was an uneventful ride home. We were all pretty tired (Charlene & Brian justifiably so!) and chatted the whole way home about our great day. As my time in Colorado is drawing to a close, I'm glad I got to sight see the little mountain towns another time.

Towards the end of this week I'm back in southern California for a really quick business trip. I'll let yall know if anything fun happens while I'm gone!!