Days 37 & 38: Fort Morgan, CO to Boulder/Longmont, CO

• Team distance: 86.09 mi
• Team elevation: 2,365 ft
• Dedication: Richa and Uncle Tim
• Van group: Glenn
• Host: Mandy and Mike, family friends of my teammate Bryce

Yesterday I was in the water van with Glenn as the team rode to Boulder, CO. It was a little disappointing to have a day off before a rest day after only riding 30 miles the day before, but I was also happy to have a little extra rest before we hit the Rockies. Today was long but pretty straightforward. The team was routed onto a pretty sketchy highway for a bit, but Glenn and I did our best to keep them off of it whenever possible.

We had two quick water stops for the team (as well as roadside naps for me and Glenn while we waiting for the teams to arrive) before gathering for lunch at a 7/11 (it was free slurpee day!). The host van got some amazing tacos for lunch. The real joy of the day happened before lunch, though– our first glimpse of the Rockies! It was so surreal to see them towering in the distance and realize that in just a few days we’ll be on the other side of them.

We’re actually staying in Longmont, not Boulder, but we have a pretty sweet set-up with some family friends of my teammate Bryce. We made sure the team got in early so we could relax and enjoy a fundraiser party thrown by our hosts, featuring a taco truck, band, comedians, and really good beer :) They were also generous to serve as a mail drop and collect packages for us so most of us had a little Christmas moment opening all our packages. A lot of the team also received our fun team t-shirts, incredibly designed by Julia.

As fun as the night was, it was also very sad as we had to say goodbye to one of our teammates. Richa’s collarbone is going to require surgery so she is flying home to Maryland to get that taken care of. Richa is starting medical school this fall so she was leaving the trip early regardless but I was so sad that she had to leave under these circumstances, just as we were about to cross the Rockies. We all have no doubt that Richa would have conquered the mountains (blasting trap music, without clip-in shoes) and we’re going to miss her so much.

This morning I woke up a little cold and very tired– I didn’t sleep very well but was very glad that it wasn’t hot. We somewhat quickly (at least for 4K) packed everyone in the vans and drove to Boulder, where we were dropped off so that the vans could be taken in for maintenance. I went with a group to brunch at a fantastic spot called Snooze and then shopped around the Pearl Street Mall. Highlights included giving Maggie piggyback rides because her knee scrapes make it difficult to walk and Jake being asked to volunteer in a street performer’s show.

Having the vans in the shop made transportation a bit complicated so we spent a lot of time sitting in the Rapha store/cafe until we were picked up. Back in Longmont, I took a phenomenal shower at a Planet Fitness and picked up dinner with a few others in the runner’s fancy van, which Mike really pushed to its limits– maybe the hardest I’ve laughed all trip. We got a ton of Raising Cane’s chicken donated (my favorite), like way too much, because most of the team was at a concert and got dinner on their own. I think we all feasted though because there ended up being very little leftover.

We spent the rest of the night playing card games and talking. It was nice to have a small group as opposed to the full 31-person team, mostly because our campsite was more or less quiet when I was ready to go to bed! I shared a tent with Chase and Jake who also skipped the concert, so I didn’t even wake up when that crowd got back. I’m definitely feeling a little anxious about venturing into the mountains tomorrow, but we’ll see how it goes!

Until then,

Lauren