Big climbs and big news

Hey all,

Lots of things have been happening to us on our way here to Steamboat Springs, CO.

First, Jamie and I are engaged now. The story behind that is below.

Second, pictures are published and you can view them by following the "view more pictures" link on the right column underneath our picture

Third, I'm feeling much better. Turns out I haven't been eating enough and my body ran out of gas. This trip has been one great big physiology experiment for me and I keep learning things the hard way. I've been operating on about a -1000 calorie per day since the beginning of the trip and it finally caught up to me. I spent the time in Breckenridge eating and I'm feeling much better.

Fourth, We've seen some phenomenal sights!

Breckenridge/Silverthorne area is an absolutely beautiful place! Sorrounded by snow covered peaks in every direction, with the clear blue river flowing through it, bike paths everywhere, mountain bike trails and ski resorts everywhere you look and a free bus for public transportation I can easily see why the cost of living is so high here. It was a shame to leave it but we had places to go.

After climbing Ute pass north of Silverthorne we were treated to a expansive view of the Gore range. Below the pass you could see hwy 9 running north to Kremling. I feel kinda sorry for people in cars and cyclists that never stray from the pavement. Granted, even from down in the valley, its cool to look up to see the mountains looming above you but there nothing like being able to look directly across the valley from the other side. After Ute pass, its was down through a raped landscape of mining in complete contrast to what we just witnessed then back through ranchland on the long way to Kremling.

Leaving Kremling, we headed added to our zig zag path to Steamboat. This involved several climbs up and down. At first, it just seemed relentless and then we got to inspiration point and started to comprehend what we were doing. We were following a landscape formed by volcanos, earthquakes and then eroded by the Colorado river into a very steep walled canyon. Inspiration point lived up to its name but is nothing compared to what we were treated to later that day. From the point, we screamed dowhill only to turn right back up to another climb only to scream down again, all the way down toe the colorado rivier and the blip on the map known as Radium. It was at Radium the real climbing began. The road was chiseled directly into the steep rock walls that the Colorado had eroded centuries ago. I cannot even imagine how they built this road or why they even felt it was needed but steep is to mellow to describe it. This had to be the steepest longest climb I've ever done in my entire life. Pedaling proved impossible, so we pushed our bikes all the way up to the top. It took about 3 hours to go 2 miles. But the top... Man at the top, you could see EVERYTHING. Now inspiration point was below us and on the other side of the canyon. You could see the snow covered Gore range way off in the distance and the Colorado snaking below. You could see the road we climbed and decended all day and you could see the railroad that ran along the Colorado that took 30+ years to build because of the challenges of construction through the very canyon we just summited. The landscape was crowded with steep mountains and hills leaving me to wonder, how did people ever manage to find their way through here and then, how did we, as a country, figure we could just build roads and railroads through here. Truely an amazing sight. Perfect site for a proposal but not before a downhill. A short downhill to the French Creek allowed us space to pitch a tent. I made Jamie dinner. Somehow, she managed to split her fingernail with a rock and I thought it would be good to hike back up to the summit and watch the sunset so that she can forget about the pain. She agreed and when we got up to the top, my real plan emerged.

I pulled out a ring I made for her out of a chunck of titanium (after all, it needs to be light for the trip) with a small diamond set in it. I asked, she accepted. The ring.... It was too big. I guess its back to the lathe when I get home and start carving out another one.

Whew, long story and I'm out of time at the library. Excuse grammar and spelling as there is no time for corection.

We'll be in Rawlins Wyomming by Monday.

Lee