GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO
That was a long day. Alarm went off at 3:45 and I proudly resisted the urge to ask for 10 more. At 4:15 a.m. I met Dave Fitzgerald who agreed to drive me to the airport.
The flight left DCA at 5:50 and arrived DFW at 8:20 which was the boarding time for my flight to Grand Junction. I scurried over to Terminal B and made my flight. I didn’t think my bike would.
But after I settled into my seat I saw the bike sitting on the Tarmac. And it made it.
The check-in day for Ride the Rockies can be a little intimidating. My last schedule change had me flying into Grand Junction and staying at the Clarion Inn. I called the hotel and they sent a shuttle for me and my bike.
I assembled the bike and had a panic attack as I could not get the rear dérailleur to shift. I thought I could ride it to the main campus and have a bike mechanic look at it. Out in the parking lot I realized it worked. In the room I had been shifting down and it was already on the lowest cog – duh!
The shuttle driver at Clarion Inn took my bike and me and my empty bike box to the campus at Colorado Mesa University. I offloaded the box then biked back to the hotel.
In the afternoon I went exploring. I went to the mall in town, after being told the only way there was one exit on I-70. It’s amazing how people only view transportation through a dashboard.
I found the downtown. It is very nice. Lots of statues or sculptures too.
I found my way down to the river trail but stopped as I saw a wedding in the botanical gardens. I wonder if they noticed me?
I followed a river trail next to the Colorado River until I found the trail bridge across the river. Once on the other side I visited my second cousin, Linda Shaver, and her family. We had never met before today.
I explored a little more of the city on the way back to the hotel. It was a long day and Ride the Rockies start tomorrow.
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