4th of July Loveland Pass and Montezuma

The fourth of July weekend is a great time to celebrate our nation. I am proud to be an American! And nothing says America more than rocking a pair of Pit Vipers  Merika style and riding your bike through the mountains of Colorado.

Friday I was lucky enough to be joined by my father (Ryan Rhinehart) as we left from Silverthorne on our way to tackling the infamous Loveland Pass. We cruised through Silverthorne at a nice easy pace and enjoyed the views as we rode past Lake Dillon. We made it to Keystone in pretty good time and started up the real climb.

We somehow managed to get split up at this point. I am not sure what happened… But we met back up again at Arapahoe Basin which will host the finish of one of the stages of the US Pro Challenge later this year.

Dad and I struck out from the Beach at A-Basin to complete the climb. We were enjoying the fresh mountain air and the cool breeze as we meandered through the mountains. It was really peaceful. That is when we noticed something out of the corner of our eyes. It was a MOOSE! Luckily for us we were in a car and could roll up the windows for a little added safety. Moose tend to be a little aggressive. Oh wait… We were on road bikes. Dang it! We slowly got off the bikes and watched as the Moose finished up her meal, and sauntered across the road behind us. It was a tiny moose, and we were excited that we got to see it, and that it didn’t try to stomp us into the ground.

We finished the long climb at the top and took a picture for good measure. CHEESE!

The way back down was uneventful since we got stuck behind a semi truck that was crawling down the mountain. I did manage to get around it at one point and hit 50 mph towards the bottom, but it is a much better descent when you don’t have to wait behind vehicles.

The Sunday after the fourth of July was another long climb up to Montezuma. We were joined by Mark Nadeau and Peter Haynes. They are members of our cycling family. Mark has put together more organized rides for our group than I can count, and has been kind enough to include our family in the events every year. We have enjoyed some pretty awesome ride experiences with these two, and we are looking forward to the Copper Triangle ride in August where the whole crew will be together again in the mountains of Colorado. Rumor has it that a couple very special guests will be joining us for that ride so check back in August for an update.

The ride Sunday ended at a quaint coffee shop in Silverthorne where more family and friends met us for a cup of coffee or two. It was a great weekend, and we are excited for the many adventures coming up in the next couple weeks.