Day 53 August 15

This was a day of ups and downs and they weren't all altitude related.

Huddled together, we rode out of Winter Park, fighting the cold. Up Route 40 through Granby, Grand Lake and into Rocky Mt. National Park. Our last ride in Colorado, it epitomized the Rockies and engraved their grandeur in our memories.

The Trail Ridge Road, immaculately maintained, lured us upward. Soon switchbacks took us to the alpine tundra where no trees grew. I have been on this road before, both in car and on motorcycle, but I was so terrified of the height and the drop from the road that I didn't realize the magnitude of the view. Today, steeled by the rides up Pikes and Evans, I relaxed into the moment and was consumed by the Rockies. This place of all gives one the sense of the magnitude of this range. Surrounded by multiple peaks of 12,000 feet and more, weathered and eroded into art created over hundreds of thousands of years, we as riders through this wrinkle in time were insignificant.

Roadwork and dirt roads kept us on the main drag, but it was all good. Out of the park, we followed route 34 through the Big Thompson Canyon. Established as one of our favorite rides a few years ago, we had to revisit it, even though it was in the wrong direction. A small, winding trout stream has over the ages carved a narrow ledged canyon that rises far above the road. Fishermen cast into the water flanked by massive walls, home to big horn sheep. We rode it both ways and each was its own.

Now down route 72, an amazing trip that took us over mountain passes, into valleys with small towns and then up into the rare air again.

But then, suddenly we were in a hot grassy plain. The Rockies were in the rear view mirror and the skyline of Denver loomed before us. The absolute exhilaration of the day crashed down around us as the reality of the city became apparent.

Leaving the Rockies is extremely difficult, but it is more. Symbolic of our entire journey, we are leaving behind the mountains, the oceans, the deserts that we have called home for two months. What we bring with us is immeasurable ... respect of nature, gratitude of the road and love for each other. So tonight we are down - in altitude and attitude. Desert and corn tomorrow.

But all that came before will see us through.