SAG'n

I was Christine's personal SAG (supplies an gear) vehicle yesterday during the Triple Bypass. I had a cooler full of cold drinks and a bag full of gear to keep her ready for any weather. I also had my own gear so I could ride along with her as much as possible.

I dropped her off at the start area early in the morning and then drove down I-70 to the Georgetown aid station. From Georgetown I geared up and and rode the opposite direction on the course until I found her. I ended up making it almost all the way up to Echo Lake before we crossed paths. We rode down into Idaho Springs and on to Georgetown together. After a bite to eat in Georgetown, we continued west.

When I did the ride a couple years ago, I remember the stretch from Idaho Springs to Loveland ski resort being a tiring uphill drag and I wanted to ride as much of that as possible with Christine. After leaving Georgetown, the route follows along some bike paths and frontage roads for a while before getting onto the shoulder of I-70. I rode almost up to I-70 with her and then turned around so I could get the car and meet her at Loveland resort. I would have loved to ride the whole way to Loveland with her, but that would mean I'd eventually have to ride back on I-70 alone and it didn't seem like a good idea.

The timing worked out well because Christine got to the ski resort a minute or two after I parked the car. I got back on my bike and rode with her up to the top of Loveland Pass. They had a camera man up there, so hopefully there will be a good picture of us together. I said goodbye to her atop Loveland Pass met her again briefly at the Summit County High School Aid Station before driving up to the top of Vail Pass. I hopped on my bike again on Vail Pass and rode down to meet Christine at Copper Mountain.

Of the 3 passes Vail is the easiest, but after almost 100 miles of riding, it's plenty hard. It's a great feeling to pull into the Vail Pass aid station because you know you've ridden about 100 miles, and the remaining 20 miles are all downhill. I said goodbye to Christine one final time and then met her at the finish.

At the end of the day, I had actually ridden 80 miles in between shuttling the car and riding with Christine.