I found out earlier this week that I am officially over pneumonia. Woo hoo! And what better way to celebrate than getting on the bike and pushing myself! I have been doing some small rides and doing interval work on the trainer trying to build up my endurance, but I had no idea how I’d do on a long ride with lots of climbing, much less multiple days with lots of climbing.

Jonathan has wanted to ride Independence Pass for a long time. It is a bucket list item for him. So we decided to make a weekend of it and we set out early Friday morning to ride Independence Pass from the Leadville side, and Jonathan and our friend Matt rode from Leadville, and I set out from Twin Lakes (a very cute, quaint town near the base of the pass). I rode 34.5 miles (about half of that to the top) and climbed 3200 feet. My total ride was 2 hours, 45 min, and was by far my longest ride since injuring my achilles in April.

The ride on that side was absolutely beautiful. We climbed up to just over 12,000 feet and the only downside was a nasty headwind. Below is a picture of the three of us at the summit:

After dropping Matt back off in Leadville, we drove to Aspen/SnowMass where we stayed the night. The next morning we tackled Independence Pass from the Aspen side. It was a little longer climb, about 19 miles, and more climbing, 4250 feet, but it was even more beautiful than the ride the previous day.  I took my time, kept my heart rate under control, and felt pretty good by the time I made it to the top (where Jonathan had been waiting for quite a while – good husband).

And because 2 hard days of riding for me wasn’t enough, Jonathan, who knows my competitive spirit, put the idea in my head that we should do another big ride today.  So of course I said yes. We started in Breckenridge, rode over Swan Mountain, into Keystone, and we both started up Loveland Pass. I went a few miles, then decided the high speed traffic and lack of a shoulder was enough for me (and I’ve ridden this pass before). So I went down and climbed a much more scenic pass, Montezuma Mountain, just outside of Keystone. I climbed 3000 feet and total riding time was 3 hours.

While I have been unable to ride much since April, when I hurt my achilles, and then getting pneumonia 4 weeks ago, I haven’t lost my love for riding. In fact, being unable to ride for so long has definitely made me appreciate it much more. I wasn’t out to set any land speed records, and was just riding for me. It certainly helped that the scenery was spectacular!

Tomorrow will definitely involve a recovery ride, then back to training hard Tuesday. I have a lot of ground to make up!