No, we’re not having health problems, nor are we open heart surgeons! But we were sucking wind. . .
Last Saturday, five of us from WORKSHOP8 World Headquarters along with two honorary team members—Marcel’s fiance, Monika and W8 client, Morgan Young—did the Triple Bypass Ride 2015. After a Friday night WORKSHOP8 carb-loading party with two birthday cakes (one for Emily and one for me) and three types of pasta, we were ready to conquer the tough 120 mile ride!
Riding a bike over 100 miles from Evergreen to Avon, across the Rocky Mountains and three mountain passes, may seem super difficult, but we did it along with 3,500 other crazy cyclists. The course was absolutely gorgeous, and with the exception of a few short rainstorms, the weather was nice for us.
prepping for the ride
We worked our way up to the Bypass with a few training rides. The final one was an early morning test of our new WORKSHOP8 jerseys on a ride up Super Flag on the Wednesday prior to the ride. That one felt a little grueling, but it was nothing compared to the course of the ride five days later.
along the way
As we reminded each other throughout the training and anticipation, the Triple Bypass is a ride, not a race! To that end, we started at different times, to try to compensate for who we knew would be riding faster than the others so that we could hopefully ride together for a spell in the middle of the day.
Emily and I started in Evergreen at 6:45 in the morning, and Marcel, Monika, Shawn, Morgan, and Joseph got rolling at 7:30. By the time Emily and I reached the Juniper Pass aid station stop and had refilled our Gatorade, eaten cookies, bananas, and bagels, Joseph and Shawn pulled in. We hustled and got back on the road, but they passed us in another half hour!
We met up with Monika and Marcel at the top of Loveland Pass, the pinnacle of the ride.
It’s hard to believe that we were cycling at almost 12,000 feet. I guess it wasn’t just the beautiful scenery that was taking my breath away!
and we made it. . .
Joseph was the first one to hit the finish in less than 8 hours. Morgan from Young Ideas pulled in shortly after Joseph, and then came Shawn. They kicked back, ate dinner, celebrated with some absolutely delicious beer, and even went to the hotel room for a shower, while they waited another few hours for the rest of us to trickle in.
Marcel and Monika were next, then Emily, and finally, I brought up the rear. (Hey, I was taking breaks and checking out the wildflowers and stuff!) By that time, it was 6:30, but we had all crossed the finish line. It was so good to have our support team, Brandy, Parker, and Andrea, Otto, Elsa, and Esther, all celebrating with us at the end! We did it! 120 miles from the Eastern Slope to the Western Slope. Team WORKSHOP! Phew!!!
about Melissa. . .
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In addition to serving as WORKSHOP8 studio and marketing manager, Melissa a professional musician playing with several Colorado bands. She rushed back to Boulder after the Triple Bypass to play a gig at Conor O”Neills.
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