I have fallen behind in my posting for a couple different reasons, so my catch-up will be a bit different.

I had a surprise visit on this day 15, when my wife, Margaret, surprised me with a visit on the road. It was an absolutely beautiful ride with sweeping climbs and descents. The mountains were amazing and the ride just about perfect. And then it got better.

On a typical day, there is a SAG stop approximately every 20 miles. Since this was an 81 mile day, there would be a SAG stop at 20, 40 and 60 miles. At these stops there is generally a wide variety of food to sustain us on our ride. These stops also give us a chance to get off the bike for a few minutes and socialize along the way. We share animal sightings, observations about the terrain, wind and road conditions and we support and receive support from others in the tour. They are a very important part of the tour. Not only do the SAG drivers put out a wonderful in-ride spread for us, they also are available for assistance with minor roadside issues, like flat tires. They also can give cyclists “bumps” if we are too tired, ill, or otherwise unable to ride the full day. They are significant in making the ride “fully supported.”

Margaret herself is an expert SAG driver and she often offers (and I always accept!) to be my personal SAG on the one- or two-day rides I do.

Another thing that typically happens is that one guide rides sweep in the morning and the other moves the van and trailer to a point roughly halfway along the route. The second guide then gets on her bike and rides to the back of the group and the first finishes her ride at the place where the van is parked and then drives to the destination. On longer or hot days we can unlock the trailer to fill our water bottles, so it is not uncommon to see cyclists around the parked van/trailer.

Margaret had communicated with one of the guides, Cy, to ask permission to come for dinner on one of the days during a conference that brought Margaret to Denver thus week. Cy had shared the cue sheet with Margaret so she could try to surprise me along the route. It worked!

I was climbing up towards the biggest peak that day and saw the van and trailer parked in a big pull-off. I also saw a single cyclist and an SUV parked there, but I did not see the driver. As I pulled in, I saw it was Margaret! I was truly surprised. And really happy to see her!

Margaret followed the cue sheet and met me and others at the 40 and 60 mile SAG stops. When we arrived at the hotel, I quickly showered and changed into street clothes and we went to a local Starbucks before dinner sadly, she had to return to Denver and the conference right after dinner, but we spent a nice amount of time together. It is also nice that she has now met the women on this tour so it is easier for me to share stories about this trip.