So there I was…
Walking the streets of Durango at night looking to quench my thirst after a long Saturday. The day had already been pretty damn awesome. I woke up at 5:30am to harvest vegetables, then worked the farmers market until noon. Then, I decided it was time to rip my legs off with a hard hard ride. I setup Long Tall Sally rocking the one cog, threw on some big fatties, then proceeded to punch it all the way up skyline trail to the very top of Raiders Ridge, then shred it all the way down the ridge to Horse gulch. It’s crazy how much better I ride when not given the option of gears. I cleared just about that entire ride, and it’s not easy on a geared full suspension. I grabbed a hammer and tape measure I had left at a job site in town, then cruised back up to the farm where I worked until dark on the camper and installed a new kickass deck/porch. I then cooked a huge meal from vegetables that didn’t sell at market that day-fresh organic squash, onions, beets, and German butterball potatoes, accompanied with some salmon. After stuffing myself silly, I rode downtown to check out the action.
Many of you might or might not know the USA Pro Challenge bike race is starting here in Durango on monday. It is a huge deal for the city. There is just energy everywhere. Downtown has been closed to cars and there are pedestrians and vendors everywhere. Plus all the stuff needed for the race-cool looking barriers, stages, bleachers, extra bike parking, etc. Everywhere you go there are team cars- BMC, Radioshack, Garmin Sharp, Omega Pharma, Liquigas, Astana, and more. Pro riders are mingling with the locals. Bikes are freakin everywhere. It’s just awesome.
So, I walk into my favorite bar, El Rancho. It’s packed, more so than usual, and just hoppin;. New Belgium beers is one the bigger sponsors of the race, and so all their beers were on special, plus they were doing drawings for schwag and a cruiser. They had this beer I’d never tried, Biere de Mars . I order a pint. The bartender brings it up and then slips me 6 tickets for the drawing, apparently left behind from previous patrons. I knew at once that I was going to win something. Just a gut instinct, because that how my luck goes in this town. I barely have one sip of beer and they start the drawing. My timing was just absolutely perfect. Sure enough, the first ticket they call out was one of mine, and I score a sweet Fat Tire trucker hat. The night was off to great start.
I put my new hat on and head to the rear and meet some folks I know. I’m talking with this crazy mofo and all of a sudden he says ” Dude, do you know who the f#$* that is standing behind you? That’s f&*(%$ Cadel Evans!” I turn around, and sure enough, there is the 2011 Tour de France winner with a bunch of other BMC teammates. They go get some beer and when they come back I meet Cadel and shoot the shit with him for a few minutes over some awesome beer from Mars. He is super down to earth, I mean obviously, he’s hanging out in one of the diviest bars in Durango at 10pm drinking beers and meeting locals. Everyone else is getting autographs and picture ops, but I didn’t really care for either, as it was more memorable just hanging out with these guys.
Anyways, they didn’t stay too long, but my night was going so awesome I decided to stay and close that mother down. Been a while since I partied that hard, but it was totally worth it. I might have even had a little other good fortune come my way even later in the night, but that’s off topic.
Life is good, just another day in Durango, Colorado.