Day 20: Super long and steep Indiana Pass, with freezing rain at the summit.  Came down with hypothermia and had to bail for the night at 6:00 p.m.

Tour Divide: Day 20

Ride time: 6:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (12 hours)
Miles ridden: 66 on-course + 1 off-course = 67
Total on-course miles covered: 1948

MTBCast Call-in

Felix Wong in Del Norte

Submitted by sherry on July 2, 2008 – 3:46 p.m.
Racer update about: Felix Wong
Hi this is Felix Wong, calling at 12:45 on Wednesday, July 2nd, from Del Norte, CO.

[…yesterday…]

Today hasn’t been going quite so well. My legs are quite tired. Especially after coming down into Del Norte. I was expecting it to be all downhill. In fact there were some pretty significant although short climbs. The road to Del Norte was not good at all. Way too much sand. Virtually unrideable. I did not enjoy that at all.

I’m glad to be into Del Norte because I was completely out of food and water. I was hungry and tired. I just restocked at a grocery store.

Now I am looking forward to going up Indiana Pass. Actually, not looking forward to it. I’m actually quite apprehensive about it. It’s 4,000 feet of climbing and 25 miles long. But I guess I’ll see how it goes. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.
(recorder time: 2008-07-02 13:47:59 EST)

From the Notebook

  • Met a David and Julie (?) from Minnesota. They rode the Bicycle Tour of Colorado (BTC) and were riding from Durango to Denver. Then they were going to ride through the Rocky Mountain National Park. They just needed to be back home by August 13. They were riding hybrid bicycles with panniers.
  • Sandy trails to Del Norte. Sand was very deep in places; virtually unrideable.
  • Del Norte: progressive. Organic markets; no plastic.
  • Passed by Organic Peddler, where Tori had told me on the phone that Adrian Stingaciu had bought $50 worth of sandwiches and staff couldn’t believe it.
  • Indiana Pass: steep, long. Rain about two miles form the top.
  • Hypothermia; had to take evasive action (set up tent and strip off clothes) not long after summit since was so cold could not control brakes or shifters.
Day 20: Super long and steep Indiana Pass, with freezing rain at the summit.  Came down with hypothermia and had to bail for the night at 6:00 p.m.
Day 20: Super long and steep Indiana Pass, with freezing rain at the summit. Came down with hypothermia and had to bail for the night at 6:00 p.m.