This time we started from the toll gate, which is located about 18 miles and 6,600 feet from the summit. I wanted to ride the entire length of the highway at least once since the Hill Climb "race" only covered the final 2/3 of the highway. I also rode down from the summit and recorded a pretty nice video on my new GoPro.
Near the top some people driving by started to give me encouragement from their windows. In fact, three people yelled "you got this" or "you're almost there", which was very nice. A couple of people at the summit gave me a pat on the back, or said I was crazy, or wanted to strike up a conversation with me and ask a few questions. A lot of the cars that passed me along the way had Texas, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska plates. I can imagine seeing some people riding to the top on a bike was somewhat mind-blowing for them.
After the ride my parents and I went out to lunch together and then I stayed at their place for about an hour. It was really nice to hang out with them and enjoy a fun adventure and their company. That's a rare occurrence these days (1:1 time), since we're both busy and I am usually competing with the kids for air time. I also think it's pretty cool that they were willing and able to do this together. For the vast majority of families even the thought of doing something like this is laughable all the way around!
