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I was going to Leadville, Colorado, for a meeting and decided to bring my bike so that I could ride the Mineral Belt Trail. When I got out of the meeting, the sky was black. The trail runs right past the Aquatic Center, so I decided to leave my car there and go clockwise around the loop.
I thought that I could stay ahead of the storm, and then sneak around behind it. I got 0.4 miles before the rain hit and the temperature began to drop, but I had brought my bike to Leadville, and I was going to complete the loop.
I said that if there was lightning, I would turn back. There was lightning, but I kept going.
There was wind and hail. There was a monsoon.
My shoes were full of water and I couldn’t see because of spray coming off my front tire.
Every time I pedaled, water would pump out of my shoes.
I was breathing through my mouth. Hail lodged in my esophagus. The temperature was 39°.
By mile three I couldn’t feel my hands.
There was a long down hill section with a road crossing at the bottom. The bike wasn’t slowing, and I couldn’t tell how hard I was braking. The brakes began to make a noise like a sasquatch trying to mate with a wood chipper. I remember thinking that at the time, “sasquatch trying to mate with a wood chipper.”
To occupy my mind I wrote a poem. I’ve already forgotten it. Something about death.
I finished the loop and got back to the car. My hands were so cold that it took me several minutes to get the car key out of my pocket. I think I had hypothermia and frostbite.
I’m glad I brought my bike to Leadville.
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