Doing -- not having -- the Triple Bypass

There's a popular organized road ride out here called the Triple Bypass. It gets its play-on-words name due to the fact that the route riders take involves going over 3 heart-rate-elevating high mountain passes (the summit elevations are 11,140 ft., 11,990 ft., and 10, 560 ft.), has 10,990 feet of combined elevation gain, and is 120 miles in length. (A profile of the ride can be found here.) The ride is so popular that there's a lottery in place for entry, and the organizing club routinely receives more applications than the 3,500 available spaces.

I learned on Thursday that a friend who was signed up for it couldn't do it. After some last-minute phone calls and maneuvers to line up housing for us and Chamberlain, I was able to take his spot. I got up early yesterday morning and began pedaling my upward and westward with some friends at 6:50 am. I wouldn't reach the finish line, near Beaver Creek, until after putting in just under 8 hours of saddle time. While I was riding, though, Peggy and Chloe were checking out some hiking trails in the Vail area, and spending some time poolside at the Ritz sipping on Shirley Temples and the like. To be sure, all 3 of us had a great day.