Day 39
July 9, 2005
Today was nice. I got up a little later than I wanted, packed up, went to the grocery store for breakfast goodies, went over to check up in the guys, and hit the road.
The guys took the day off yesterday because they weren’t feeling too well. I think they are passing some kind of bug around through them. I like hanging out with them, we had a good, relatively short, time yesterday and hopefully I’ll see them again tomorrow. I chatted with them while I ate and set out to get a jump on them.
About 12 miles out of Kremmling I came to a reservoir where people were enjoying the sun through various water sports. About a mile around a truck with three guys passed me. Shortly I passed them as they were getting out to make their way up a little cliff on the bank of the reservoir. I stopped at the top of the dam to take a few pictures, and as I was stopped I noticed the three guys climbing to the top of the cliff. The only thing I could imagine they were doing was getting ready to jump off. And yes, they did indeed jump off. One by one they stepped off the cliff, enjoyed a three second freefall, and plunged into the water below.
It took about three minutes to convince myself I’d be filled with regret for the next week if I didn’t turn back and jump off that cliff with them.
I turned around and went back to find a guy making his way out of the water. I asked him how the jump was and he replied with an expected, “Ah, it’s awesome!” I lost my shoes and socks, put on my sandals, and made my way up the cliff. When I got to the top it looked four times higher than from the top of the dam a quarter mile away. It took a solid ten to fifteen minutes to work up the nerve to jump. But when I did it was great.
The freefall was long enough for me to go through a mini-cycle of emotions. I left the rock still with the fear of jumping – bad feeling, I then realized I actually jumped and was really flying through the air – good feeling, then I realized I was screaming toward the water at an incredible rate and didn’t want to die – bad feeling. The water was probably a cool 55 degrees and it felt great. It was such a rush, I could barely swim back I was so out of breath from screaming on the way down, screaming once I popped out of the water, and shaking from the adrenaline and coolness of the water. It was one of those things you really couldn’t pass up; a curbside thrill in this coast-to-coast adventure.
After I left the adrenaline junkies, I went to the nearby convenience store to swap shorts and get a bite to eat. I told the lady I am cycling across the country and just had a mini-adventure in jumping off the cliff at the reservoir with some locals. She rolled her eyes and shook her head as I told her of my feat and said, “I supposed they forgot to tell you about the guy that died last year doing that…” I told her no, they didn’t mention it. But just to give you a little glimpse into my sometimes skewed psyche, the first thing that popped into my head when she said that was, “No, and it’s a good thing. I probably wouldn’t have done it if they had…”
Anyway, that was the thrill for the day, and I’m still reeling from it. I’m at Borders right now and their about to kick me out, so I have to wrap it up.
Tomorrow I head to Breckenridge for breakfast and then over Hoosier Pass, the highest of the trip. Monday I’ll hit Pueblo, halfway.
Today: 43.54 Total: 1,809.90
Today was nice. I got up a little later than I wanted, packed up, went to the grocery store for breakfast goodies, went over to check up in the guys, and hit the road.
The guys took the day off yesterday because they weren’t feeling too well. I think they are passing some kind of bug around through them. I like hanging out with them, we had a good, relatively short, time yesterday and hopefully I’ll see them again tomorrow. I chatted with them while I ate and set out to get a jump on them.
About 12 miles out of Kremmling I came to a reservoir where people were enjoying the sun through various water sports. About a mile around a truck with three guys passed me. Shortly I passed them as they were getting out to make their way up a little cliff on the bank of the reservoir. I stopped at the top of the dam to take a few pictures, and as I was stopped I noticed the three guys climbing to the top of the cliff. The only thing I could imagine they were doing was getting ready to jump off. And yes, they did indeed jump off. One by one they stepped off the cliff, enjoyed a three second freefall, and plunged into the water below.
It took about three minutes to convince myself I’d be filled with regret for the next week if I didn’t turn back and jump off that cliff with them.
I turned around and went back to find a guy making his way out of the water. I asked him how the jump was and he replied with an expected, “Ah, it’s awesome!” I lost my shoes and socks, put on my sandals, and made my way up the cliff. When I got to the top it looked four times higher than from the top of the dam a quarter mile away. It took a solid ten to fifteen minutes to work up the nerve to jump. But when I did it was great.
The freefall was long enough for me to go through a mini-cycle of emotions. I left the rock still with the fear of jumping – bad feeling, I then realized I actually jumped and was really flying through the air – good feeling, then I realized I was screaming toward the water at an incredible rate and didn’t want to die – bad feeling. The water was probably a cool 55 degrees and it felt great. It was such a rush, I could barely swim back I was so out of breath from screaming on the way down, screaming once I popped out of the water, and shaking from the adrenaline and coolness of the water. It was one of those things you really couldn’t pass up; a curbside thrill in this coast-to-coast adventure.
After I left the adrenaline junkies, I went to the nearby convenience store to swap shorts and get a bite to eat. I told the lady I am cycling across the country and just had a mini-adventure in jumping off the cliff at the reservoir with some locals. She rolled her eyes and shook her head as I told her of my feat and said, “I supposed they forgot to tell you about the guy that died last year doing that…” I told her no, they didn’t mention it. But just to give you a little glimpse into my sometimes skewed psyche, the first thing that popped into my head when she said that was, “No, and it’s a good thing. I probably wouldn’t have done it if they had…”
Anyway, that was the thrill for the day, and I’m still reeling from it. I’m at Borders right now and their about to kick me out, so I have to wrap it up.
Tomorrow I head to Breckenridge for breakfast and then over Hoosier Pass, the highest of the trip. Monday I’ll hit Pueblo, halfway.
Today: 43.54 Total: 1,809.90
posted by SuperByron3000 at 7/09/2005
1 Comments:
HEY BYRON! This is Caitlin. Andy and I are in Pueblo right now (it's Monday the 11th) and we were wondering where you were at. We might hang out here tomorrow because today we got really lost and it was a huge debacle, resulting in emotional breakdowns and ice cream. You should email me at caitlingiddings@yahoo.com.
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