Avery Boudurango - FINAL DAY

We've ridden our bikes to Ouray CO. This is too far of a drive for some people. In my humble opinion this is the most beautiful town in Colorado and it seems an appropriate place to begin our final day. The huge mountains and tumbling waterfalls on every side of town make you feel very humble and this bike ride has been no different. I'm overwhelmed by the experience I've had this week and can't wait to recount more stories of these amazing breweries and people coming together as a family but we leave in 30minutes so all these thoughts will have to wait for now. The one thought that is stuck in my head came from one of our riders last night at dinner. He's completed to Bouldurango ride twice now and he said both years at the top of Red Mountain Pass he has started to cry. The beauty, the experience, and knowing he was going to complete something he doubted he could many times just washed over him and he couldn't control himself.
We are all very fortunate to have this chance in our lives. I'm so glad Adam had the vision to put this together and I can't wait to see where this goes in the coming years. But for now its into the breach for one final battle. Suffer baby Suffer. Talk to you all from Durango.

Bouldurango Ride - Day 4

Crested Butte CO. I love this town. The Brick Oven bike team lived up to the hype and pulled us up and over Cottonwood Pass at a clip faster than most would dare. Those guys are animals, with them along we were 20 riders strong. The dirt backside of Cottonwood was in as good a shape as one could of hoped but it still shook the feeling out of my feet (and other things) by half way down. We encountered a little rain and some strong winds near Taylor Resevoir but they passed quickly. We ended the day with beers and pizza at the Brick Oven with the whole crew celebrating a rough day in the books.
Tomorrow morning we have a 7AM call with 130 miles to ride and by far the longest day in the saddle to deal with. Luckily a good portion of it will be in the desert with temps into the 90s. Good times.
I wish I could relate this experience in a better fashion than this but I'm so spent my thoughts are not very coherent. I promise to write a thorough retrospective of this whole crazy experience but for now I have to sleep and prepare for the longest I've ever ridden a bicycle. Thanks to everyone who is keeping up with us. Life is good out on the road.

More pictures should be up on facebook from our latest adventures.

Bouldurango - Day 3

Today was the "easy day" of our week. Just under 70 miles from Breckenridge into Buena Vista. The day began with a quick ascent up Hoosier Pass that included some excitment in the form of pedlaing through a river that had broken its banks and was flowing across the road, and several stops for road construction. Once we reached the summit and had sweated out some of the alcohol from the night before it was time to get down to the real business of the day. Going fast. We descended the back side of Hoosier through the town of Alma and into Fairplay so fast we had to wait on the support vehichles to catch up. After filling up with some water we began a pace line through the South Park valley that sustained speeds of 38 miles an hour. It was faster than I had planned on pushing but it was awesome. After a scary ride through the canyon down 285, by the way a special thanks to the eighteen wheeler driver who thought I should get such a close view of his trailer, we arrived in BV.

The group quickly headed to Eddie Line Brewing for beers and to refill our hungry bodies. The beer was awesome, I'm a big fan of their Colorado Pale Ale or CPA, food was great too. After gorging ourselves most of us went for a swim in the always chilly Arkansas River, the icy water was just what the doctor ordered. The 10 beers that followed the icy water may not have been what the doctor ordered. Later the Brick Oven bike team from Crested Butte showed up with challenges that eventually lead to double shots of Yager and PBR tall boy cans. Somewhere out there there is a picture of Adam Avery posing with his PBR, I'll do my best to find a copy to share with the world later this week. Now you see why I'm writing this blog the morning after Day 3?

So now I most go prepare my broken body for Day 4. Up and over Cottonwood pass and a 13 mile dirt descent on road bike tires. After that its straight into the mouth of the beast... Crested Butte CO, the Brick Oven Pizza and all the wonderful pain that comes with them. Can't wait. Until next time keep it real, and go ride a bike. Cheers,

Bouldurango Ride Day 1

For the third year in a row the Bouldurango ride has begun. For those of you who don’t know what that means our annual road bike ride from Avery Brewing in Boulder, CO to the Ska Brewery in Durango, CO started Monday morning. It began by leaving out of Avery Brewing via a quick trip down Hwy 93, over Look Out Mntn, up Floyd Hill, and down the old bike trail into Idaho Springs for a total of around 45 miles. Today is the shortest day. For those of you who think that sounds like a hellish trip you are not that far from the truth. The temps today were close to 100 degrees and the elevation gain didn’t do a lot to ease the boiling. We finished our day with a tasty late lunch and beers at the Tommy Knocker brewery. But I’m getting ahead of myself as this is my first blog I guess I should introduce myself and the team.

My name is Dustin Lemoine and I’m the CO sales manager for Avery Brewing. This is my first year riding the Bouldurango, in fact it’s my first year riding any road bike ride. Via random chance I was lucky enough to S.A.G (support and gear) the ride for the crew last year and I was so impressed with the experience I witnessed that I decided I had to be involved in the group suffering this year. So in March I bought a shiny new carbon fiber Blue (the company not the color) RD1.1 and began training (Thanks Orli). My training wasn’t as strong as I wish it was it was, but I can’t really picture a point I would of felt “ready” for this ride. So I’m doing what I can with what I’ve got. Other than myself the Team Avery group includes our Head of Operations Steve Breezley, our Head Brewer Matt “HandTruck” Thrall, our newest employee Joe Osbourne (Marketing Director), and of course our fearless leader Adam Avery. Other than team Avery; Ska brewing has a team of 4 riders, Oskar Blues has a team of 4 riders, and from the far reaches of Chico, CA Sierra Nevada has shown up strong with a team of 2. It’s a rowdy bunch that gives me hope for all of humanity.

From day one this ride has been about brewery unity, supporting bike culture, and an overwhelming belief that suffering together will make us all stronger. This year will be no different. Tomorrow we head to Breckenridge Brewing in the quaint mountain town of Breckenridge CO. It will include a leisurely jaunt up Hwy 70 frontage road past Georgetown, over Loveland Pass, through Keystone, over Swan Mntn Rd, and into Breckenridge for a total of around 55 miles. After that it’s all downhill, not literally but I’m taking this one day at a time. Along the way we will visit many more breweries, touch many more lives, and possibly change the world. I will do my best to have more details and adventurous stories as the week goes on but for now I’m late for my massage. That’s right we suffer together to make ourselves stronger. My final sage like words? Go out and do something that takes you out of your comfort zone and pushes you to be better. It’ll change your life. Cheers

To check out all the latest pictures of the days ride check out Avery Brewing on FaceBook...

http://www.facebook.com/AveryBrewing