Erik Porter - Triple Bypass

Hello, two years ago I photographed Geri and her two bicycling partners, Susan and Holly, riding the Triple Bypass on a cold, rainy day in July. Only about a third of the 3,500 registered riders finished that year, including the "Fillmore Girls".
Click here to see the 2006 ride. 2006 Triple.
Another cyclist who finished the '06 ride was Erik Porter, who is a good friend of Holly and her husband, Doug. Erik's wife, Eva, called me a few months ago to see if I was available to photograph Erik's Triple Bypass ride - for the 4th time. Since I didn't have a wedding, I accepted the challenge and decided to have some fun with it. The ride is the flagship event for Team Evergreen Bicycle Club. Team Evergreen.
Geri offered to sag, as she knew the route and had lots of great spots in mind for photo opportunities. Click here to see a slideshow of Erik's ride. Erik's Triple.
Erik started his ride at 5am on Saturday, July 12, at the intersection of Evergreen Parkway and Squaw Pass Road - in the dark. Erik headed up Squaw Pass, but Geri and I had to drive around to Idaho Springs and up the back side of the pass (11,140 feet in elevation), because the road was closed to vehicle traffic. It worked out well, as we caught up with him at the summit at sunrise. His neighbor, Steve, dropped him off and sagged for him all the way to Loveland ski area, where Erik's wife, mother, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and two kids picked up the sagging duties.
One of the most interesting aspects of Erik's ride was that he started his ride so early, he was basically a solitary rider - rather than part of a group of riders. There were a handful of other cyclists that started about the same time, and they all kept a good pace and finished in the top ten.
Erik powered his way up to Loveland ski area where he met up with his family and Steve, before climbing Loveland Pass (11,990 feet in elevation), just before 10am on a beautiful, Colorado blue-sky day.
After a quick descent, the route traveled across Dillon Lake Dam Road before entering Frisco, Copper Mountain, and the climb up Vail Pass (10,560 feet). From the summit of Vail Pass to the town of Vail, the course continued mostly on bike paths, so we drove ahead to the finish line at Nottingham Park in Avon. Erik completed the ride, including breaks, in 8 hours and 27 minutes.
Thanks Eva and Erik, for a great day!
Cheers, Kent