Ride the Rockies

About 2,500 cyclists from nearly every U.S. state and a few foreign countries are riding through Colorado for Ride the Rockies. The scenery took a shift Wednesday with the ride from Rifle to Glenwood Springs passing by a 1,800-acre wildfire threatening about 200 homes in Canyon Creek. Opposite rippled, steep treed mountains and opposite the Colorado River, smoke plumed from the base of Storm King (where 14 elite firefighters died in 1994) as crews set back burns to eat up fuel near houses. TV trucks set up nearby. Some cyclists stopped to take photos. Wildfires are stressful for residents but seem to happen in some of the most beautiful spots in the state...Lots of friendly people. Eric Ashley runs a boys and girls club in Wisconsin and took time off to Ride the Rockies. "I trained maybe four months, but being from Wisconsin, nothing prepared me for this!" Coming up: Independence Pass!