Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/08/2013 11:32 PM |
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Got into Estes just before sunset; beautiful drive through the canyon.
Boulder where I picked up rental bike (Roubaix) - shades of Santa Cruz. Looks like a nice drag. Will need to check it out better Saturday.
My roomie for next couple of days
Tomorrow's Fare: Trail Ridge Rd.
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2564746 |
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Inferno7
Posts:344
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| 07/08/2013 11:42 PM |
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| Looks good OC, enjoy. |
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huckleberry
Posts:824
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| 07/09/2013 08:54 AM |
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| Have fun, OC! |
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cycling chick
Posts:72
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| 07/09/2013 09:18 AM |
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| Enjoy! |
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Keith Richards
Posts:781
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| 07/09/2013 09:56 AM |
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A rental bike? But what about the fit? You need to go for a fitting by a qualified tech before you hurt yourself man!  |
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| -----
It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong. |
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jmdirt
Posts:775
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| 07/09/2013 10:12 AM |
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| Have a blast! |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 07/09/2013 10:15 AM |
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| Nice. Have fun and post more pics, please! |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/09/2013 03:22 PM |
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| Keith - I just told the guy 29.5" bracket to seat and we're good :-)
Trail ridge ride done - 30 km climbing is pure awesomeness.
Started off feeling pretty poorly. Not having ridden a bike since June 21 and gaining 10lbs from good Italian food and wine definitely showed.
Once the real climbing started things got better; just find your rythm and go.
Tricky winds in the Alpine. Dry air is tough to deal with for a wet coaster like myself but the altitude seemed OK.
First experience with SRAM, mix of red and force. Not bad. But I very much dislike the gatorskins (25 mm) for descending.
Some pics tonight but first into town for some grub.
Mt Evans tomorrow? Any why is it that all my paragraphs disappear and this becomes a big jumble? |
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ChinookPass
Posts:809
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| 07/09/2013 04:14 PM |
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I always felt that above, say 8000ft, the wind usually feels like there's nothing to it. You can ride a lot faster in a headwind at altitude than at sea level. Gusts along the passes are another story, esp at speed when descending.
Sounds like you have little to no acclimatization. Good to hear you made it up Trail Ridge with no altitude problems. |
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BikeCzar
Posts:53
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| 07/09/2013 05:28 PM |
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Welcome.
That last couple thousand feet of elevation might hit you a little harder. Always does me. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/09/2013 07:15 PM |
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No kidding BC. 11,000-12,000 ft is typically where it hits me hiking but no experience riding this high. Chinook, the winds were stiff enough to get a little better grip on the handlebars - but not too tight. Couple times were there was definite risk of getting blown off or into the road.
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 07/09/2013 07:48 PM |
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| Great ride! Keep those pics coming. |
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Inferno7
Posts:344
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| 07/10/2013 08:10 AM |
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| Nice OC. |
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Entheo
Posts:317
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| 07/10/2013 10:53 AM |
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| pretty sure when we were there we descended 7 to lily lake and then fish creek road back up. near the end of the climb was a nasty little pitch that had to be 15-20%. the other ride we did was up thru the park and back down the backside to town. nice place -- watch for the herds of caribou coming into town in the wee hours of the morning. |
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vtguy
Posts:298
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| 07/10/2013 11:12 AM |
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| Nice images! Thanks for posting them. Sounds like a great time. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/10/2013 06:53 PM |
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| Entheo - I haven't seen any steep pitches so far. Ridden two days now (Evans today) and steepest I've come across is maybe 7% (and then there's those funny signs that say steep road :-) Nasty headwinds tho and today got caught in a thunderstorm (twice) but more about that later. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 07/10/2013 09:54 PM |
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| 12000 feet on trail ridge road has its own challenges. |
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BikeCzar
Posts:53
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| 07/10/2013 09:55 PM |
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| If you want steep, I can help you find it. But yes Mt. Evans and Trail Ridge are not known for their steepness. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/10/2013 10:13 PM |
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BC - I am looking for an idea for Friday. I had originally thought Copper Triangle but soured on that one driving over part of route today (highway, bunch of mine tailings); the other option was going to be Colorado Nat Monument. Looks great but a bit aways from Leadville. Anything else must ride in the area? You mentioned Loveland Pass before which I saw along the I70.
Saturday I am thinking maybe an afternoon spin in Boulder area if I still have juice left. Or maybe just drink beer! |
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BikeCzar
Posts:53
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| 07/10/2013 10:43 PM |
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Yeah, man. I can make a couple of suggestions.
If you want to ride in the high country which may be good with the temps down low expected to be in the mid nineties, I'd say maybe a Loveland Guanella Pass combo. Guanella Pass from Georgetown is really really nice. Smooth pavement, great views. It may not be enough as a stand alone. You could park at Keystone ski area and do both. I'll guess it would be around 80 miles and 9000 ft. of climbing. There is a nice little bike path combined with a frontage road that gets you from near Loveland Ski area down to Georgetown so you don't have to ride I-70. Or park at Loveland Ski Area and ride down to Georgetown, get Guanella, then ride back to your car and give yourself the option of hitting the east side of Loveland Pass with a quick ride back down to your car. It's a long uphill drag from Georgetown to Loveland Pass Rd.
If you want more suffering then come back into Boulder. Ride over Old Stage Rd. to left turn on Left Hand Canyon to Overland Dr. through Jamestown, continue through Jamestown and on up the SuperJames climb all the way to Peak to Peak highway (few miles of dirt). Left turn on P2P up to Ward. Slide down through Ward to a right turn on Lee Hill Road. Up and over back into Boulder. Add on Flagstaff or SuperFlag to make it epic.
Or just hit some Boulder climbs. SuperFlag, Sunshine (few miles of dirt), Four Mile to Gold Hill (few miles of dirt), Magnolia Rd to the dirt or to Ned. In any combination and order. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/14/2013 08:13 AM |
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BikeCzar - yeah those local Boulder climbs are tough and more pitchy than the high country. This is more like the stuff I ride at home.
Did Nederland - Sugarloaf loop, parked about 2 miles out of Nederland to south (up the hill). Fast ride down the canyon (119), first pitchy part of Sugarloaf was OK. Then really started suffering in the mid-day heat (or maybe it was just the collective fatigue from previous days)and went through my water bottles in no time. Had to paperboy it up the last pitchy part near top. The downhill part now that was steep.The dirt got a little rough near the end (washboard), once back on 72 ripped back to NL as the weather turned south again and just managed to reach car before torential downpoor. That's it for CO, thanks for the advise. Cheers!
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