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Bicycle Tour of Colorado: ~ 415 miles, 35,000 feet climbing
Bicycle Tour of Colorado: Steamboat Springs loop ~ 415 miles, 35,000 feet climbing.
Campsites: Walden, Winter Park, Copper Mountain, Leadville, Kremmling
Spent two days in Denver to acclimate and spend time with family. I knew something was wrong when I discovered a missed call from 9:30 pm the night before the ride from my friend and riding partner Denise. I called Denise the next morning to learn that she had crashed her bike after her front tire blew out coming down a mountain in Utah. A fractured Pelvis; ouch! Good thing she has a wonderful caring and adoring husband to take good care of her! The plan was for us to meet in Steamboat the night before the ride. They had driven to Utah from California with all of our bikes. That created a problem for me and a major inconvenience for them. How the heck would I be able to get my bike? Without fail and any whining, Rob offered to meet me part way between Steamboat and Salt Lake City. He spent most of the day driving back and forth to meet me while his beautiful wife was in miserable pain back in Utah. Wow! Not sure how I can ever make that up to them!
I spent the night in a hotel in Steamboat and set out the next morning for the first day of the ride. I met up with Lorri's friend Daniel who would spend the next week graciously riding along side me, obviously much slower than he would have ridden otherwise. Daniel was a real gentleman, filling in as the camera man, carrying my extra layers in his bike rack pack and waiting patiently for me at the rest stops. My time at each rest stop is increased by the fact that I have invisilign braces which require me to brush my teeth every time I eat something. There is no time or space for discretion and I got my fair share of heckling at the rest stops for my excessive hygiene. Daniel took pictures as proof!
Day 1 and more logistics
The first day took us from Steamboat Springs to Walden; 57 miles with a little bit of a climb at the beginning and then mostly flat for the remainder of the day. The aid stations were stocked perfectly for my appetite; fruit, PBJ sandwiches, and crackers. They also had Gatorade and cytomax. The first mountain pass of the tour was “Rabbit Ears” (9,426’). Daniel suggested I lift my bike over my head for the picture. One guy in the crowd joked that “it must be the first day.” Indeed, I felt strong at the end of the day, happy that I was not yet suffering from the altitude. My luck with the altitude would continue throughout the week, possibly attributed to several reasons. I was drinking lots of water and I was taking a medication called Acetazolamide. The two days in Denver may also have helped. Walden was a small bucolic town with a few restaurants, but no dedicated coffee house. I asked one of the shops where I might find a latte and she directed me to the gas station where they had a machine that dispensed coffee. Hmmmmm….
I quickly set up my tent and set in for the night. I think I was in bed by 9pm. The temperature outside was comfortable and my earplugs worked well. I woke up about 5:30am and started getting ready to head out for the day. I’m not sure why it took so long, but each day it would take me about 90 minutes to get dressed, pack up my tent, brush my teeth, etc. And each day we set out about the same time, 7:00am. Maybe it is because each morning I obsessively stuffed about a dozen zip lock bags with various clothes, toiletries, etc. It didn’t matter if I tried to organize it the night before because I inevitably had to dig through everything the next morning for something I had forgot the night before.
Day 2: Walden to Winter Park, 75 miles, Willow Creek Pass (Summit 9,621’)
Another relatively easy day on the bike; mostly rollers. The only memorable thing about Winter Park was camping out right in the middle of the resort area. Strange; my tent was right next to the Chair lift station.
Day 3: Winter Park to Copper Mountain, 76 miles (Berthoud Pass (Summit 11,315’) and Loveland Pass (Summit 11992’)
Starbucks hit the spot in the morning and we were off for the much anticipated “day 3” which would take us up two mountain passes and our highest elevation for the tour. I get to the 2nd aid station feeling strong. Daniel and I lean our bikes up against a small portable sign despite my instinct that the wind might knock over the bikes. Sure enough I come back to the bikes and Daniel tells me they fell over. Yep, right on top of my very sensitive derailleur- the one I’ve replaced twice in less than two years. I look at the bike, it seems Ok, and I resist the urge to take it over to the mechanic. We still had 40 miles to go and about 2000 feet of climbing. It was now about 11:30 am. The sky didn’t look too ominous but I had been told to be off the top of the mountain pass by 1pm. Within a few miles after leaving the rest stop, my derailleur started acting up. Rather than turn around and go back to the mechanic at the rest stop, I thought I would be ok if I just left the bike in the same gear and continued on to the next rest stop at the top of the pass. I continued riding for about 10 miles in the middle cog of my second chain ring (compact double) but unfortunately I’m not strong enough to get up a mountain in that high of a gear. Sure enough, as soon as I changed gears my bike started acting up, so rather than risk breaking a third derailleur, I pulled over when I saw the SAG. The SAG guy was going to call to see how far away a mechanic might be when lightening struck. Really! At that point, I was not prepared to wait ½ hour for a mechanic and then try to climb up a mountain with lightening and hail. Yep, hail! To top off the day, I ended up losing my Smith sunglasses on the SAG truck. Damn, I was mad! Well, at least I made it up Berthoud Pass (11,315’) and have the picture to prove it.
Day 4- the day off
I planned to get up the next day (our day off) and ride back to where I left off and climb up the pass, but Loveland was just not meant to be. I was lazy and cold the next morning and couldn’t get my butt in gear until nearly 10:30am. Within an hour, the dark clouds rolled in and I knew I would not get to the peak, so I rode my bike about 20 flat miles and called it a day. Darn! However, the day ended well with an excellent massage, clean laundry, and dessert. Yum!
Day 5: Copper Mountain to Leadville, 60 miles, Tennessee Pass (Summit 10,424’).
The descent down Vail Pass could have been fast but could have been deadly. I decided to take it slow given the narrow path and 1800 other riders on the tour. This day was harder than it looked. Not sure why but a number of other riders made the same comment. Maybe it was the cold morning, maybe it was a little laziness after the “day off.”
Day 6: Leadville to Kremmling, 74 miles, Fremont Pass (Summit 11,316’)
Nearly all downhill, I was finally rewarded with a fast and smooth descent after all that climbing. Hard to believe that we were still that high up (11,316’). We coasted into camp and found a nice flat space right near the luggage trucks and the bathrooms. Yeah! After several beers and entertaining conversation with new friends, I settled in for the last night of the tour.
Day 7: Kremmling to Steamboat Springs, 73 miles, Gore Pass (Summit 9,527’)
This day started with a climb then was mostly downhill for about 50 miles. For some reason we had kept up with a large group through the second rest stop, but then suddenly it felt like we were the only people left on the bike tour. Granted I saw truck loads of bikes being SAG’d back to Steamboat, but where did everyone go? Maybe they passed us when I got my flat tire. Maybe they passed us when we stopped for an iced latte. Well anyway, it seemed that everyone had scattered by the time we got back to the finish.
It was a wonderful trip and I highly recommend it to all. Just get your training in and you’ll be fine. And the Acetazolamide might help the sea level riders. I have no complaints!
p.s. I'm not quite sure what my final mileage and elevation gain actually was. I missed the last 1500 feet or so of climbing up Loveland Pass but I made up the mileage on the day off. Some people said there was closer to 38,000 feet of climbing if you did the whole thing. Who knows?
All in all, it was a great accomplishment!!! I'm ready for the next big adventure!!!!!
