Roads and Paths, Denver and Environs

[Kathi]

its 25 rt miles 1000' climb idaho springs to georgestown visitor center where we will make a stop before continuing on to bakerville so others may opt to turnaround
my guess is the 4% is just before the easter seals camp bout 3 miles frm georgestown for a few tenths and a short section just prior to flat section along georgestown lake

the neat thing is if its too much you turn around and its all downhill back to idaho springs
it does get steeper beyond downtown georgestown 600' in 2-3 miles to silverplume hence the reason for the loop railroad and then on to bakerville but whenever u feel too tired to continue u can turnaround with a downhill back to car a great way to try a more challengng grade

[chatnoire]

its 25 rt miles 1000' climb idaho springs to georgestown visitor center where we will make a stop before continuing on to bakerville so others may opt to turnaround
my guess is the 4% is just before the easter seals camp bout 3 miles frm georgestown for a few tenths and a short section just prior to flat section along georgestown lake

the neat thing is if its too much you turn around and its all downtown back to idaho springs
it does get steeper beyond downtown georgestown 600' in 2-3 miles to silverplume hence the reason for the loop railroad and then on to bakerville but whenever u feel too tired to continue u can turnaround with a downhill back to car a great way to try a more challengng grade

I am checking with the boyfriend - if he's not up for it, it may be just me, but I think it would be fun!

[Kathi]

Correction, meeting place is BoJo's in Idaho Springs.

[Kathi]

If you've not ridden this ride you really should come. It's a favorite, beautiful scenery and if you drive I-70 you've looked at much of the route without realizing it.

[Artista]

Temporary hijack: Kathy, I heard that lots of homes near Bear Creek were flooded in Wednesday night's storm. Hope yours wasn't one of them.

Back to the topic: What's the group's average speed on this ride? The mountain bike trails might still be too muddy to ride this weekend so I may do a road ride. This one sounds intriguing but I'm kinda slow - average 13-14mph on flats and sometimes down to 4mph on hills that Chat thinks were no steeper than 3%

[chatnoire]

(I was down to 4.5 on that big one myself!)

[Kathi]

We were fine, we're up on the hill above the Bear Creek. It was a little scary as I've never heard the emergency sirens going off in the almost 8 years I've lived here.

The group speed will vary depending on who shows up. Riders tend to fall into 2 groups. Some of the riders ride all year round so they will take off. One woman said she is coming but she will be slow, whatever that means. I ski in the winter and I'm still building my base so I will be slower. My average speed on the flats is around 13 (hard to tell with all the wind I've been riding in) and on my climb up Garrison its around 5 mph depending on how tired I am. I also have asthma so I will warm up more slowly and since I'm training for a tour my focus is time on the bike rather than speed. You may outride me. I will ride my pace and not worry about keeping up with the other riders.

Once you're out of Idaho Springs there are no turns so you can't get lost.
We tend to look out for newbies and slower riders, especially anyone unfamiliar with the route. Some will turn around at Georgetown. I want to try the new trail up to Loveland ski area.

This nice thing about a group ride like this is you will be familiar enough you can do it on your own the next time.

[chatnoire]

Sounds like a great time. We'll both be there, possibly with a couple other friends as well.