The ride took us (about 1500 riders) in a loop from Fort Collins, CO through Estes Park, Granby, Steamboat Springs, Walden, and back to Fort Collins. My cyclo computer showed that we rode about 385 miles and climbed about 22,000 feet. Despite some bad weather it was a terrific ride with great comrades.
The route of the 2004 Bicycle Tour of Colorado.
Our camp in Estes Park, CO just before a thunderstorm. (Pic taken with cell phone camera)
We left Estes Park in low overcast and climbed through the clouds on Trail Ridge Road.
Just above the clouds at 10,000 feet.
Mountain tops sticking out of the clouds
Long's Peak and the road below that we just rode up.
Climbing toward tree line (tree line in Colorado is about 11,500 feet)
The view from tree line along Trail Ridge Road
We are now above tree line near 12,000 feet and approaching the summit and a blizzard of corn snow at the 12,183 foot summit. This was followed by thunderstorms as we descended and rode the 40 miles on into Granby, CO. This climb was a personal accomplishment for me as the ridge defeated me 40 years before in the summer of 1964 when I bicycled in Colorado after graduating from high school. For 40 years I've regretted giving up. This was an atonement. Because of the blizzard and storms I didn't get more pics between here and Granby. I burned 5856 Calories on this day of riding.
It was at about this point that I caught up with Gerry, who appears prominently in the pictures that follow, with whom I rode for the remainder of the tour. Thanks for being there, Gerry, you were a terrific cycling companion.
It's 24 miles from Estes Park to the summit with an elevation gain of 4663 feet. The maximum grade is 6.8% with an average grade of 3% for 11 miles and 5.2% for 10 miles. We were above 11,000 feet for about 11 miles. Kurt Magsamen rates this pass as a 5 in difficulty (i.e., most difficult), one of five passes in Colorado that he rates at level 5. Michael Seeberg calls it "Quite possibly Colorado's ultimate ride, this route might even be described as infamous." Voila!
This is a building in Granby that was destroyed by a rampaging bulldozer.
Still life with mountains and pretty girl: the best that Colorado has to offer (try to beat this California!). The mountains are the Gore Range.
On the road between Gore Pass and Toponas. The previous pic is a hard act to follow. I don't know what kind of rite is going on behind me.
Gerry rolling into Toponas against a fierce headwind with the Flat Tops in the distance. I'm used to riding in wind since Monument is ALWAYS windy. But I was surprised by how little wind we, on the whole, had on this ride. The thought of riding 100 miles dead into the wind on some of these legs was daunting - but it never happened. The leg from Toponas to Steamboat Springs was very nice with lots of downhill but we got absolutely drenched by a downpour on the last few miles into Steamboat.
Gerry ready to start the climb toward Rabbit Ears Pass as the fog lifts.
The view to the west as we ride up toward the pass.
With Gerry atop Rabbit Ears Pass.
It's 22 miles from Steamboat Springs to the summit of Rabbit Ears Pass with an elevation gain of 2775 feet. The maximum grade is 7.3% with and average of 0.6% for 6.4 miles, 6.4% for 7.2 miles, and 0-7% for 7.6 miles.
Gerry at the end of the long fast downhill from Rabbit Ears Pass.
Our camp in Walden, CO. This part of North Park lies between the Medicine Bow Range and Sierra Madre Range in north central Colorado. It looks very much like Wyoming. The tents are in a dense pack that reminds me of Tokyo.
Moonrise over the Medicine Bow Range. Gerry, Carla, Paula, Lee, & Chris.
Yeah, it really is the moon. It was dusk, so the full moon came up as the sun set. Although the dynamic range of film is awesome, it still wasn't great enough to adequately cover this situation. Finally, in working with the digital scan of this pic, I had to choose between the people and the moon. The people are more interesting, so they won and the moon lost and came out looking like the sun.
Gerry atop Cameron Pass. It was all downhill from here.
Riding down the Poudre River Canyon - beautiful!
Gerry, Skip, Chris, Lee, & Carla at the end of the tour.
Consult Kurt Magsamen's Cycling Colorado's Mountain Passes and Michael Seeberg's Road Biking Colorado for detailed information on the various legs of this route.
The pictures were taken using a 28 year old collapsible lens Rollei full frame 35mm camera and 200 ASA Kodacolor film. Digital is rapidly improving but film still rules.
