I will let an expert describe the ride ...
Stephan: Trail Ridge Survival Guide [Tue Jul 19 18:13:09 2005|1121821989|]
OK OK you don't have to eat at Mickey D's to get an early start!
Ride up Highway 34 and go straight through the first light in Estes Park. Just after the light hang a left into the first parking lot. Kind Coffee opens at 6:30 am. They serve a great burrito and bagels & stuff. Stop there fer sure!
OK now...Take the Highway 34 or Fall River entry into the National Park. Highway 34 is bike friendly all the way except for on the stretch just after you leave town thats a little tight. That early its no trouble!
The park will charge you 15 clams to get in without a pass... Sorry dude!
OK the approach ride to the park is a slow boring grind. You'll get a short rest after you enter the park. Long steep left corner and then flat for a few miles.
ALrighty then its time to suffer!
Long sweeping left turn leads to the first steep section. A couple of miles of what I think is one of the two steepest sections on the ride leads to Deer Ridge Junction. Hang a right and descend a few miles until you take another sharp left and start the second steepest section. From here its uphill for 16 miles or so.
First nice break is the MAny Parks curve parking lot. After that its more grinding to the spectacular Rainbow Curve (parking lot on right). Good place to regroup.
From here its above treeline and the angle eases but you still have miles of gently rising terrain util you reach the high point at 9500 feet (sign). From here it allllllllllll DOWN. PAst the Alpine Visitor Center and out of the National PArk. Grand Lake is cool...Grandby is a dump.
Good LUck!
Stephan
I missed the coffee shop and ended up at the last place in town. I had yet another pretty Eastern European waitress. All the wait and motel staff in Estes Park seemed to be Chekozvokian. It was 5 miles to the Rocky Mountain National Park - all up hill. It was only $10 at the gate. Then it started to really go up. I was doing fine for a while. Just plodded along and worked up the hill. I made it to the top but it wasn't pretty. I ended up walking several miles. My legs had no push and there wasn't much air. I figure any time my speed drops below 5 mph I get off and walk. Walking gets me about 3 mph and uses different muscles.
I was passed several times by this guy. We talked for a while and he wants to ride up to Alaska. That would be a hard trip.
I thought I was at the top and enjoyed a little downhill. It was a trick. There was still more. I was devastated. Finally, it ended and I rolled into the visitor center. A guy came up and started talking. He had just supported a RAAM rider (Race Across America) and his rider finished 11th in 11 days. He knew a lot about cycling and knew all the roads in Colorado and a lot of the rest of the country. He'd even cycled around the world with a supported tour. Interesting guy.
Then is was all downhill for a long time. Saw a couple of herds of elk.
US34 started following the Colorado River, which up here is not much more than a stream, but it goes to the Pacific so following it means you are going downhill. There was a bit of a head wind which canceled some of the downhill but compared to the morning it was like not pedaling at all. I picked up US40 and followed the Colorado to Kremmling.
The decent motel in Kremmling was full and I ended up at the old fleabag. That's the worst think about long days. Your motel choices become more and more limited the later it gets. I got into town a little after 7pm - a long day. Too tired to process pictures now. Later.
Andy McNair: LEO LEO LEO [Thu Jul 21 11:13:36 2005|1121969616|]
It just isn't smart to tell the world that you haven't had a flat... You pulled a classic JINX on yourself and now you'll pay the price for the rest of yur ride... (unless of course you can pull off the ever ellusive reverse-jinx) Just looking for today's installment , but I guess you are at too high an altitude for the inter-net to function...
Hopefully you are casually gliding down-hill towards California (sounds kinda easy when you put it that way!) How are you doing on your plan at this point? sounds like you shud be on or ahead of planned schedule... Anyways , have a great day of riding + your world-wide audience will look forward to yur next Blog! cheers mate.
am-
Posted from Steamboat Springs.
