colorado rocky mountain bike tour

If one were to go west for the 2011 Colorado Rocky Mountain Bike Tour, one might stop for the night at say, Frisco, or Breckenridge. Then perhaps a side trip on one's bicycle over Hoosier Pass?

I borrowed this photo from Wikipedia. As I've mentioned here before, after last summer's CRMBT I had climbed 16 of the 17 highest pave passes in Colorado. The only one I'm missing is Hoosier Pass. It would probably be an out and back from Breckenridge on the north, or Fairplay on the south.

And, this year's tour would not only have me revisiting Independence Pass at 12095 feet, but crossing Cottonwood Pass at 12126 feet. Cottonwood is only paved on one side, so the climb would be up hard-packed dirt on the west, and a long, fast, paved descent on the east.

 Getting to Colorado a day or two before the tour starts is always nice anyway. It gives you a little time to adjust to the altitude and see just a little more of this place I've come to love. And, with this year's ride starting and ending in Grand Junction, I think that anyone who hasn't ridden through the Colorado National Monument would want to get there early enough to do that before CRMBT starts. And anyone who has ridden Rim Rock Drive will want to do it again.

 I love researching, planning, and dreaming about places I'm going to ride. So I'm going to find out all (almost all?) I can about the route for this year's CRMBT, and share my findings here over the next few weeks. Then all that will be left is for me to get myself back into shape to do it.