fifty! redux

53.18 to be exact. Thanks to the weather, and my attempt at maintaining my fitness level through the winter, I think this is the first time I've gotten a 50 mile ride in before the month of April. The last half dozen miles were on the slow side, but overall I feel pretty good.



I've referenced "Fifty" before, but this time I found the clip on YouTube:

fool on the hill

After several days of on and off rain (mostly on), Saturday featured sunny skies, light winds, and temperatures that made it into the low 70's. The wind seemed to be north/northwest, so I rode west and north on the way out, east and south coming home. I ended up with a pleasant 27 mile loop. I took a small detour to investigate a hill I had driven over to see if it would be a good training feature.

For a kind of out-of-the way 2-lane road, there was more traffic than I expected, but not too bad. And there is a bike path right next to the road. I only did a couple repeats today but I think I will revisit this hill on future rides. From bottom-to-top is a shade more than a half-mile at 8% grade. In my experience, if you do that 8-10 times, it will get you over most Colorado passes.

Tomorrow looks like it will be even warmer, but I'll need to get my ride in before mowing the lawn and settling in for some NCAA March Madness. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

oops, I did it again

It should come as no surprise to anyone who has ever visited this blog that I have registered to ride the Colorado Rocky Mountain Bike Tour once again this August. I know I've said that I would like to ride tours in other places. I really mean it! The scenery in Oregon or California, Michigan or Wisconsin, or several other places is surely beautiful. But come on, it's Colorado and the Rocky Mountains! And I've done this tour four years in a row. I know that besides the scenery there will be volunteers, organizers, and other riders who will make it a pleasure to be in their company. So, Colorado, here I come.

 I have my eye on a couple climbs of that are on my way to Pagosa Springs, where riders will gather on the 4th of August to check in and prepare for the week ahead.

The first two days of this tour will be old and new, in that I've ridden over these passes, but going the other direction. My memory tells me that while the climb over Wolf Creek Pass on day one will be a bit more challenging going this direction, the climb over Slumgullion Pass will be considerably easier.

I think every Colorado tour but one has had me visiting Gunnison, and this tour again will have me spending the night in Davied Wiens' hometown. The ride between Gunnison and Montrose is one I've done multiple times in both directions, and while not "epic", it's a beautiful stretch of mesas and reservoirs with a nice long downhill at the end of the day.

Leaving Montrose, the first part of the day will go through the high plains desert before heading toward the Sneffels Range over Dallas Divide. I think this is one of the prettiest climbs in Colorado, especially for the unobstructed views for miles around.

 After cresting Dallas Divide the tour will be on roads that are new to me as we "head on down the other side" and into Telluride. After a rest day there, it's south to Mancos before the final day heading back to Pagosa Springs. I'm still contemplating another tour earlier in the summer, which I'm sure will be great fun too. And having CRMBT to look forward to will give me lots of motivation to keep piling up the miles all summer long!