summer tours

  The summer bicycle tour is in full swing. The Tour de Kota and Biking Across Kansas just finished their 2011 versions last weekend. You can check the websites for more information on these tours. Or, if you would like a feel for what these tours are like, because you've ridden other tours, or because you think you might like to ride a tour, here are a couple other sites you may find interesting:

Gene, over at Biking Bis made his way from the Pacific Northwest with his son to take part in BAK. Check out his blog for stories and pictures from a week spent pedalling from Colorado to Missouri.

And for an account of what it's like to ride around the eastern part of South Dakota, check out  Peter Harriman.  The Tour de Kota is sponsored by the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls. Peter is a columnist with that newspaper who has ridden and reported on all seven editions of that tour. Each morning cyclists can pickup a complimentary copy of the newspaper and read Peter's account of the previous day.

I got to meet Peter on one of my tours (de Kota) when Patrick and I were among a handful or riders dumb enough, I mean brave enough, to take the Century loop detour on a day that featured one of the most energy-sapping headwinds I've ever ridden in. Peter interviewed us to hear our account of the day. Or maybe just to determine if we were a threat to others.

A little more than seven weeks until:

elevation

CRMBT announced it's route for 2010 earlier this week. Sounds like a great way to spend the first week of August. The route is a loop starting and ending in Edwards, CO, just west of Vail on I-70. Over Battle Mountain Summit and Tennessee Pass through Leadville, crossing Fremont Pass on the way to Frisco.


Then around Dillon Lake and over Swan Mountain to Keystone before climbing Loveland Pass on the way to Idaho Springs. Loveland reaches 11,990 feet, but the day's ride is only about 50 miles. That's good, because you'll want to save a little for what comes next! From Idaho Springs the route takes you 14 miles up to Echo Lake.

From there, you can head east over Squaw Pass, and eventually down Lookout Mountain into Golden. Or, if you have an itch you need to scratch, you can pay your $3 and head up Mount Evans Road. Highway 5 is the highest paved road in the US, rising from just over 10,000 feet at Echo Lake, to over 14,200 feet at the summit.

When I went to Colorado in June for BTC, I entertained the idea of riding up Mount Evans on my own. But, it was too much. Too cold, too high, too steep, too early in the season. It was an experience just to drive to the top, but I couldn't help but think that I'd like to have someone with me, if for nothing else, than to point to where I went off the road for the search and rescue team. But if it was August, a little warmer, and there were other riders on the road with me....

Anyway, from Echo Lake on will all be new territory for me, on a bike or in a car. From Golden the route follows the Peak-to-Peak Highway to Estes Park for a rest day. Then it's through the Rocky Mountain National Park on Trail Ridge Road. I found this picture on cyclepass.com:

http://cyclepass.com/index_p.html

The highest point on Trail Ridge Road is 12,183 feet, and you're above 11,000 feet for over 8 miles!

The last day is a little flatter, a little longer, with a 102 mile century ride to get back to Edwards.

This looks like another fantastic route. I'm especially pleased that some of the tough climbs come on days without brutal mileage. I know I'll have to train hard to be ready for this, but that's one of the advantages to an August tour, you have more of the summer to ride in preparation. I might need to look into a better headlight too, because if I want to make it from Idaho Springs to the top of Mount Evans and be headed down before the afternoon showers move in, I'll need to make that one an early start.

I'm not a fast rider, but the altitude hasn't affected me, and I've been able to climb all the climbs that CRMBT has put in front of me. I would like to be able to climb a little faster. If anyone has any training tips that I can use over the winter on the trainer, or next spring back on the bike, I'm open to suggestions.