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.

share the road......or, bike path

I found this video on the Pedal Power Cycling Team's blog.

hope it was a good one!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. I was lucky enough to receive several cycling-related gifts. Spokelit lights for my wheels and a long-sleeve Pearl Izumi jersey are two less excuses for not getting out and riding when it's cold.

And I got the DVD of Race Across The Sky. I hadn't seen the movie yet and was really intrigued. Though I'm not much of a mountain biker, my Colorado bike tours have taken me through Leadville on a bike about half a dozen times. And I've driven there several times and been around Turquoise Lake, so I'm familiar with part of the course for the Leadville Trail 100. And the first time I ever heard of the race I just happened to be in Leadville that evening on my way back to Frisco, and saw riders crossing the finish line in just under 12 hours. I learned later that the year prior Dave Wiens of Gunnison, CO,  had defeated Floyd Landis to win his 4th straight LT100. And the next year he would beat Lance Armstrong for his 6th straight win. Of course the movie is filmed the year after that, with Lance returning to win this race, with Wiens coming in second. The scenery is amazing, and it's a little emotional to watch riders finish 5 hours after Lance, but still under the 12 hour time required to earn the belt buckle. These men and women were obviously tired, cold, hurting, and so proud of what they just accomplished. A good story that anyone would enjoy watching, and a must-see for cyclists.

merry christmas to all!

ready to roll

I'm longing for an adventure. Over the years I've been lucky enough to see some pretty cool places. We got to go to Hawaii several years ago. My wife had a conference in Honolulu. On the last night they had a buffet in the park right on Waikiki beach, and the entertainment was Kenny Loggins. The we flew to Kauai for a few days and took a helicopter ride along Na Pali coast. It was a spectacular place that I've long dreamed of returning to, maybe hiking along the cliffs and camping in paradise.

We've vacationed in some great cities, and driven through several states. Any time I'm near the ocean is special, and driving from San Francisco down the Pacific Coast Highway to Cambria was as good as it gets. I would love to get back and spend some time at Big Sur. Another place I'd like to see again is the Grand Canyon. I saw it from the rim on a trip with my family when I was in high school. But I got to see it up close when I spent a week on the river and hiked out on Bright Angel trail. I would love to go back, hike into the canyon and explore.

One evening I was reading an old Outdoors magazine with an article about adventures you should have in your life. One of them was a Colorado River trip through the Grand Canyon. There was a picture from above the Nankoweap campsites. I walked down the hall and found a photo I had taken and showed my wife the two side by side. I had been there!

Borrowed from Pike's Peak River Runners.

Lately all my adventures have been the two-wheeled kind. I have loved riding through South Dakota, Kansas, and most of all Colorado. I love the speed of bicycle touring; seeing things you would miss in a car. And I love that you have to work hard to get the payoff of seeing the summit of a mountain pass. I don't know what my next adventure will be, but it can't come soon enough.