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| Finish in Downtown Golden, Colorado |
June 21, 2014. Four of our
Upland Windbreaker ranks have returned from a high country bicycling adventure
of epic proportion, testing not only one’s physical abilities but mental
boundaries as well. Covering approximately 495 miles and 39,000 vertical feet
of climbing (including 6 crossings of the Continental Divide), us Southern
California boys thought we had mountains with the San Gabriel and San
Bernardino Mountains in our own backyard; well a new bar was set for us with
this year’s 29th annual edition of Ride the Rockies. www.ridetherockies.com
Starting in
Boulder, home of the University of Colorado (and, by the way, our very own
Coach Steve’s alma mater), Day 1 took us through Boulder Canyon and historic
mining towns of Central City and Idaho Springs, and some very nasty weather
(freezing rain, thunder, lightning, wind, wet snow) as we ascended Berthoud
Pass (el. 11,315’) before a cold finish in Winter Park. With much-improved weather, the days
following took us through Parshall Canyon and along the headwaters of the
Colorado River, over Muddy Pass (el. 8,772’) and Rabbit Ears Pass (el. 9,426’),
into Steamboat Springs, Oak Creek, and ending in Avon on Day 4. On Day 5 we topped Battle Mountain (el.
9,231’), historic Tennessee Pass (el. 10,424’) and high point for the day
Fremont Pass (el. 11,318’) on the Top of the Rockies Scenic and Historic Byway before
a finish in Breckenridge (or as the locals refer to it: “Breck”).
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| Map Boy and Coach at Fremont Pass Summit-Day 5 |
Day 6, the
final day of the tour, loomed large as we dined on our final night together at
the Breckenridge Brewery. The final
day’s ride was to feature the high point of the ride, Loveland Pass (el. 11,992’). After a fitful night’s sleep we left early and
took on the approximately 14-mile climb out of Keystone. All four made it over and finished with a
mostly downhill run (except for those nasty “little” bumps at Floyd Hill and
Lookout Mountain) into Golden, Colorado.
Whew…done!
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| Rabbit and Stealth at Loveland Pass-Day 6 |
Last, we
must take this opportunity to thank Windbreaker Wife Kathy Scheu! At every turn, she was there to assist at aid
station stops with energy drinks, fruit, snacks…you name it, she had it! And
she joined the gang for the 55-mile Day 3 loop ride in Steamboat.
A great team effort and adventure…Ride On!
