Mountain passes, continental divides, and state borders all invite a crossing, and the Colorado HeartCycle Border-to-Border Tour responded with an eight-day, 1200-mile loop through the heart of Colorado, flanked by slices of New Mexico and Wyoming. Our group of nine cyclists and two support crew covered distances of 99 to 183 miles per day at elevations of 5000 to 12000 ft and sampled a colorful panorama of alpine ridges, mountain parks, abandoned mines, black-walled canyons, and sagebrush mesas. Drama was enhanced by a bicycle-seeking "monsoonal disturbance" that dogged our route, engulfing the climbs ahead and closing the roads behind us.
Our volunteer sag drivers, Jim Corbitt and Irv Sether deserve special thanks for working dawn-to-dusk days, staking out memorable lunch spots, and shepherding weary cyclists through the rain. Our tour leader, Vernon Smith, claimed that he volunteered to lead the ride because he "wanted to do the route, but didn't want to do it alone." He is gratefully commended for an excellent choice of route and for constructing elevation profiles that don't show all the hills, a ploy that may have bolstered participation, but resulted in the unmapped details becoming known rather unaffectionately as "Vern Hills."
"In Colorado, we keep our passes open all winter -- they're graded for snow removal." "Well, in California we like to do double-digit grades straight up the slope and can go from nearly sea level to over 9000 ft!"
"Harrumph...we live at 9000 ft and train above that!" Clouds that have been cumulating throughout the day finally catch all but the fastest moving targets on the descent to Buena Vista. I finish the day splashing through the moat around the motel and stomping triumphantly through the mud puddles in the parking lot.
After a warm-up climb over Poncha Pass, we are heading south through the ever-widening San Luis Valley on the longest, flattest, straightest road I've ever been on. The heat-seeking thunderstorms lock in on us early today. At Antonito we hole up in a nearly deserted market until a "sucker hole" lures us out for the big climb of the day, up 10,000-ft La Manga Pass. Aspens line the river course, wildflowers color the roadside, cows and cabins dot the green pastures in a pastoral scene is reminiscent of Switzerland. We wind up the day with three crossings: the Continental Divide, the historic Antonito-to-Chama railroad, and our first state border into New Mexico.
Near Durango, we meet up with another HeartCycle tour, undertaking a much more sane and sensible ride. I'm envious. We're only 110 miles into our 183-mile day and still face three major mountain passes. There's no time for prospecting in the colorful bonanza mining towns of the San Juan Mountains. Heat, shoulderless highway, and the roaring traffic of Durango sap fluid and energy. I pedal ever more slowly past the aptly named Purgatory ski area and over the first two passes. It's getting late, Red Mountain Pass is gray with clouds, and the highway to Ouray is blocked by a slide. After a chilly descent into Silverton, I declare it a day. Three hardy riders in our group make it over the final pass, and I'm disappointed to miss one of the most spectacular climbs of the route. Sagging spirits are revived by a take-out meal of hot coffee, burritos, and funnel cake, eagerly consumed while waiting for value-added slide removal on the Million Dollar Highway.
On crossing the Continental Divide at Battle Pass, we enjoy vistas of alpine lakes, mountain meadows, and distant ridges. Most welcome, though, is the triangular yellow sign warning "7% for the next 6 miles, trucks use low gears." We click into high gear for the fast descent to Encampment.
"First time I can remember having a fire in the fireplace on July 31st."
Glenn presides over the hunting-lodge-turned-B & B that we take over for the night. Trophy mammal heads peer down on weary cyclists sprawled in front of the floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, Carnacs drying on the hearth. The falling temperature and wafts of barbecue stoke our appetites for a hearty home-cooked meal of meat, potatoes, beans, salad, bread, and fruit. Real food is a welcome reprieve from the sandwich, cookie, and power-energy-hammer-goo diet of the last seven days. We sleep like overstuffed buffalo.
We roll east out of Encampment through the sparsely populated ranches. Ground fog settles in the valleys, lending a ghostly edge to the sage-studded pastures. I'm absent-mindedly humming, "Home, home on the range, where the deer and the...ANTELOPE!" On my right, a pronghorn materializes out of the mist, racing along the road. Pegasus, my bike, takes up the downhill chase. We eye antelope, antelope eyes us, we're spinning out, he's bounding through the sagebrush, looking for a break. Winding up for the final sprint, he darts across the road in front of us and disappears into the fog, hooves raised in victory salute.
We rather unceremoniously cross the border into Colorado. The final climb on our itinerary is a gentle and scenic one through moose country up to Cameron Pass. Headwinds buffet the descent, and crazy weekend traffic inspires a detour from the busy highway through the scenic hills of Masonville. We savor the final miles of the trip -- an invigorating climb, a rushing stream, a view of the eastern plains. No big sprint for the Loveland city limits, the last border to be crossed. In coming full circle, the end of this epic adventure doesn't quite meet the beginning, as we've crossed more than geographical boundaries and inscribed more than the trace of our route. I'm looking forward to the next tangent.
Our itinerary included: LOVELAND CO, Estes Park via Glen Haven, Trail Ridge Road (12,183), Grand Lake, Granby, WINTER PARK, Berthoud Pass (11,315), Loveland Pass (11,992), Freemont Pass (11,318), Leadville, BUENA VISTA, Poncha Pass (9,010), Alamosa, Antonito, La Manga Pass 10,231, Cumbres Pass (10,022), CHAMA NM, Pagosa Spgs, Durango, Molas Divide (10,910), Silverton, Red Mountain Pass (11,008), OURAY, Montrose, Sapinero, Mc Clure Pass (8,755), REDSTONE, Glenwood Springs, Rifle, MEEKER, Craig, Bags WY, Medicine Bow Mountains, ENCAMPMENT WY, Walden, Cameron Pass (10,276), Rustic, Ft. Collins, Loveland. (All caps indicate overnight stays).
Every day started dry and most days started clear, however it rained at some point during seven out of the eight days - enough to make most of our bicycles a mess to clean up before the next day's riding. We had nine riders - Greg Mihalik, Darrell Carlson, Kevin Griffin, Jim Bartley, Jeanie Barnett, Brad Stillahn, Byron Adams, Franz Martin, and Vernon Smith (tour leader). Jeanie Barnett was the only woman rider on the tour and let me tell you she was a great rider. She was very tough and extremely uplifting. Jeanie is a perfect model for other women considering long distance tours. Our sag drivers were Jim Corbitt and Irv Sether.
Day 1 Loveland to Winter Park 118 miles - On our "warm-up" day we left the motel at I-25 and US-34 and took US-34 up Big Thompson Canyon to the small town of Drake. From Drake we took Devils Gulch Road up through Glen Haven. After Glen Haven there are two real nice switchbacks before you get up on top and roll into Estes Park. We entered Rocky Mountain National Park at the Fall River entrance. Trail Ridge is the highest continuous paved road in the contiguous United States. It takes only 20-25 miles from Estes Park to get up to the 12,183 foot high point. The road isn't all that steep, but it does spend around 20 miles in the 10,000 to 12,000 foot elevations. We had clouds but no rain in the national park. At Granby we took a left onto US-40 to Winter Park. About half of us got caught in the rain between Granby and Winter Park. This was a good warm-up day of 118 miles. My advertised elevation gain was 8,632' but my altimeter (unfortunately the only one on the trip) registered 11,200'. This gives 1.3 for what became to be known as the Vernon Factor (the ratio of altimeter gain to advertised gain). We stayed at the Arapahoe Ski Lodge which has a European Bed & Breakfast atmosphere. Our hosts were extremely accommodating to have food out for us at 5:00 am. They were great.
Day 2 Winter Park to Buena Vista 133 miles - Day two was an up-and-down 133 mile day. It was our second "warm-up" day. It was up to Berthoud Pass, down to the Clear Creek river valley, up Loveland Pass (in the process of being paved), down to Keystone Resort, up Swan Mountain Road, down to Frisco, over to Copper Mountain resort by bike path then up Freemont Pass, and down to Leadville and Buena Vista. That makes three crossings of the continental divide in one day! We used the new bike path between Georgetown and Silver Plume to avoid riding the I-70 shoulder. It was easy to find and well worth using. The only I-70 riding was from Bakersville to the Loveland Pass exit (5 miles). The day started clear but was overcast much of the day with intermittent rain. We were fortunate to pass through this area before I-70 was closed a day for a mud-slide that happened a few days later. We had strong headwinds and heavy rain between Leadville and Buena Vista. I think only Greg Mihalik escaped the rain by being first into Buena Vista. The advertised elevation gain was 8355'. The altimeter recorded 11,000' giving a VF (Vernon Factor) of 1.32. Because of the bike paths, frontage roads, highway and interstate riding sections this was to be our most difficult route finding day as well as being the toughest for the sag drivers to keep track of us.
Day 3 Buena Vista to Chama NM 175 miles - Day 3 was longer but was supposed to have less climbing. After a slight downhill into Poncha Springs we had a climb up Poncha Pass and then a significant amount of flat terrain (a little rough with all the cracks in the road) before reaching Alamosa and going on to Antonito. Darrell Carlson's singing kept us going. The blackest thunder clouds I've ever seen motivated Kevin Griffin and I to ride for the cover of the Antonito grocery store overhang. Others took cover in the Antonito "suburbs". We joked about catching the last narrow gauge train from Antonito to Chama but it had already left at 10:00 am. When the lightning danger was gone and only wet streets remained we headed up La Manga and Cumbres Passes, both about 10,200'. The passes were green and beautiful in the evening light. There were cows on the road and very little traffic. Advertised elevation gain was 4449' but the altimeter recorded 9,000' giving a VF of 2.0.
Day 4 Chama NM to Ouray 183 miles - From my vertical elevation profile Wednesday looked mostly flat or downhill to Pagosa Springs and on to Durango at 110 miles. This part of the road was anything but that. Just ask Brad Stillahn - the spinning king of our tour - there were a lot of significant hills. In this stretch we met up with some folks from the San Juan Tour. Durango was crowded and had plenty of road construction in progress. Remember there are only two seasons in Colorado - the winter season and the construction season! After Hermosa the climb up to Purgatory began. After Purgatory (138 miles) the serious climbing started with Coal Bank Hill and Molas Divide, and Red Mountain Pass. There is some fabulous scenery between Purgatory and Ouray, but we were focused on climbing the hills and watching the weather. Maybe it's better not to see those incredible drop-offs on the steep descents along the way. I figured this would be one of the two most difficult days, and it was, with some tough climbing starting after 138 miles combined with weather and daylight considerations. At Silverton I obtained a garbage bag (substitute rain jacket) at the gas station before starting up Red Mountain Pass. The garbage bag was well worth it when it began to get nasty. We had to stop on the descent and wait for the mud/rock slide to be cleared by CDOT road crews before riding the last four miles into Ouray. It was getting dark and still raining by the time the day's ride ended. Advertised elevation gain was 7465' but the altimeter recorded 16,000' giving a VF of 2.1.
Day 5 Ouray to Redstone 177 miles - This was my other guess at what would be the most difficult day. We never got much over 9,000 feet but there were a lot of hills. Once again I left one or two major hills out of the vertical profile between Montose and Blue Mesa dam. Another early start was is in order. Heat might have been a problem but we had plenty of cloud cover with threatening storms. The ride from Montrose on was new for me. I'd driven it, but never ridden it with the exception of McClure Pass from the other side. The ride from Blue Mesa dam along the north side of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison was fabulous - great scenery, nice undulating grades, low traffic. It was great for Jeanie Barnett and I to draft behind Byron Adams while descending into Crawford. Near Hotchkiss we hit some rain. After Somerset at 145 miles the scenery becomes spectacular again and the traffic pretty much ends - plenty of wildlife too. It seemed to take forever to find and climb McClure Pass - not steep, just long. There is a fast descent from the top of McClure Pass to the Redstone Inn a few miles past the bottom of the hill. Advertised elevation gain was 9,718'. Since I had a wheel problem that day I didn't have an altimeter. Based on previous and latter V.F. numbers I estimated today's vertical gain between 12,600' and 16,520', or an average of 14,600' for a V.F of 1.5.
Day 6 Redstone to Meeker 100 miles - Day 6 was the official 100 mile "rest day". Generally we had a gradual downhill from Redstone to Rifle. There was five miles of freeway riding from West Glenwood to exit 109 at Canyon Creek. Out of Rifle we climbed a little up to the highest elevation of the day at 7,500 feet with a severe thunderstorm and rain before rolling into Meeker. Some had opportunity to seek shelter in the van during the worst part of the storm. Jim Bartley and Kevin Griffin and were scheduled to leave the tour after today, so they took the opportunity to turn in a time of about 4.5 hours for the 100 miles - averaging almost 22 mph! Since I hadn't fixed my altimeter problem I once again had to estimate our elevation gain. Advertised elevation gain was 2155'. Based on previous and latter V.F. numbers I gave today a V.F of 1.6. for a vertical gain of about 3,500'.
Day 7 Meeker to Encampment WY 144 Miles - From Meeker we climbed 1,200 feet to Nine Mile Gap then had rolling terrain to the Wyoming state line and on to Savery. From here we climb through the Medicine Bow mountains up to Battle Pass at 9,955 feet. Most people counted about five false summits before they got to the top. Of course none of these were shown on the vertical profile. I climbed through this area without rain, but it seemed like it was all in the clouds. The road was as wet as if it were actually raining. Messy bikes again! When I was chased by the two black dogs my speed picked up for a short time. Then it was a cold downhill into Encampment WY where we stayed at the Grand & Sierra bed & breakfast. We had steak, chicken and scalloped potatoes for dinner. Advertised elevation gain was 4997' but with a new battery and a new wheel magnet my altimeter recorded 7,900' giving a VF of 1.6.
Day 8 Encampment WY to Loveland CO 175 miles - Our Encampment hosts began our last day with a french toast, pancake and egg breakfast on the table at 5:00 am! Even Franz Martin was up in time for this breakfast! Good job Franz! For our last day we rode the gradually rising road to the Colorado state line and through Cowdrey, Walden and Gould. The climb from Gould to Cameron Pass (10,276 feet) didn't seem like much from the west side compared to the other passes we had ridden the previous seven days. My vertical profile made it look like it's all down hill to the end of the ride, and it pretty much was to Ted's Place, but the stiff headwind coming up the Poudre Canyon made us pedal just about the whole way. After we get to Ted's Place we took the back way up along Horsetooth Reservoir until we got to the construction road closure into Loveland and the end of the Border-to-Border tour. Greg Mihalik and Jeanie Barnett took what was probably a better route by leaving Poudre Canyon earlier and heading south over to Masonville and coming into Loveland on US34. Advertised elevation gain was 3283' but the altimeter recorded 6,500' giving a VF of 2.0. Must have been those Horsetooth hills.
In hindsight the coolness with occasional rain may have been better than a blazing hot alternative. The Colorado mountains had even heavier rain the week after we finished. The total tour distance was about 1,205 miles with a total elevation gain of about 80,648 feet. The elevation gain was only 72% greater than I had calculated picking high and low spots off of highway maps and the Colorado Gazetteer maps. It was a great tour with some fantastic riders and two fantastic sag drivers! My thanks goes out to all.