What Kind of Crazy Person Would Ride Mountain Passes?

Well ... me.

When I first moved to Colorado, I was amazed to witness the things cyclists can make their bodies do here. Coming from a sea level community of rolling hills just outside New York City, I was not prepared for the concept of riding on big, steep mountains. They just looked impossible.

The top of Loveland Pass, July 4, 2012

I lived in Denver for a couple months, where the riding is relatively high but flat, and really enjoyed it. When my family arrived, we lived for a few months in a cottage on the back side of Lookout Mountain, where we’d see these seeming gods whiz by on their bikes day after day. They would climb up the steep, daunting mountain from Golden, push through miles of relentless uphill, switchback after switchback, and make it to the top with what looked like little effort, then speed down the other side.

I thought their hearts must be the size of basketballs, their veins huge, their determination incredible, and their pain thresholds incredibly low. I could barely get my heavy aluminum Cannondale to the top from the relatively easy other side without succumbing to an asthma attack.

Then I learned about mountain passes. Colorado is full of them, paved roads to the top of high mountains. And many Colorado cyclists spend their free hours riding up them – on purpose. I couldn’t understand how it was physically possible! Independence Pass -- 12,103 feet. Fremont Pass -- 11,318 feet. Kenosha Pass -- 10,001 feet. Vail Pass -- 10,666 feet. Up. On two wheels. Pedaling. What were they, crazy? Superhuman?

Bob atop his first pass

Then my husband Bob, a rabid cyclist, caught the bug, upgraded the gears on his bike, and started spending spring and summer weekends attacking passes. My daughters and I were with him for his first, at the end of a Fraser vacation. We dropped him off in Tabernash, went out for lunch, then drove to the top of Berthoud Pass (11,315 feet), where he arrived a few minutes later, sweaty but triumphant. (He made a major miscalculation, though. In his desire to get up, he failed to realize that the best part of climbing a pass is then getting to whiz DOWN! He never made that mistake again.)

For me, just getting three-quarter miles up the hill to our house in Kittredge was impossible. A trip to Velo Swap (veloswap.competitor.com/ ) a year and a half changed that, when I emerged with a used-but-awesome carbon fiber Specialized Ruby Elite with a triple chain ring and upgrades galore. A week later, I made it up the hill home by pedaling instead of pushing. Triumph!

First Pass

Last summer, we went camping at the top of Kenosha Pass, south of Bailey, and I tried to ride it – up and back from Como. Holy mother of God, despite 65-mile-an-hour traffic whizzing by and brisk headwinds, I made it to the top. Ecstasy! I had ridden to the top of a mountain pass!

Over Labor Day, we went camping at Turquoise Lake, outside of Leadville, where I tried to ride around the lake but found its steep hills still daunting. I did ride up most of Tennessee Pass, but the lure of the lake pulled me back to the campsite.

New Attitude

This year, however, something has changed in me and Bob’s encouragement has had a lot to do with it. I have attacked more and more difficult hills here in Evergreen – Witter Gulch, the loop from Alderfer/3 Sisters to Brook Forest Road. My confidence is increasing. Bob took me up Lookout Mountain a couple weeks back – and it wasn’t difficult On the 4^th of July I rode to the top of Loveland Pass. Now, instead of surviving the final hill up to my house, I am attacking it.

This past Saturday, I spent the morning volunteering with the Evergreen Chorale group assisting riders on the Triple Bypass bike ride. They were riding 120 miles, from Buchanan Park in Evergreen, over Squaw and Juniper Passes, then Loveland Pass, then Vail Pass, into Avon – and some were spending the night and riding back the next day. I helped last year and thought it was an unattainable goal for me. This year, something has shifted. As I watched riders go by – some of them lean and chiseled, but others flabby and big and heavy and, well, normal looking --  a new thought crossed my mind: “Hey, maybe I could do this.”

Uh oh

When my shift ended I rode halfway up the mountain from which they came toward Echo Lake, and it wasn’t difficult at all. I do believe I am acquiring Colorado cycling legs. Who knew it was possible?

Looking for a Pass?

If you’re looking for a pass, there are a couple of excellent websites that can help you out.

• Colorado Cycling Passes is an informal, informative site created by a cyclist who just wants to share info.
• RobertBody.com lists passes by altitude and location, with photos.
• Wikipedia has an extremely helpful page on Colorado passes, with info on whether they are paved or unpaved, as well as a list of high elevation Colorado highways not on a pass, such as the Mt. Evans Road.

See you on the roads!

-The Hammster

Climbing Mountains – Getting to Know Colorado from the Top

My husband Bob has discovered mountain climbing.

At first it was 14ers. He climbed Mt. Bierstadt last fall with a networking group and got hooked on 14ers, vowing to try to climb every one in Colorado. For those not “in the know,” 14ers are mountains over 14,000 feet high. Colorado has more than 50 of them. (You can learn all about them at www.14ers.com/.)

St. Mary's Glacier

The trail to Mt. McClure

Anyway, after a couple of 14ers spent with crowds of others also trying to scale the highest peaks, Bob bagged a 12er and had a revelation – the view from the top of a 12,000-plus-foot peak is still amazing – but without the crowds. Even a relatively shrimpy 8,700-foot or so peak like Mt. McClure, near Marble, which we climbed a couple of weeks ago, is amazing.

Now Bob is hooked on hiking Colorado. Every weekend he attacks a mountain. His only criteria – it should have a peak to aspire to. Recently my daughter and I joined Bob for a stroll to the top of Colorado Mines Mountain, which many will recognize as the peak with the weather station on the way to Winter Park Resort. It was amazing up there. We walked to the edge of a rockslide and sat on small boulder to eat our lunch. We gazed down upon two emerald green pools of water below with a lone tent set up between them, and pondered how it must feel like camping at the edge of the earth. In the dappled distance, we watched storm clouds rumble in. We breathed in the thin air, and stood atop the Continental Divide. We saw a marmot. We could see countless small trails on peaks all around us that we could hike on future trips, and our hiking thirst grew.

Perhaps I’m starting to understand those Mt. Everest idiots.

Naaah.

Every peak has a marker

A couple of days ago, we scrambled with visiting friends up a short, rocky trail to St. Mary’s Glacier, which is actually a snowfield. The rain fell, lightning flashed and thunder cracked, and we scurried back down. We could have continued on past the glacier and hiked a 12er, but the weather conspired against us. Still, despite the wet and the chill, people were there with babies in backpacks, and with dogs on leashes. And the view was magnificent.

Vasquez Peak

Try it! To pick your next hike, try 100 Classic Hikes Colorado by Scott S. Warren. It is full of hiking suggestions, though we have found distances to be inaccurate. The descriptions, however, are very thorough.  Get out there this weekend and hike up a mountain!

--The Hammster

 (P.S. Bob gets credit for all these pics except St. Mary's Glacier, taken by the Hammster.)

Cycling With Kids, Mountain Style

I find cycling with kids is a unique challenge when you live in mountainous Evergreen. We live on a hilltop – three quarters of a mile up several switchbacks from the Bear Creek Canyon Road, above Kittredge. One kid is too scared of speed to ride down our twisting, narrow neighborhood road; the other is too lazy to go back up. Plus, their bikes don’t have enough gears to handle the elevation change! So what to do?

Bringing friends along

Back in New York, where it was flat, we had to navigate street lights, but at least there were sidewalks, and a golf course road with a few speed bumps but very little traffic.

There is a bike trail in Evergreen along the Evergreen Parkway, which is great if you live along that stretch – but it is very hilly, and may be too challenging for some kids, at least until they get into shape.

So we have to think creatively – and that usually means planning our rides, and driving to them. Here are a few ideas to keep the kids interested in cycling despite the obstacles:

• Safety first. Use common sense.
• Make sure the kids are snugly helmeted, their bike tires pumped full of air, and that they have a cold bottle of water and a snack.
• Teach them the rules of the road – keep to the right, but not so far that you fall into the dirt along the side. A bike IS considered a vehicle and has the legal right to use some pavement space, and cars are obligated to give them three feet of space when they pass.
• Signal when you turn.
• Always look for wars before getting onto a road to ride.
• Comfort next. 
• Make sure they are dressed appropriately for the weather.
• Let them set the pace and the distance.
• Don’t push them too hard.
• Entertainment next. A destination with a reward at the halfway point is a great idea. Perhaps ice cream, frozen yogurt, some time at the lake.
• Package the ride as time with mom or dad instead of – God forbid – exercise.
• Make it easy. Don’t take your kid up to a mountain top the first time out, or they will put the bike in the garage and leave it there. Find a place to ride that will be fun but not too grueling, and gradually work your way up to more challenging terrain. Some ideas:
• Upper Bear Creek. Start at the Evergreen Lake House and ride out Upper Bear Creek as far as you like, then turn back. (Ride single file, with your children in front of you, so cars go around you and you can make sure you travel at their pace.) It’s a gradual uphill, and coming back, it’s a gradual downhill. If you don’t like traffic, this may not be the ride for you. I used to ride in New York City, so for me, Upper Bear Creek traffic is negligible.
• Bear Creek Lake Park. I suggest you park for free at the dirt lot across from the Conoco Station at Morrison Road and 270. Walk your bikes across Morrison Road to connect to the bike trail to Bear Creek Lake Park. (If you go right at the trail, you can ride into downtown Morrison. Stay on the trail and follow traffic rules – they ticket riders there.) Bear Creek Lake Park has roads and bike trails throughout, some flatter and some hillier, as well as a couple of lakes which could be destinations if you pack a swimsuit, towel, food and a few bucks into a backpack.
• The I-470 Bike Trail. Head north from the parking at the Morrison Conoco and you will quickly connect with this bike trail which is uphill all the way to Golden.
• Elk Meadow and Lair o’ the Bear have gentle mountain bike trails. The ones off to the left at Alderfer/3 Sisters are more hilly but easily manageable.
• There’s a whole network of flat paved trails in the Denver Metro area. One that I especially like is the Platte River Trail. You can park at the Nature Center at Ken Caryl and Santa Fe in Littleton, then ride this trail for miles north into Denver or south toward Chatfield Reservoir.
• Chatfield and Cherry Creek Reservoirs also have miles of trails and roads that area ideal for cycling with kids – and lakes to swim in (or rent boats) for the reward at the end!
• Highway 74 from Kittredge into Evergreen is a nice little ride – again, you have to bear with the traffic – and the Café at the Place provides yummy froyo at the turnaround. If you’re coming from Evergreen, try From the Vine for a mid-ride break.



Riding along the Crystal River offers views like this

• If you’re a camper, take your bikes along – most public campgrounds have paved roads on gentle terrain that kids love to ride around on. We have enjoyed riding at Turquoise Lake (near Leadville), Estes Park, Redstone (which has a 1 ¼ mile paved road into an adorable town with – you guessed it – ice cream), Woodland Park and many others.

Got any other ideas of places to ride with kids? Please share them!

--The Hammster