Heading out to Colorado didn't just mean struggling up Mt Evans for hours and hours. It was also an opportunity to re-ride some of my favorite rides along the Front Range.
Sunday, after the race, Steve, Cody, Adam and I went for a quick spin. After stopping for coffee at the Gallop Cafe (great place check them out next time you are in Denver) we looped through downtown, around Wash. Park, and then back to Green Mountain. After dropping Cody off at his place, Adam and I rode out to Red Rocks and hit some dirt over the grapevine - nothing like a little gravel on a road bike.
Monday, I headed out to Golden, home of Coors Beer (Pure Rocky Mountain Water my a$*), The School of Mines, and one of my favorite training climbs, Lookout Mountain. Lariat Loop Road climbs 1220 ft. in 4.7 miles. It twists and turns it's way up the east face of Lookout finishing up near Buffalo Bill's grave. Back a few years ago, we used it training repeats and fitness tests. You haven't lived until you've done 20 minute standing drills, or 3 minute ILT repeats. A good time up lookout is in the low 20's, pro times are in the 18's, Tom Danielson did it in just over 16... without pushing too hard, and after killing myself up Evans, I turned in a 24.
After a 94 degree afternoon, Monday evening brought in a huge storm, a temperature drop of 30 degrees, tornadoes, and the worst hail storm I had every seen. Welcome to Colorado!
Tuesday morning brought hail stones piled up like snow drifts. Pretty crazy, I headed up towards Boulder by way of Arvada and Westminster. The plan was to ride up to Ward, elevation 9450'. It was cold, but I figured after Monday's 90 degrees, the sun would break through and roast everything. I rode up the old Morgul Bismark route and into south Boulder. I worked my way through to the north side and pulled into one of my favorite coffee shops, Amante. A little bit of Italia in North Boulder; they even were opening up at 5 am for the live broadcast of Le Tour. A double espresso, a veg breggo, and out the door for the climb up Lee Hill. Just to the west of Boulder, Lee Hill is a steep climb up to a connector to Lefthand Canyon - one of Colorado's great climbs.
Lefthand Canyon is a steady, smooth climb through the pines and aspens. It's pretty long and has a very steep ramp up the last 2 to 3 miles into Ward. Ward is a "hippie wonderland", more so than even it's sister mountain town, Nederland. Dirt roads, empty buses, outhouses, real rural Colorado. I grabbed a couple of waters, chugged a root beer, and dove back down lefthand canyon. A bit cold on the way down, the 50 degree temperature, overcast skies, and my dressing as if it was 95 degrees made for a fairly chilly decent. Not fun.Wednesday held a trip up to Winterpark for some mountain biking with Adam and Stevie T. Adam hooked me up with a Pivot Mach 4 from the guys at Wheatridge Cyclery , THE bike shop in Colorado. Absolutely blown away by this bike. Light, climbs like a banshee, and decends quick enough to keep up with Adam's Specialized FSR Enduro.
After climbing over the pass we dropped into Winter Park. Adam wanted to scout out the course for the following weekend's race. We headed up the backside (near Fraiser) and crossed over to the resort. It was fantastic! I really like riding at Winter Park, and have had some great races up there. The 10,000 ft altitude is no picnic, but the views and the riding are awesome.
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