Thinking about the High Country

My hardtail is already waiting for me in Denver. I don't know how FedEx does it. Took only two business days ground, getting there two days ahead of scheduled delivery time. For around $60, this is so much cheaper than flying with your bike, with costs $175 each way on some airlines now. Plus FedEx has never damaged my bike like the goons at LAX did once.

Mt Washington weather forecast keeps flip-flopping between typical (not so nice) and quite good. Hard to say yet if we'll get potential PR weather on Saturday. I'm not getting my hopes up for another PR anyway. I think all I need to clinch the KOM for the BUMPS series is a descent climb without any mishaps. I'll be happy with that.

The current issue of Bicycling quotes Ned Overned that he's doing Mt Washington again this year. Don't see his name on the reg list though. I'd love to see him win the thing overall, at what now, 54 years old? He's the man. What would be the odds we end up on the same plane to Denver on Sunday? That would be riot.

I have more epic rides plotted out in Topo and Google Earth than I could possibly ride in two weeks. I'll have six full days in Durango. Some rides only run 30 miles but crest 12,000 to 13,000ft multiple times. Air is pretty thin up there, and the grades are mercilessly steep. Some hike-a-biking will no doubt be involved. The focus on this trip will not be to see how big the rides can be made, but rather to hit as many unique high alpine areas as possible. I have a soft spot for see-forever views. Hope my Lumix LX3 can do them justice. A few loops high on the list are:

• Junction Creek loop, right from hotel, 25 miles out on 4WD road, back on Colorado Trail
• Ophir-Telluride loop, crossing continental divide twice at 12,000-13,000+ feet
• Calico Trail loop, out on pavement, back on ridgeline singletrack, about 50 miles total
• Molas Pass to Engineer Mtn, nearly 40 miles, minimal pavement, long stretch of Colorado Trail at 12,000ft
• Pole Creek loop, near Silverton, crossing over the CT twice with see-forever basin views

If I need a rest or short day, I may visit the ancient ruins near Cortez for half a day. There are also one or two short bike/hike combo's I may try, like up to Ice Lake near Telluride.

I usually go on one solo cycling trip per year. It typically is a short trip in the late fall. That might not happen this year, so I'll take a longer trip to Colorado as my solo trip instead. Dave P and I have gone to Colorado a couple times, but he's still on a tight budget looking for a permanent position.

I'll leave you with a video that was recently sent to me. It is of Joe Azze's 6-gaps ride on August 1, captured by his fitness partner Elizabeth Carrion. The essense of the ride is very nicely captured. I also embedded this in the 6-Gaps webpage. Be sure to check out Joe's calves in one of the stills near the end of the video. I guess when you can clean Lincoln Gap so smoothly in a 39x27 gear, your legs will look like that.

Vermont 6 Gaps Road Ride 8/1/2009 from MountainPeakFitness.com on Vimeo.