4 posts from August 2008

Today was a great and eventful day.  We again started our ride with the killer one mile climb out of Snowmass Village.  Our tour guide, Don, took us to a beautiful area with the best view at the top.  The climbing wasn't too bad as we are acclimating more and more to the altitude--of course, our legs have been through a lot in the last few days.

 

We did about 4,000 feet of climbing (for some perspective, climbing Roanoke hill from the credit union to the top is 110 feet).  Snowmass is around 8,000 ft and the top of our ride was at 9,600 ft.  There's a lot of climbing getting there and back, too.  You can see the South and North Maroon Bell Peaks behind us in the pictures below.

 

We had a real cool encounter as we prepared to descend from Maroon Bells.  Don headed down ahead of Jamie and I to find a spot to grab some video of us coming down.  As he did this, a fast rider zoomed down past Jamie and I who was wearing the team colors of Garmin-Chipolte.  He was riding a Felt, too.  At the time, we were fairly certain he wasn't a poser and was a real team member.  Fortunately, Don had the video rolling as this rider sailed towards him.  Based on the velocity of the rider, Don thought this guy was Jamie.  The rider stopped right next to Don and said hi, as he noticed a gal going up that he knew.  So he turned around and climbed back up with her.  We did a little Internet research to match the video of him with the team's web site.  Turns out it was Will Frischkorn who finished 2nd in this year's Tour d'France Stage 3.

{{Added 10/1/08:  Journal entry from Will in Velonews even mentions his trip in CO.  See link for details: http://www.velonews.com/article/83880/garmin-s-will-frischkorn-finds-that-sometimes-time-off-the}}

Click on the little triangles on the two videos below to see Will and then Jamie and I.

 

Soon after Jamie and I sailed down to Don.

We biked straight over to Aspen and had some Mexican food.  That was when the only rain fell during our stay.  The last challenge was to get back to Snowmass from Aspen after eating lunch AND a new storm was brewing and we had to hustle back up to the condo.  We toyed with the thought of doing another local loop in Snowmass, but Coronas at the pool sounded a whole lot better giving the legs a well-deserved break.

Needless to say, we're pretty happy with our performance over the three days.  We felt like we held our own considering we're coming from 600 feet altitude back home. 

Tonight will be another home-cooked meal from our master chef, Jamie.  We plan to leave tomorrow at the crack of dawn (Don and I had to convince Jamie 4:30 AM was a wee bit early for us).  Looking forward to seeing our families and telling tall tales of our adventure. 

Today, we headed straight out of the condo straight up.  To get from Snowmass Village to anywhere else, you must climb a mile at a grade of 9-10% (about 375 feet of climbing).  The good news was once we got to the top, we had a long fast decent. 

After that we worked our way to the base of the Ashcroft run.  Very pretty.  There was a river going along side of us which eventually was many feet below although still next to us.

 

 

Today had about 3400 ft of climbing over the course of 40 miles.  It took us about an hour and 32 minutes to get from Snowmass to the top at the city of Ashcroft and 30 minutes to get down.  The highest we got was 9,720 ft (we started at about 8,000)--the road basically ends at the base of Ashcroft mountain.  We have acclimated somewhat to the altitude and did OK.  Still some huffing and puffing, but we didn't stop nearly as much as yesterday.  If yesterday was a 10 on a difficulty scale, today was a 7 (with tired legs).

Going down was more fun than yesterday as there were some great straightways where Jamie got up to 40 mph.  I think I was a bit slower and Don averaged somewhere in between--maybe 30.  Below is a video of Jamie and I screaming down the very beginning of the decent.  Expert videography by Don Video and Associates.

Click on the little triangle on the video below to see Jamie and I scream down the mountain.

 

After we got to the bottom, we headed straight for Aspen for lunch.  Lots and lots of bikes everywhere.  We had a great Italian lunch (what else would you expect).  Someway, somehow we managed to bike our way back to the condo.  There was a "short cut" to avoid the way we came down from Snowmass.  However, it included some short little switchbacks up a bike trail that maxed out at 12% grade.  That was tough since you were barely pedaling when you had to switch to the right or left.

Needless to say, we were ready for the pool when we got back.  Then grilled some salmon and beef kabobs and baked potatoes.  Carbing up again as we'll be heading for Maroon Bells tomorrow.

The weather was funny today being on the dark side of the Continental Divide.  It was 45 degrees at 7 AM, but 70 by 11 AM.  We'll see what the weather brings tomorrow.

Today was the first day of riding in Colorado for Jamie, Don and I.  We started at in Estes Park at an altitude of 7,600 ft.  Yes, we felt the effects of high altitude almost right away.  We were huffing and puffing just getting to the entrance to the park.  Here's us at the hotel and the entrance to the park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped quite a few times along the way to take pictures and catch our breath.  We were one of the few riders going up, so we were constantly approached by tourists asking us questions (maybe, why on Earth would you climb this mountain range?).  Everyone was very friendly and from all over the country.

 

 

 

The picture below is the same backdrop as picture P1010031.  You can see the road we climbed to get to where both pictures were taken.  The grades were never more than 6% or so, but there was barely ever a flat section (or downhill)--just climbing.  And did I mention the lack of oxygen.  Whew!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the course of about two hours we climbed about 4,080 feet while riding about 17 miles to just about the summit in the park.  We climbed to above the tree line.  At the bottom, the temperature was in the 70's at the start and 80 degrees on way back.At the summit, it was windy and cold (maybe in the 50's).  We had to put on the jackets near the top.  Especially for racing down.  What took about 2 hours to climb took about 37 minutes to get back.  The pictures below of us at the top.

 

 

After getting the bottom, we had a quick lunch and drove through very scenic passes all the way to the Aspen-Snowmass area.  Altitude is near 8,000 ft.  Believe it or not, three men can pull together a nice dinner on their own.  We made a great pasta and grilled chicken dish (Jamie is a wiz with some fresh ingredients and Don grilled up chicken fast) and salad.  Don made a fancy dessert (Gramma Golf's Cream Puffs).  Need to carbo load for tomorrow's adventure.

Today I embark on a new biking challange:  the Rockies.

Jamie, Don, and I will be riding tomorrow.  Stay tuned for details.