sam.g
05-19-2004, 12:45 PM
This past weekend I took advantage of a business trip to Estes Park CO to spent a weekend learning to Fly Fish and riding in Rocky Mountain National Park. I arrived early Thursday May 13th, four days before my planned ride. Since it snowed the day before, about 5" in Estes Park (elevation 7540') and well over 14" in the mountains, I thought it best to just take care of business while waiting for the weather to moderate. The rental bike was a new Trek 1000 fitted with a Sora triple group, not exactly a Serotta but a fine rental bike none-the-less, especially considering it retails for $599. Saturday morning I took a fly fishing lesson (caught three Rainbow Trout, largest about 4 lbs.) and then in the afternoon picked up the rental to explore the foot hills of Rocky Moutain National Park before attempting Trail Ridge Road on Sunday. FYI, Trail Ridge Road is the highest "continuous" paved road in the US, 12,183' elevation, and doesn't open until Memorial day each year after a little more than a month of snow ploughing. Trail Ridge Road was closed at Rainbow Curve, elevation 10,840' for snow removal and this was my goal for Sunday.
Keeping in mind the cool temperatures, I started out at about 10AM from the bike shop on route 34 in Estes Park, the weather was sunny and about 55-60 degrees. This changed rapidly as I climbed, dropping into the mid-low 30's at Rainbow Curve. When the sun was out, I was quite comfortable, but it clouded up the higher I climbed. The grade was a very ridable 5% with a few steeper sections at the switch backs. After reaching Rainbow curve, the sun briefly broke out and I decided to press on for another 10 minutes, maybe a mile or so, but quickly came to my senses after being repeatedly pelted by 20-30 mph wind gusts and the start of snow flurries. Figuring that I most likely reached over 11,000', I snapped a few pics, donned my rain jacket and long finger gloves, and headed down. The downhill ride really sucked and was actually much more difficult than the climb. The snow flurries increased with the wind gusts, causing previosuly wet sections of the road to glaze over, infact I had to stop every few miles to defrost my hands which were freezing up due to my death grip on the brakes. As I descended further the snow turned to rain which further added to the discomfort. The sun finally came out as I passed the intersection of route 34 and 36, but I was too cold and tired to take the extra loop originally planned. Without a computer I'm guessing the total ride was about 35 miles with ~3,500' of climbing, average speed - slow. Pedalling into Estes Park, I decided to return the bike early and enjoy a few pints of Fat Tire beer while planning my next Colorado trip.
Keeping the rubber side down and Cheers,
Sam
Keeping in mind the cool temperatures, I started out at about 10AM from the bike shop on route 34 in Estes Park, the weather was sunny and about 55-60 degrees. This changed rapidly as I climbed, dropping into the mid-low 30's at Rainbow Curve. When the sun was out, I was quite comfortable, but it clouded up the higher I climbed. The grade was a very ridable 5% with a few steeper sections at the switch backs. After reaching Rainbow curve, the sun briefly broke out and I decided to press on for another 10 minutes, maybe a mile or so, but quickly came to my senses after being repeatedly pelted by 20-30 mph wind gusts and the start of snow flurries. Figuring that I most likely reached over 11,000', I snapped a few pics, donned my rain jacket and long finger gloves, and headed down. The downhill ride really sucked and was actually much more difficult than the climb. The snow flurries increased with the wind gusts, causing previosuly wet sections of the road to glaze over, infact I had to stop every few miles to defrost my hands which were freezing up due to my death grip on the brakes. As I descended further the snow turned to rain which further added to the discomfort. The sun finally came out as I passed the intersection of route 34 and 36, but I was too cold and tired to take the extra loop originally planned. Without a computer I'm guessing the total ride was about 35 miles with ~3,500' of climbing, average speed - slow. Pedalling into Estes Park, I decided to return the bike early and enjoy a few pints of Fat Tire beer while planning my next Colorado trip.
Keeping the rubber side down and Cheers,
Sam