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| Views are Incredible! |
After receiving a road bike for my birthday at the end of July I started going on a few road rides. I never thought this was a sport that I would get in to, and even my boyfriend who gifted me the bike said he expected it to be used by me as a great little townie bike! But I have a few road biking friends and I decided to give the harder stuff a try.
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| Map View of the Ride |
My first big ride was Castle Creek Road to Ashcroft, though very challenging the first few times, it has now become a regular ride for me. I next ventured the Maroon Bells, much more challenging in my opinion as it is a steady uphill the whole way offering little to no downhills to take a break on. Next was McClain Flats to Snowmass and a great ride up through Missouri heights in Carbondale. I discovered a few short routes, McClain Flats to Starwood Mesa Drive, and Red Mountain road for off days. And to date my furthest ride has been McClain Flats to St. Benedictine Monastery looping back through Snowmass to Aspen.
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| Miles Vs. Elevation Gain |
It is now only weeks before it becomes too cold to road ride around here and I decided to ride Independence Pass, the 4th highest paved road in Colorado. From Aspen its a 4,200 foot (19 mile) climb to the summit. The road is generally steep, curvy, and with little shoulder to ride on. It is definitely the hardest route Aspen has to offer on a road bike and something of a rite of passage as a road biker in Aspen! Though I have been riding my bike for over a month now, putting about 264 miles on my bike, I was definitely a bit nervous.
We set out from my front door making the ride 40 miles in total and 4,500 feet of elevation gain, not too much different from starting at the gate. The ride took us about 3 hours and 40 mins and we ate about 200 calories worth of food every hour and LOTS of water. The ride is long with very little downhill areas or even flat areas for rest, but the views along the way are worth every ounce of sweat! The ride is incredible and not impossible for a new biker, just bring plenty of fuel! I would suggest doing a few easier rides if you are not used to the altitude as the air does get a little thin when nearing the top.
Such a blast and can now be crossed off my bucket list!
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| Us at the top! |
We set out from my front door making the ride 40 miles in total and 4,500 feet of elevation gain, not too much different from starting at the gate. The ride took us about 3 hours and 40 mins and we ate about 200 calories worth of food every hour and LOTS of water. The ride is long with very little downhill areas or even flat areas for rest, but the views along the way are worth every ounce of sweat! The ride is incredible and not impossible for a new biker, just bring plenty of fuel! I would suggest doing a few easier rides if you are not used to the altitude as the air does get a little thin when nearing the top.
Such a blast and can now be crossed off my bucket list!
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