All-Day Climb

We woke up at 3:45 this morning so we could leave early, yet again, in an attempt to beat the heat. We rolled out around 5:15, well before sunrise. We started out having to walk our bikes up a very steep, gravel road. We learned quite quickly that our touring bikes fully loaded down are just not suitable for riding on gravel. We then got on Slug Gulch Road. Locals told us that triathletes use Slug Gulch for training, which did not bode well.

We made very slow progress. I’m not too proud to admit that I walked my bike up several of the steepest inclines on Slug Gulch. Maybe if I wasn’t carrying 50 pounds of gear, food, and water, I could have made it up, maybe, but honestly probably not even then.

With that thankfully behind us, we rode through Eldorado National Forest, which was scenic, shaded, and had manageable inclines. That was the end of the enjoyable part of the ride, as from there we got onto Highway 88. Since today is Monday of Memorial Day weekend, there was tons of traffic on Highway 88, going up and down the mountain, with no shoulder to speak of.

We are spending the night at an off-the-grid cabin operated by the only establishment of any kind in the area - Ham’s Station. We got to Ham’s Station around 10:30 and had lunch and waited until our cabin was available. The cabin is primitive - no air conditioning or kitchen, just two beds and a bathroom - but it provides a welcome respite from the climb.

We plan to get another early start tomorrow and head up to Kirkwood, a ski resort roughly 26 miles further up the mountain. By the time we get to that altitude, we’ll (hopefully) finally start to see some cooler weather. We’re already more than a mile high and it’s still 100 degrees.

Highlights

• We were not attacked by bears or mountain lions (something we were warned about by locals, the people who ran the winery we stayed at last night)
• Eldorado National Forrest was nice to bike through - almost no cars, lots of shade, consistent but manageable climbs

Lowlights

• Slug Gulch Rode. Literally all of it.
• Starting uphill on a gravel road
• Ending uphill on a busy highway without a shoulder

Julie’s food

• Breakfast: oatmeal
• First snack: Clif bar + gatorade
• Second snack: pretzels + gatorade
• Lunch: a salad and a side of fries
• Dinner: chili and bread

Stats

• Total distance: 19.76 miles
• Elevation gain: 3724 feet
• Weather: hot and dry, high of 101 degrees Fahrenheit