Bike Rides

Valley Loop

Date: 
Monday, September 7, 2009
Miles: 
40
Bike: 
Giant OCR2
Buddies: 
Andy, Paul

Bike path to Medford. Cool and breezy.

Siskiyou Summit

Date: 
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Miles: 
40
Bike: 
Giant OCR2
Buddies: 

Back home on the road bike. Probably my best time to SS. Went over the top down to the freeway and back.

Turquoise Lake - Hagerman Pass - Carbondale

Date: 
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Miles: 
68
Bike: 
Rock Hopper
Buddies: 
Andy, Paul

Today was the big one. The highest pass we did, 11,925'. Very steep and rocky at the top. Had to push a lot. Then a long decent down the Frying Pan river to Basalt and on to Carbondale.

Of course we saved the highest pass, and the longest ride, for the last day. From the lake it was easy railroad grade for a few miles with great views of the mountains. Then the road went to hell and it got steep and rocky. At one point I just sat down at the side of the road, and to my delight there were a bunch of wild raspberries. I just sat there and feasted for a while.

Wild Raspberries
Wild Raspberries.

When we got near the top the road turned to sand. At this point all I could do was push. It did flatten out just enough to get back on the bike and ride to the summit. What a rush to have ridden up to just shy of 12,000'.

The road down was very rocky for the first few miles and we had to go slow and get off a lot. It gradually got better and we picked up speed for the long decent into the Frying Pan river valley. I didn't get any pictures but the Frying Pan runs through a red rock canyon with enough green trees to make it really spectacular. It comes out a Basalt where it joins the Roaring Fork. We stopped in Basalt for a quick snack.

From there we got on the Rio Grande bike path for the last 12 miles to Carbondale. Then came the final grunt up the hill to Sharon's house. 345 miles back to where we started.

So that was it. My first big self supported tour. Our first bikepacking trip, well before it was called bikepacking. We crossed the continental divide twice, on rugged dirt roads, had an amazing adventure, saw no bears, and had a great taste of Colorado. I was hooked.

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Nice view
Spectacular mountain views on the climb to Hagerman pass.

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Turquoise lake
Looking back down to Turquoise Lake and the road we had just climbed.

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Rough road
The going got really rough for a while.

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Pushing my bike
Defeated by a mountain. I could not make any headway in the sand. Fortunately it let up enough fop me to get back on and ride to the summit.

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Hagerman Pass
We survived the climb and summited the highest pass of our tour. This

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Snow at 1200'
The closest we got to snow was above 1200'.

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Road down
The road down was not looking much better than the one we just climbed. We had to keep the speed down for a few miles until it gradually started getting better.

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We made it
And then we were done. Back to civilization for a refresing break, before the last few miles back to Sharon's house.

Railroad Bridge - Leadville - Turquoise Lake

Date: 
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Miles: 
38
Bike: 
Rock Hopper
Buddies: 
Andy, Paul

From Railroad Bridge we got back on the highway and ran into three tourers from Boulder who were also headed for Leadville. We played leapfrog with them all day. We stopped for water at Granite but the town was shut down. Scott was carrying extra and gave us some.

The view today was dominated by the Collegiate Peaks, fifteen 14,000+ foot mountains that form a chain to the west of the Arkansas valley. Very impressive.

The upper Arkansas valley was in an obvious state of decline from it's heyday when there were many mines operating. The last mine shutdown in Leadville in 1999. We passes many boarded up buildings and whole towns that looked like little more than ghost towns. There was a healthy effort to fill the gap with tourism, mostly river rafting, especially in Buena Vista, but beyond that not much. Leadville does attract some tourists and had a revitalized downtown, but you could tell it was a struggle. They do host an awesome mountain bike race each year.

Once we got into Lake County the nice wide shoulder disappeared and some trucks buzzed by pretty close. It was gray and chilly when we got to Leadvile. Leadville claims to be the highest incorporated town in the US at over 10,000'. We ate at Doc Holiday's which was just what you'd expect it to be. Good food as well. From there we went to the town welcome center to look at maps before heading out to the campground. On the way out we passed some old Victorian houses that were being painted with bright colors. The town is trying hard not to fade away.

It was mostly downhill to the May Queen campground on Turquoise Lake. Very few campers as it was already getting cool. Here it was September first and summer was over, the campgrounds were shutting down, and the tourists going home. I'm glad we have such a long fall here in Oregon.

Leadville

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Leadville
Legendary Leadville. I was certainly feeling the elevation, and well as the elation from riding this far and this high.

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May Queen campground
Another great site at May Queen campground. We had lot's of room and the place was mostly empty.

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Fall colors
Fall colors were already evident at this elevation.

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Stoking the fire
Paul and I really getting into this campfire.

Ohaver Lake - Salida - Railroad Bridge

Date: 
Monday, August 31, 2009
Miles: 
50
Bike: 
Rock Hopper
Buddies: 
Andy, Paul

Downhill for 15 miles from the pass to Salida. We rode by Andy's house and did some site seeing and had a snack at Bongo Bill's. We stopped at a bike shop where Andy got his "peace" socks.

 

From Salida we rode to Buena Vista. On the way Paul broke another spoke and I somehow messed up my from derailleur. We went to the Trailhead bike shop for repairs. The mechanic there was really good and had us fixed up in no time. After that and a stop to look at the river and a trail, it was on to the Eddyline Brew Pub for lunch.dinner. Very good!

We took a dirt road out of Buena Vista that followed the Arkansas through some nice canyons and through these tunnels.

Our campground was at the Railroad Bridge on the abandoned Rio Grande tracks right on the Arkansas River. This section of the river is the take-out point for people running "the numbers", some class IV-VI rapids.

The Arkansas river
We followed the Arkansas river valley from Salida to Leadville.

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Andy's house in Salida
Andy's house in Salida. He had a tenant so we just rode around back for the picture.

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Eddyline
Lunch at the Eddyline in Buena Vista

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Tunnels
Paul heading into the tunnels north of Buena Vista

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Setting up camp.
Setting up camp at the railroad bridge. We had a better spot but then someone came and said he had it reserved, so we moved.

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Abandned railroad tracks
The rusted rails was an inspiration for a song that was coming to me over the next few days.

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Sunset
Another great colorado sunset over the Collegiate Peaks.

Sargents - Marshall Pass - Ohaver Lake

Date: 
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Miles: 
29
Bike: 
Rock Hopper
Buddies: 
Andy, Paul, Sharon

Sunday. Dirt road at 4% railroad grade. Loose and rocky at times. Pass is 10,842'

We turned right at Sargents and headed up a dirt road at a 4% railroad grade. Started out great but we then got into some loose and rocky stuff. It had just been graded.

It was threatening rain at the top. There were a bunch of mountain bikers doing a fund raiser ride. We ducked under the outhouse shelter for a few minutes but then headed on down.

The campground was at Ohaver lake at 9,200'. It rained several times that evening and I had to take shelter in my tent. Fortunately it didn't leak and everything stayed dry.

Marshall Pass
Each new pass marks a new elevation high for me.

Ohaver Lake
Probably our most scenic campsite.

Campfire
Sharon and I were both into campfires, Andy not so much. I gathered a bunch of dry pine from up above the lake.

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Gravel road up Marshall Pass
Once again the road had been recently graded making for some tough going up Marshall Pass.

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Marshall Pass
We made it anyhow. Sharon and Paul making sure we know how high this pass was.

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Colorado at it's finest
This was the view behind my tent at Ohaver Lake. I consider this one of the best pictures I've ever taken. I love the transition from the lush green by the lake, to the scruby pine woods, to the high mountains in the background.

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Camping by the lake
Sharon pitched her tent right by the lake. We did have some mosquitos at this spot.

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Ohaver Lake
Andy getting in for a closer shot.

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Sunset
After the rain stopped we were treated to a great mountain sunset.

Gunnison - Cochecote hills - Sargents

Date: 
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Miles: 
45
Bike: 
Rock Hopper
Buddies: 
Andy, Paul, Sharon

Saturday - Cochecote hills to Sargents. Tomichi Creek RV park.

From Gunnison we met back up with Sharon and rode out in the Cochecote hills. This was all open barren land. The sky was cool. We then rode to Sargents and stayed in a small cabin at the Tomichi Creek RV Park.

It was there that we met Matt and Gracie who were riding unicycles for the length of the continental divide. They have a website at http://divideby1.com.

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Cochecote Hills
Andy really like the Cochecote Hills. I was less enthused by the barren terrain. I guess I just like trees too much.

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Tomichi Creek RV park
Camping in style at Tomichi Creek RV park.

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With Gracie and Matt
We were really impressed with Gracie and Matt and their tour on unicycles. They did the whole Great Divide MBT.

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Gracie
This is from their website. Gracie on her unicycle. No panniers, so heavy backbacks. Amazing.

Taylor River to Gunnison

Date: 
Friday, August 28, 2009
Miles: 
20
Bike: 
Rock Hopper
Buddies: 
Andy, Paul

Friday - Gunnison 20 miles. KOA

Rest day. From the Taylor river it was a short downhill to Gunnison. Paul had a broken spoke so we dropped his bike off at a shop and had lunch at a local place. Then on to the KOA for showers, laundry, and a nice grassy campsite.

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KOA
Camping in style at the KOA

Erickson Springs - Kebler Pass - Taylor River

Date: 
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Miles: 
45
Bike: 
Rock Hopper
Buddies: 
Andy, Paul, Sharon

Thursday - Kebler Pass (10,000') - Crested Butte - Taylor river.

At 10,000 feet Kebler pass was my first big challenge. We continued on the dirt road from the campground. As we approached the pass we encountered fresh gravel in the road. At two miles from the top they were laying fresh chip-seal. It was a mess but the last half mile to the top was clear.

After Kebler Pass we had a choice of going over Ohio pass and down Ohio creek but we opted to go to Crested Butte.

We took the highway from Crested Butte down some miles before cutting across the hills to the Taylor River. The campground had the river on one side and steep cliffs on the other.

Campsite at Taylor River

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Kebler Pass
Sharon rode with us up Kebler Pass.

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Gravel road
Bad luck put us right behind the road grader. We had a lot of loose gravel to navigate.

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Nice to see road signs
Nice to see road signs way out on a dirt road. We headed to Crested Butte.

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Lunch in Crested Butte
Back in civilization for lunch in Crested Butte.

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Taylor River
Our camp was right on Taylor River.

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Cliffs
The cliffs are popular with rock climbers.

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Looking at maps
Paul and Andy studying the maps.

Carbondale - McClure Pass - Erickson Spings

Date: 
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Miles: 
50
Bike: 
Rock Hopper
Buddies: 
Andy, Paul, Sharon

Wednesday - Carbondale - McClure Pass - Panonia Reservoir - Erickson Spings campground on Anthricite creek.

Let the climbing begin! And so it was. Breathtaking views, as if I had much breath with all the climbing. But of course there is always the other side, and a nice fast downhill.

The route was highway 133 from Carbondale to the Panonia Reservoir. After stopping for a break at the Panonia Reservoir we turned off the highway and headed up to the Erickson Springs campground on the Anthricite river.

First campsite

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This is the view looking up the Crystal River canyon, a route we did not take.
This is the view looking up the Crystal River canyon, a route we did not take.

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A closer view up Crystal Canyon
A closer view up Crystal Canyon

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Paul was pulling a Bob trailier
Paul was pulling a Bob trailier, while Andy and I were using racks and panniers.

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Andy was in good spirits
Andy was in good spirits.

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Last one to the top.
I was the last one to the top. I was careful not to get out of breath, still not sure what the elevation would do to me.