Fifty Plus (50+) - Do you ever scout routes?

I am planning to ride Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park in a few weeks. It's a big ride, for me. Tops out at more than 12,000 feet, 25 miles up, 25 down, all kinds of weather possibilities. Because of logistics, I'm going to need to ride to the town of Estes Park, Colorado (the jumping-off spot) the day before this assault. There are several routes to Estes Park from where I live, including some bus travel. One route involves 30 miles on the bike but is tough to get to, one is 42 with some tough climbs, easier to get to, one is in-between. I am thinking of going up in the car soon to scout these "day before" routes, because I do not want to wear myself out for the Trail Ridge ride.

Is this stupid? Would I be wasting gas? Should I just pick a route and go?

Why would this be stupid?

Last year, I thought I might sign up for the Tour de Poway. Just for grins, I drove out to the jumping off point and began driving the route. It took me only a few miles to realize that I wasn't even close in terms of being in shape for this ride.

I did not sign up. I saved myself the entry fee and more importantly, the feeling of failure I would have had if I had tried to ride something I wasn't ready for.

I have also scouted out bike routes prior to rides. Just so I would have the peace of mind to know when there would be a hill coming up and so not to push too hard until past the hills etc. Now I do that less often.

I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew. I am in shape enough to do Trail Ridge, but am wary of doing some all-day endurance test the day before. Not sure I'm up for that. I could see scouting the route, and going, geeze, if I rode this I'd get halfway up Trail Ridge and wobble off the highway over a cliff! Nah, but I'd have to hitch. Don't want to do that.

Especially with those kinds of altitudes in the ride, knowing as much about what you're likely to encounter only makes sense. Checking out alternatives, where the bad weather 'havens' might be, where help might be found if, God forbid, needed - all of those would prompt me to try to know as much as I could before starting that kind of a ride.

And, as Gary said, you might find that the whole thing was more than you expected or should be done in stages rather than as a whole ride so scouting it out beforehand is prudent & well-advised.

I see digital glee scouted a potential ride in his car. That is ok. But, I scout out a new potential ride on my bike. Handlebars and car wheels serve the same function. You can turn yourself around.
A role of my bike is to constantly find out new courses.

Why would this be stupid?

Last year, I thought I might sign up for the Tour de Poway. Just for grins, I drove out to the jumping off point and began driving the route. It took me only a few miles to realize that I wasn't even close in terms of being in shape for this ride.

I did not sign up. I saved myself the entry fee and more importantly, the feeling of failure I would have had if I had tried to ride something I wasn't ready for.

How do you know you weren't ready for it? Only one way to find out and that is ride. The extra riding power of a group ride is fantastic. Providing you use your head and go at a pace that is sensible- These group rides are fantastic. The people around you seem to give you extra strength and you always find someone to ride with. If the person you ride with for a few miles gets too fast, or slow, you leave them and join another rider or group.

Then on top of this- You are now a rider and not a newbie- so get your entry in for this year.

As to doing a recce on a ride- This can be frightening. Just plan the route, look at a map and go. Take it at a steady pace, as you have a hard ride the next day, take enough stops for drink and food on the way. must admit that it is not the ideal preparation for a hard ride but taken with sense should not bother you.

I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew. I am in shape enough to do Trail Ridge, but am wary of doing some all-day endurance test the day before. Not sure I'm up for that. I could see scouting the route, and going, geeze, if I rode this I'd get halfway up Trail Ridge and wobble off the highway over a cliff! Nah, but I'd have to hitch. Don't want to do that.

I can tell you from personal experience that leaving from Boulder and bicycling to Estes Park through Left Hand Canyon and then attempting Trail Ridge the next day after overnighting in Estes is indeed a challenge. It can be done, but you have to be in tip-top condition.

nice idea: but Hwy 40 is talking about what I would consider to be a pretty serious climb to 12,000 feet :eek:

What I do now to scout new rides is get onto Google Earth, chart a path so I have an idea of the distances, then my wife & I get out and ride it. But I'm riding the gentle rolling hills of central Texas & not the Rocky Mtns! :)

For you other Colorado riders, or folks who are familiar with the territory, the three routes are: Loveland to Estes, 30 miles, not a leg-buster from what I've read and heard, but no way at the moment to get to Loveland without a car; Nederland to Estes via the Peak to Peak Highway, 42 miles, is this too hard a ride, don't know; Lyons to Estes via Raymond and the Peak to Peak, 33 miles, is this too hard, don't know.

I would be less concerned about the climbs, etc. I figure I can get over anything if I go slow enough. However, I worry more about how "bike friendly" the route is. Do drivers tend to be more aggressive on that road? How much traffic? Is there good shoulder? Are the shoulders pretty clean? etc. Nothing wrong with scouting but it's no substitute for actually riding the road.

I would tend to start out by working the phone, asking the local bike folks about the various routes.

Good luck

I can get all the way to Nederland on a bus and start that ride fresh before 9 a.m.

Stevie, all the routes are good for cycling, especially the Peak to Peak. Wide shoulders, smooth road, gorgeous scenery.

Of course Kansas City is not anything like the Rocy Mountains. I didn't know if I could ride safely over a bridge on a long course that I was planning. The people I talked to didn't know if there was a shoulder or sidewalk. Google earth was not clear enough. So I rode down to the bridge to check it out. There was a sidewalk, so I was confident when I set out on that route a few weeks later.

How do you know you weren't ready for it? Only one way to find out and that is ride. The extra riding power of a group ride is fantastic. Providing you use your head and go at a pace that is sensible- These group rides are fantastic. The people around you seem to give you extra strength and you always find someone to ride with. If the person you ride with for a few miles gets too fast, or slow, you leave them and join another rider or group.

Then on top of this- You are now a rider and not a newbie- so get your entry in for this year.



I knew I wasn't ready because I had only been riding a few short months, hadn't gone nearly that far in one ride, and had NEVER taken on the kind of hills this ride had. All my riding was on pretty flat urban streets. I know my body and I knew instantly I wasn't in that kind of condition back then. This year? Maybe -- but I still haven't really trained on any hills.

I scouted my "ride your age" passage even though it was 53 miles of FLAT! I wanted to be familiar with landmarks so I'd know where I was on the route. Maybe I'm just a wuss...

Consensus seems to be to go ahead and scout it ... I think I'll drive some and bike some, and figure it out.

I knew I wasn't ready because I had only been riding a few short months, hadn't gone nearly that far in one ride, and had NEVER taken on the kind of hills this ride had. All my riding was on pretty flat urban streets. I know my body and I knew instantly I wasn't in that kind of condition back then. This year? Maybe -- but I still haven't really trained on any hills.

Good enough reason- When you see some of the people on some of the advertised Charity rides- it does make you wonder why they entered in the first place. Recently did the London to Brighton ride in the UK and after 5 miles of a 56 mile ride- I saw some walking up slopes.

No need to train on hills for you though. You have the riding experience to be able to take most things in your stride, and the experience of an organised ride would get you up the hills with ease. Unless you are talking about Mountains.

I've scouted my upcoming century with 11,000 feet of climbing. My wife and I have ridden it in segments. We WILL be ready come September 16th!

I scout new rides to check out the climbs, narrow/dangerous sections of the road, water stops, food stops, and, honestly, places to use the john. I would NEVER just go on a new ride and hope that it all worked out.

Good enough reason- When you see some of the people on some of the advertised Charity rides- it does make you wonder why they entered in the first place. Recently did the London to Brighton ride in the UK and after 5 miles of a 56 mile ride- I saw some walking up slopes.

No need to train on hills for you though. You have the riding experience to be able to take most things in your stride, and the experience of an organised ride would get you up the hills with ease. Unless you are talking about Mountains.

From it's website: The Tour de Poway Fun Bike Ride in October is the premier north San Diego County cycling event, drawing over 2,000 participants from throughout the southwest. The 104, 62 and 44 mile courses climb the famous Poway grade. (8% for 3 miles)

104 Mile (Century) Over 4,500 feet of climbing, great downhills through beautiful back country avocado groves, with a scenic ride down the coast and then back to Poway on the 8 mile SR56 bike path. Five well stocked aid stations.

62 Mile (Metric Century) Begins the same as the 104 mile century-3,000 feet of climbing. Three aid stations.

44 Mile- Begins same as the 62 mile course into Ramona down Highland Valley Road and back to Poway. Over 2,000 ft of climbing and two aid stations.

I like to scout routs to check raod condition, traffic and lane width. There are some roads just not worth riding on, and I like to know up front

Scouting out a ride by car really kills the adventure to my mind. ["Hey, I've seen all this before..." ] I normally check out state bike maps to get an idea of traffic volume. As for hills [sorry no 12000 footers here...], I find the car lets me underestimate them anyway, so what is the point?

One thing I try to do is mix a known ride with a new one. Normally, don't try to do over 20-30 miles of new route. That way, I can turn back to the known ride and the day isn't ruined.

If we all scouted out every ride, bike touring would be pretty boring.

I rarely go out just to scout a route. However, if I'm in an area in which I ride I will not infrequently do some wandering to check out different roads. The one thing I will check for is pea gravel. Around this area country roads are frequently given a coat of tar and gravel and it can mess up a ride if you are not expecting it. I once crested a hill moving as fast as I could pedal only to find to late that this had just been done from the crest onward. Needless to say it made for an interesting ride down.

Is this stupid? Would I be wasting gas? Should I just pick a route and go?

Not stupid, makes sense, I've done it.

I've also "scouted" my route after a ride! Just to check distance by car odometer, and see how the subjective sense of grades compares in the car with what I experienced on the bike. (Tho I do this a lot less after I discovered g-map pedometer) Anyway, if what you're doing is stupid, probly scouting after the ride is stupider! :D

I guess that you know, but Golden to Boulder (93) is likely safe but has some climbing. (I don't look at the road. I look at the wind generators. Well, some.) Boulder to Lyons (34? 36?) has some real climbing too. Can't remember Lyons to Estes Park.

Nothing wrong with doing your homework!!

Hell yeah.

Especially on something as challenging and unusual as Trail Ridge Road (not to mention sorta dangerous given the changeable weather and steep, twisting descents).

I've scouted quite a few rides as a club member to check out new rides and centuries. All the scouting was done on two wheels, driven by flat twin motorcycle engines by BMW.

+1 for Google Earth. I have used it a few times to look for an off road route through - surprising what you can spot and it will give you some landmarks to use as reference points.

>>> you ever scout routes? . . . Is this stupid?

Hey 'Blue!

That's not stupid at all; it's prudent in my book. Mind you, the joy of discovery is always good especially if there's pie, but the misery of "discovering" the charms of 80 mph testosterone-engorged traffic on a narrow road suck rocks. By all means scout your routes.

I do it all the time, trying to work in scouting whilst on the road for other reasons. My son and I just got back from a week of hiking the trails in the Monongahela National Forest [OH the heat. . .the humidity. . .the BEARS!] and I used the opportunity to scout some biking opportunities. They abound by the way! There're the predictable mountain biking trails at all levels and pavement, too. I won't do the main roads [log and stone trucks], but there's a great scenic highway [Route 150] near Marlinton, West Virginia, that is 22 miles of smooth very mountainous pavement.

+1 on G-Map and Google earth. I want to know what I'm getting myself into and how far things are; also how far up things are. I know these roads like the back of my hand from a car. As a cyclist, there is a whole new perspective.