Touring - How High Have You Been?

We are not talking about the ganja-weed here.
We are talking about elevation.
What is the highest that you have been on a bicycle?
Also, please post where and something about the climb.

For me, it was Engineer Pass in Colorado - 12,970 feet.
Between Silverton and Lake City. Summer of 1995.
I would huff and puff to a count of 100 - then stop and gasp.
Also have done Cinnamon, Stony, and Ophir Passes.
Sure the passes around Silverton are a mountain bike mecca,
But that doesn't include 60 to 70 pounds of gear, too.

(These passes are popular with jeep touring. Next time
I might let friendly four-wheelers take my gear to the top.)

Carson Pass - 8574 ft.

It is the high point between San Francisco and Carson City on the ACA Western Express route.

I did the climb in three parts.

Day 1 was from Sacramento to Placerville. It was manageable but the end of the day, where the climbing started, it was tough.

Day 2 was the killer. I rode from Placerville to Kirkwood (got a ride the last few miles due to darkness and the kindness of a stranger). I discovered on this day that I could walk pushing a loaded touring bike as fast as I could pedal it. I ended up 7 miles short of my goal as darkness fell. I had one big climb left to get to Kirkwood and I was hungry, spent, and without lights or tent.

Day 3 was quite pleasant as the pass was just a few relatively easy miles from Kirkwood and the wind was howling at my back.

The next time I plan to go over such a high pass, I will endure the weight of my tent and bag so that I can camp where I run out of light/energy instead of having to get somewhere by a certain time.

Ray

...aboard a flight with my bike

http://www.mip.sdu.dk/~glewin/alpedhuez_files/image2841.jpg

1,625 ft.
Peacock Flats, Oahu, Hawaii.

5000M/16400 feet on Mt. Chimborazo ( 21780 ft.) in Ecuador, South America. Lots of snow and cold in December and January the rainy season but great views from a mountain some claim to be higher than Everest due to the bulge at the equator. The ride down carving through pumice fields was very exciting but fortunately uneventful.

High enough to bring the skis!

no higher than 11,000 feet; most of my rides are in Washington state now, no passes above 7K.

did a classic, wilderness Olympic Mountains ride last weekend, but the dirt roads I was on topped out no higher than 4,000 feet or so.

It was an offroad/fire road tour (the San Juan Hut Tour). We started in Telluride, CO and climbed Last Dollar Pass ~10,500 feet, then climbed up a little more to the first hut of the night. We were close to 11,000' and could barely breathe by time we literally had to push our bicycles up the final, steep 100'.

The attached photo is from the hut looking back down on part of the road we came up.

8200 feet in Nevada. That was enough of an accomplishment for me.

My favourite climbs were Ventoux 1900mtrs and Alpe D'Huez

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/imjibi/Europe/photo#4994990697305276434

The highest was in The Andes over the Cuervas Del diablo from Los Andes to Mendoza 12000ft

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/imjibi/SouthAmerica/photo#4987269806970961938

george

My favourite climbs were Ventoux 1900mtrs and Alpe D'Huez

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/imjibi/Europe/photo#4994990697305276434

The highest was in The Andes over the Cuervas Del diablo from Los Andes to Mendoza 12000ft

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/imjibi/SouthAmerica/photo#4987269806970961938

george


Hey George, did you ever think about putting a book together? I think it would be great.

Trail Ridge Road, 12,183 ft. It was on day 2 of my first long fully loaded bike tour. We took the bus to Winter Park from sea level. Day 1, rode to Granby. Day 2, over Trail Ridge to Estes. Maybe not the best planning, in terms of altitude aclimatization! BUt what a spectacular ride!

It took a looooooong time.

I was on the TransAmerica route heading west from Canon City. I climbed about 3300 ft. to about 9300 feet in several hours. What made it really tough is that area is the high desert, and I experienced very strong headwinds along with temperatures in the 90s. It was the toughest day of my 10 week tour. At the end of the day, I stayed in a cabin. It took me several hours to recuperate fully, after resting, eating a lot, and drinking every liquid in sight. I remember walking around with a wet T-shirt on my head for a few hours to help cool me down.

Interestingly, the next morning, at barely sunrise, it was so cold I had to wear my long-sleeve jersey, jacket, and fleece-lined tights in order to keep warm.

David in PA

Tioga Pass...9945 feet, the highest paved road in California.

A slice of heaven. Located between Yosemite Valley and Mono Lake, the scenery is drop dead beautiful. (And the 3000 ft. descent to Mono lake ain't bad either.)

I agree - -
I've been over Tioga Pass a few times - - Sonora Pass, too.
One time I had a blowout coming down Tioga about 2/3s of the way down.
Had to wash out my shorts in Lee Vining.

Snowy Tioga Pass - Memorial Day, 2002

Agua negra pass between Chile and Argentina, on my world tour. 4800 meters or nearly 15,750 feet.

OUCH!

roughstuff

Once, when I was in grade 11, this buddy of mine and I shared this big fatty out in my back yard, then watched Star Wars. We were so fried we each just fell asleep.

Oh, maybe you weren't talking about that. Maybe I should have read the first post.

Oh well, just the same, it's a fond memory.

Passo del Tonale in northern Italy - 1884 m

It took a couple of hours, because it was during the European heat wave of 2003, and my girlfriend doesn't handle heat well. We had to stop quite often so she could douse her head with water.

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x22/swiersma/DSC00064.jpg

Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado, (10,550 ft.) last Thursday.

5000M/16400 feet on Mt. Chimborazo ( 21780 ft.) in Ecuador, South America. Lots of snow and cold in December and January the rainy season but great views from a mountain some claim to be higher than Everest due to the bulge at the equator. The ride down carving through pumice fields was very exciting but fortunately uneventful.

Its not a 'claim.' The top of Chimborazo is furthest from the center of the earth. It is NOT the highest point above sea level, since the earth is pear shaped and the earth's rotation (and coriolis forces) come into play.

Must be hell cycling up there though! :)

roughstuff

Its not a 'claim.' The top of Chimborazo is furthest from the center of the earth. It is NOT the highest point above sea level, since the earth is pear shaped and the earth's rotation (and coriolis forces) come into play.

Must be hell cycling up there though! :)

roughstuff
Don't really know the exact altitudes, but well above the tree line in the Colorado Rockies.

12,095 feet - Independence Pass, Colorado.

Had to stop every 1/4 to 1/2 mile to catch my breath since I live at around 1,000 feet. I was going so slow, a guy on a unicycle passed me on the way up.

Mike

Being high on a bike is fun :P.

Which do you believe I did: diving out of an airplane at 24,000 feet with my bike; or setting on top of a 12,888 foot mountain with my bike smoking peyote? Now for the tough question, which of those two is higher?

Mt. Evans, 14,000+ ft. above sea level. We got caught in a snowstorm on the way down (this was August), I was colder than I wanted to be and my partner (very skinny lady) was hypothermic by the time we got to Echo Lake Lodge. She only brought short fingered gloves, and I was starting to worry that her hands would stiffen up from the cold and she would be unable to use her brakes.

I've also cycled Mosquito Pass, Independence Pass, Trail Ridge Road and some 11K passes. I've also done Tioga Pass a few times back when I lived in CA. I'm actually incredibly slow going up hill, but I do quite well going downhill.

Staggered up the 4,655m (15,300') Ak Baital Pass in Tajikistan.

...rode to the top of Evans during a cross country tour in '97. I'd been climbing Loveland Pass, having a great day, when a guy pulled up behind me and we started talking. In short, he informed me that there was no way I could ride Evans with all my gear(front and rear panniers etc.). WEll, a couple days later, that's exactly what I set out to do, and did. What a day! So cold up there I wore socks on my hands for the descent. The ride up and down was well worth the effort. Does anyone else get so into the groove of a big climb that you get irritated at little bits of downhill that rob your progress?