snowy ride

[w2brdbkr]

I joined a new group to me thanks to a suggestion from someone here.

On Weds. evening they do what they call hill repeats. It is a hill with around 6% grade & for 45 minutes you go up & down as many times as you can. I can't believe it but I survived & decided to go on there ride today.

They planned a trip to Estes Park & back (70 miles) and it started out with sunshine & a slight wind. By the time we hit the canyon the wind really picked up & once we got into the narrows it started to snow. One of the girls & I were riding together & had talked about going back down because of the snow & wind. It was really cold maybe top 30's or very low 40's.

While we were talking we rounded a corner & the sun came out & the weather got better. At Drake we turned right & headed towards Glen Haven.

Now on the other side of Glen Haven there are two switch backs that are a climb, in fact the start is 18% grade & then the switch backs range from 12-16%.

Even with the snow & wind we made it with not problem and we descended the last 5 miles into Estes. We ate at Subway, rested & then decided to head back. By this time it was snowing like crazy & the temps must have dropped because it was cold. I bet the tourist thought we were all crazy riding our bikes in the snow.

The trip down was a lot faster but even though we were going down hill because of the wind we had to pedal.

Had a good time & met some new members so it was a good day.

One person took some pictures of the elk, Long horn sheep but I didn't take my camera.

[Tom Bombadil]

Estes Park is about my favorite place on the planet. Have been there 3 times. Cannot imagine being able to ride a bike up that canyon, much less into wind & snow. My hat is off to you.

[Red Rider]

Except for the snow, cold and wind it sounds like a great ride. Well done!

[RockyMtnMerlin]

One person took some pictures of the elk, Long horn sheep but I didn't take my camera.

Sounds like a very tough ride. Good job. I think you meant Bighorn Sheep though.

[w2brdbkr]

Sounds like a very tough ride. Good job. I think you meant Bighorn Sheep though.

I sure did, sorry about that. You see a lot of elk but you don't get to see the Bighorn as often. Here is a picture one of the riders took, as you can see they were close.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b8db30b3127ccea96889f7e08900000016100EYuGTls5cMb

[w2brdbkr]

After fixing breakfast for the W met up with the Hypoxia group & did a recovery ride. It was going to be 17-20 miles & ended up being 35 miles.

I can't believe the difference in weather, today it was sunny, warm, no snow, little wind. Had a good time getting to ride at a slower pace without as many hills, or at least not as steep of hills. ;)

[Kerlenbach]

My family's best vacation was in Estes Park several years ago. The altitude makes walking tough, let alone biking. You, sir, are a master.

[RockyMtnMerlin]

My family's best vacation was in Estes Park several years ago. The altitude makes walking tough, let alone biking. You, sir, are a master.
Estes Park is a very nice place indeed. Just a few feet higher than my home here in Laramie, but world of difference - trees actually grow there on their own. :)