Road Cycling - Ride the Rockies doable for flatlander?

I just got back from a family vacation in Colorado. We had a cabin for a week and spent most of our time in Rocky Mt. Nat'l Park hiking. Hiking was fun... legs were fine, but air was thin! I rented a mtn bike for a day and tooled around a bit, and found myself huffing and puffing more than I expected. We were there when the Ride the Rockies tour was going on, and I also saw and spoke with many road bikers who were riding on Trial Ridge Rd and around the various canyons and hills Near Estes Park. I'm fascinated with the possibililty of going back and doing some riding there next summer but wonder whether it's reasonable to expect to be able to get into the kind of shape necessary to climb those mountains. I'd love to ride over Trail Ridge Rd. just to say I did it! (and to prove a little something to myself.) So -- at the age of 50 (and living in WI where both the riding season and the hills are shorter) do you think I'm nuts? Any advice for tackling this challenge? Anybody out there done it?

I have ridden out west and done tours out there. I have ridden over trail ridge road. It is fun. I am from Florida so I am even from a flatter lower elevation place then you are. Actually, I was one of the better climbers on most of the tours. We had little tags on our bikes with our names and states on them and the coloradans went nuts when they were passed by a big guy from Florida! Oddly enough the altitude really does not affect me much. I have a friend who lives here in FL too and he has had pretty much the same experience. Trailridge road is 12000' and it didn't really bother me. I have riddin in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, British Columbia and Alberta. I would think you could do it especially if you went out a few days early and spent a few days at a reasonably high altitude. There are long climbs. Generally the grade does not exceed 7% so as long as you have a gear in which you can climb miles on a 7% grade, you should be fine.

As an easier way to start, you might try the Canadian Rockies. You still get climbing and great scenery but the elevation is lower generally peaking out at 7,000' or so in passes unlike Colorado with its passes at 9,000-12,000'.

I've done Ride the Rockies in the past, and I lived in Virginia at the time -- not exactly high elevation, but we do have our share of climbs. I noticed on the first day of riding that I was dying, but then I adjusted to the altitude, and I was fine. Most of the climbs that we did aren't very steep, so I was always able to find an easily spinnable gear, and thus not go anaerobic.

Bottom line: there are a lot of people who do Ride The Rockies who aren't from high elevation places, and they all do fine. It's a ride, not a race. Go out there, enjoy the scenery, and have a great time!

I just got back from a family vacation in Colorado. We had a cabin for a week and spent most of our time in Rocky Mt. Nat'l Park hiking. Hiking was fun... legs were fine, but air was thin! I rented a mtn bike for a day and tooled around a bit, and found myself huffing and puffing more than I expected. We were there when the Ride the Rockies tour was going on, and I also saw and spoke with many road bikers who were riding on Trial Ridge Rd and around the various canyons and hills Near Estes Park. I'm fascinated with the possibililty of going back and doing some riding there next summer but wonder whether it's reasonable to expect to be able to get into the kind of shape necessary to climb those mountains. I'd love to ride over Trail Ridge Rd. just to say I did it! (and to prove a little something to myself.) So -- at the age of 50 (and living in WI where both the riding season and the hills are shorter) do you think I'm nuts? Any advice for tackling this challenge? Anybody out there done it?
I've never ridden at high altitude but I've done mountain climbing over 17,000 ft and the technique there is to spend a great deal of time acclimating. So hang out at 6-8k for a day and then ride up to 9k next day 10k and so on till you get to the elevation you want. I met a guy from Seattle on a Volcano in Mexico and is plane landed that day. He made it to the top but was puking green/yellow bile the whole way down. 12k is not too bad to hike in but I can imagine riding would take your breath away. You may also consider climbing a 14er to acclimate as well b/c there really seems to be a big difference for a lot of people at 14k.

I just did RTR 2004 - it was a lot of fun. Although we didn't get to ride Trail Ridge Road through RMNP. (Another group did about the same tour the next week.) It was planed - but the day's ride was canceled because of snow on the pass. It was both a bummer and a relief. I'm sure it would be a wonderful ride on a nice day - but it was raining in Estes Park and would have been wet & soggie - not to mention the ice & snow - glad they canceled that day, but bummed we didn't ride Trail Ridge Road. We did other passes - Loveland, Rabbit Ears & Gore, so I think we could have climbed the pass.

The key to RTR tour is training - I trained in South Dakato - no hills (but plenty of wind) and then at home in Arkansas (hills but not mountains). The key to training is a little each day/week. We started with 10 -15 miles / day - 40 - 50 miles per week and add a bit each week. Start a few months before the event and you will be amazed that in several months you are riding 60 - 100 mile days. Put a few long days back to back and you will be ready. Get a training schedule and try it.

Check out my trip http://david.koontz.name/photos/rtr2004/ridetherockies.shtml

David