Elevation Gain of Golden Gate Canyon?

[gbiker]

I biked up Golden Gate Canyon this weekend. Anybody have a fairly accurate elevation gain amount for this route? Uploading my GPS track to various services like Endomondo and Garmin Connect say 6000-6500', which seems high. GPS Visualizer says 8500' -- WTF!

[DataJunkie]

My road biking colorado book has it listed as 4300 feet to CO 119.
I rode from Thornton to GGC-->119-->CCC --> Thornton last year and had tad over 8000 feet. If memory serves me correctly the GGC-->119-->CCC-->93 loop is something like 6000 feet of climbing.

[gbiker]

That's actually the loop I did, but after GGC, the seemingly brief bits of climbing above Rollinsville and after Pinecliffe didn't seem like that much. Wow, 6000' -- think I'm ready for Grand Mesa's north side!

[DataJunkie]

I always find the climb on CCC (72) to be rather irritating. At that point I am ready to start going down but no....up up.

[valygrl]

Per my Garmin 705, from Starbucks on the north side of golden to the intersection with the Peak to Peak, it's 4100 feet of climbing and 680 feet of descending (two dips)

And the loop with Coal Creek is 5700 feet of climbing total.

[DataJunkie]

I think last time I avoided 93 and ended up with a bit more climbing.

[gbiker]

I always find the climb on CCC (72) to be rather irritating. At that point I am ready to start going down but no....up up.

Yeah, on the long descent down CCC, it seemed like it'd seem like a longer climb than GGC. Only one downhill break instead of GGC's two.

[joshpants]

I've done this one a bit as I'm in that neighborhood just across from said SBux.
I get about 5100 - 5500 depending based on my 705, but this would include the minimal climb back to my house.

[SKYLAB]

Oh Michael! Just ride it. Of course I've never done it at the end of a long ride. I usually use it as the start of a loop where I pick up Twin Spruce ( a GREAT climb!) which turns into GAP rd. and come back out on 119 about a mile from the house. I will never climb 72 - the traffic is not as friendly as on GGC.

[DataJunkie]

It has never stopped me before. However, I HATE 93.
It cost me a wheel last year due to a very large nail and I have flatted on it a few times.

[gbiker]

I rode 93 from CCC to GGC and it wasn't too bad. Wide shoulders, but quite a bit of sand and especially gravel, and cars didn't seem to want to move over much when I did have to get near the white line (to avoid debris).

[DataJunkie]

Encountering a nail at 35 mph on a downhill spoiled that road for me.

[SKYLAB]

I've had good luck on 93 between 72 and 46. Doesn't mean I like it though - too much traffic going too damned fast.