Originally Posted by
jppe
I believe the ascent from Estes Park with the snow was June of 2011 when we were doing Bike Tour Colorado. An incredible day for sure. We waited at one of the gates for over an hour for the Park Service to decide if they should let us through. Only about 150 of 1500 made it all the way across. Most either stopped up top at the visitors center or turned around and rode back to Estes Park. It was very, very cold....you couldn't see after a few hundred more yards up the road. Wind was blowing sleet and snow sideways at 30 mph. The descent down towards Granby was extremely chilling as everything was pretty wet and temps were in the low 30's with wind.
I can relate to the breathing. I've found you just have to go slower. Did you descend back down into Estes Park?
It sounds as though it was quite an experience, the combination of the various conditions, had to make the ride one you would never forget.
I didn't make the descent back down, the trip was a "family vacation", myself, wife and daughters and my two brothers and families. The plan was for my older brother and myself to set out, younger brother to follow in the car an hour behind, and the remainder of the "family" to follow an hour behind that to meet at the top. We hauled the bikes back on the car rack.
My brother who set out with me, had made the trip a half dozen times before, i ended up leaving him behind as he started to cramp, he made it half way and was picked up by our younger brother.
The two of them then shadowed me the remainder of the way, i surprised them, they weren't expecting me to make it