the route, day uno.
Day 1: Fairly easy. 77 miles. I’m thinking that this is a 4,000 to 5,000 foot day. Quite literally, half the day is climbing and half the day is descending. While it comes in at a pretty long first day, it should also be the easiest day of the ride. There is a new trail between Glenwood Springs and Carbondale (and to Aspen) and I suspect that Kent will be using that for our ride. I rode a lot of this trail last year after it opened and loved it. From Carbondale , the grade ramps up slightly, though you won’t notice it much and shortly you’ll be following the Crystal River in a deep canyon on your way to Redstone. Redstone is a beautiful little B&B haven well worth a stop for a coffee, Gatorade, or snack along the river.
From here, the grade ramps a bit more and you’re pushing 4% ish grades to the base of the summit. From Glenwood, this is a 37 mile climb and in the end, you will feel it. The final climb, about 3.5 miles in length is steep and incredibly scenic.
From the top, it’s downhill all the way to Hotchkiss. You are pretty much in a forested area until the bottom of the of the Paonia Resv where the road flattens out and you start to pass through a couple of small but active coal mining towns. There are a few rollers to great you as you arrive in Hotchkiss, but nothing that is overly hard. While hot, most people should find this a pleasant and scenic day.
later.