My brother John flew in yesterday and I met him in Denver. All of the logistics worked perfectly. We took the cheap bus to Central City where we camped at the local school.

We got an early start and an early finish today. Today's ride was very typical of what I've done over the last week. Lots of hills and descents over 57 miles. We had a couple very nice long descents including the last 7 miles into Estes Park.

On the way we got glimpses of tomorrow's big climb through Rocky Mtn Ntl Park. I took several pictures along the way of the big snow covered peaks.

Estes Park is a beautiful town and is a larger version of Blowing Rock in the NC mountains. My Brother talks about being here in the mid 80's watching a Pro bike race with our Sister who was living in Boulder at the time.

The weather forecast doesn't look great for tomorrow as it looks to be wet and colder than normal. We're just hoping it will allow us to ride to Granby.

The day off was very nice for my legs. Just one day of not riding yesterday (although we were on our feet a lot) and the climbs did not feel as bad as Friday.

John's bike arrived and he assembled it quickly. I really got lucky. The bike support company took my assembled bike and bike box from RtR to the start of BTC so I did not have to take it apart, drag it to Denver and put it back together. Very, very helpful!

The rest stops on BTC are really terrific-lots of great choices. However they are struggling with many of the other logistics that made things simple on RtR.

So I guess mileage wise I'm now over half way for the 2 weeks total with about 400 more miles to go!

I really enjoyed the 7 mile stretch into Estes Park. Keep up the reports and the good effort. It should be exspecially fun with your brother joining in. Good luck on Trail Ridge. Be prepared for snow.

weather doesnt look good from rmnp site
Trail Ridge Road Status: OPEN. Will remain open as long as weather and road conditions permit.
As of 12:15 PM, Sunday, June 19, 2011: A Winter Weather Advisory has now been issued by the National Weather Service includes Rocky Mountain National Park in effect from 6 PM this evening to 6 PM Monday. Snow will develop in the high country later this evening. Accumulation from 2-6" with higher amounts above 10,000'. This could change the status of Trail Ridge Road.
===========this happened to RTR in 2005 they had to bus everyone from estes park to granby =============

Trail Ridge Forecast - US Weather Service

Tonight: Snow. Some thunder is also possible. Low around 31. Southeast wind 6 to 14 mph becoming west northwest. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Monday: Snow showers before noon, then rain and snow showers. Some thunder is also possible. High near 44. West northwest wind between 8 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. West northwest wind between 10 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

The bad weather for today in Estes has come and gone. We had hail, heavy rain, lightning, etc. Perfect tent weather!

Locals say Trail Ridge got a lot of snow today.

It sounds like we'll be riding our bikes back to Central City where they will bus us and bikes over to Granby. I just have not seen the infrastructure/capability here to pull that off. I can't imagine the shape the bikes will be in.

Bummer-the main reason I was staying to ride this week was Trail Ridge Rd.

I have some friends doing BTC so I have been in touch with them about what is going on.
Bummer about the weather. It looks like it will get better later in the week.

Thanks for posting on your experience.

I just exchanged a few texts with a friend doing BTC. She said she attempted TR Rd but turned back, but they opened the road after they turned back. Said riders who made it to the top said it was miserable. She is on a bus to Granby right now. She said 80% chance of precip and lows in the 30s for Granby tonight. Brr