Mt. Evans Ascent.....
 

I know many people on this forum have probably done this ride, but I made the attempt today and it turned out to be a beautiful and painful ride.

From Bergen Park 64 miles
Approx 6,450 feet of climbing.
Time 3:32 to the top of Mt Evans 32 miles 4:58 round trip.
Up at the top it was probably 35-45 deg. Not bad for September 7th.
I have a bit of training to do if I want to get anywhere close to Tom Danielsons time...:twitchy:
http://www.bicyclerace.com/docs/09BCMHCmap.pdf

I was amazed at how I was forced to reduce my effort once I was above 11k feet as I was starting to get stars in my eyes. I could not believe how much the altitude affected my power output. I really had to throttle back for fear I was going to pass out.

The funny part was I met up with 6 other riders at the top and we all rode down together. They were all complaining about how bad the seams in the pavement were, and how they were going to have a head ache when we got back to Echo Lake.

Poor guys have no clue how good Cervelos are. lol My R3-SL felt fine thanks to the Paris-Roubaix proven engineering! The bad road conditions did not affect me at all.

And yes I know the Cervelo Team Kit makes me look like poser (and a bit chubby as I have a jersys on undeneath), but man was that thermal team winter training jersey is worth its weight in GOLD.... Plus the altitude on the sign makes up for my lack of power!!

Its an amazing ride!!

Anyone else have pics of Mt. Evans?

http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/v...u/IMG_0573.jpg

http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/v...u/IMG_0575.jpg

http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/v...u/IMG_0580.jpg

Beautiful!!! I am so jealous!
Funny things happen at 11,000 feet... the trees no longer have leaves and their trunks and branches (if they're still alive) are all mangled and twisted. Also everyone's lips and fingernails turn blue and they start giggling over nonsensical things (when they have wind enough to giggle at all.)

The only pic of Evans I have is with my motorcycle, taken back in double-aught. ('00.)
http://www.calamarichris.com/images/...-evans2001.jpg

Thanks for the pics! I was hoping to make it this year, but someone in the Regional Flyover Forum mentioned late Sep can be dodgy with the snows. Peace!

Congrats and great pictures. I've gotta try that sometime. :thumb:

There's a nice thread over in the rockys regional forum about the mt evans race. I did it this year and it was worth the entry fee just to get a warm jacket and full fingered gloves shuttled for me. That was a spectacular ride. If I can make it work for next year I'll be there again!

Probably won't be able to ride it much longer. I'll bet it will become impassible in a few weeks or less. Get up there while you can!

The first time I rode Mt. Evans, I had to stop at Spirit Lake and take on some nutrition. I had bonked in a little less than 2 hours of climbing.

The second time, I cruised it. With altitude, practice makes not perfect, but easier.

I was supposed to do this ride Sept. 16th, but I hear that the place is a zoo on the weekends. It would require a two hour drive there and back. I can ride out the front door of my sisters place and do Trail Ridge Road. Is it worth the 2 hour drive and dealing with the crowds?

Also are you using full length cycling pants or leg warmers? Just trying to get an idea of whether I should wear shorts and leg warmers or just bring winter tights.

no but my son and I climbed it a couple months ago and got caught in a blizzard at the top!

we climbed up the east side boulder field...

looks like you had better weather!

I did the race last year (finished in 2:27, ok for a weenie Californian who wasn't acclimated to altitude). Somewhere around 11k' I tried to eat a bite of Clif bar. Normally I can eat while going that hard, but because of the thin air, just closing my mouth to chew for a second got me behind in my breathing and I started getting dizzy. It took a long time to catch back up. I didn't try to eat after that.

At the top my fingers were going numb even though it wasn't that cold. I read later that's one of the things that happens when you are low on oxygen. I wanted to hang around and look at the scenery but my brain was running at half speed and it seemed like it wouldn't be healthy to stay up there for long, so I very carefully rode back down.

If it was closer I'd race it again for sure.

OP, that is a good time from Bergen Park. That ride is harder than from Idaho Springs. The road isn't as good, but I tend to prefer that approach.

[QUOTE=jesspal;9633608]I was supposed to do this ride Sept. 16th, but I hear that the place is a zoo on the weekends. It would require a two hour drive there and back. I can ride out the front door of my sisters place and do Trail Ridge Road. Is it worth the 2 hour drive and dealing with the crowds?
/QUOTE]

As of today, the road is closed above Summit Lake. CDOT has agreed to this closing date for wildlife breeding and migration. You can probably put your bike over the gate, but I am not sure how they are treating this now, with the early closures.

The road up to Summit Lake will stay open "until the first significant snowfall."

Personally, I like that jersey and the bike. Then again I wear a specialized jersey while riding a specialized bike (occasionally).
I climb it once a year. The descent bothers me to the point that I feel I am better off minimizing my risks by riding it one time. However, next year I think I will get off my arse and try a bit of racing. One that has me intrigued is the Mt Evans race after one of the guys in my club rode it this year. Thus, I would need to climb it more often.

I was there yesterday and the ranger station at Echo said that the road would be closing though it was okay for bikes to continue riding through.

OP - I think I saw you on your decent with a few people just past the Goliath Nature station. You were easy to pic out with the full cervelo kit :-D. I ride an R3 too but I think the 3T fork has pretty poor impact absorption as compared to the rear - that descent is a pain.

Jesspal - I hate riding in the cold (though I ride all winter). Leg warmers, arm warmers, and a vest are usually enough when it's 80+ in Denver. If it's cloudy, it can get cold quickly though. Yesterday the weather was great and the views were exceptionally clear. It's a great climb at the end of season, a pretty gentle slope just a little kicker at the end, and the traffic is fine. Yesterday, the traffic was a bit heavier than usual, non-holiday weekdays it's pretty light and cars aren't going by too quickly because of the sheer drop-offs.

Wow clamari--- that is a killer shot. I think next time when I drag my GF up there I will take a few more pics. It is SO epic... Just amazing views.

Thanks for the shots

Jesspal - I was Wearing the thermal top, a normal jersey underneath, arm warmers, shorts and knee warmers. Full finger gloves. I was taking a bit of a risk as if it started to snow or rain I would have been in trouble.
Next time I will bring a rain coat and possibly some shoe covers.

I would not worry about the traffic they all have to drive slow as cars have no power, and the road is super narrow. It is totaly worth the ride. Plus you need to be riding up past Echo Lake by at least 9 am so most people are not driving at that time of the morning.
I saw people riding up at 11:30-12 when I came back down, and they were crazy in my mind. BC it got super cold/cloudy as we were decending.

I would warn you, that I would not ride it unless you know there is going to be clear sky's, and limited chance of weather. Also it should be at least 75 Down in Denver.

Snapshots of my first climb up Mt Evans this year:

http://www.dim.com/~ryoder/MtEvans/

On my second climb, it started raining like h*ll a mile from the top, and continued raining all the way down to Echo Lake.
Visibility was about 200', so there wasn't any point taking photos.

LOL thats funny. Yeah that Kit is quite an attention grabber. I have only worn it one other time, and it always makes people stare. And just think I was not even riding with the team shorts! I was wondering if anyone else rode it yesterday.

Were you able to make it all the way up to the top without any bad weather?

Well maybe I am just impressed with my R3-SL over my previous bike. = )

And yes that is what the ranger told me as well. You can still ride your bike above Summit lake, but there will be no cars up there if you need help.

Great Pics... Looks like you had good weather when you rode as well... I am still in awe of how great the views are up there.

I couldn't believe all the fools I met on the second ride who had brought nothing but a rain jacket.
I saw a lot of people seriously suffering.

I was wearing my Goretex-lined winter shoes, and had helmet cover, rain-jacket, and rain-pants,
fleece tights, and a thin fleece over a polypro ski t-neck.
I had full-fingered gloves, but they were not waterproof, and as a result my fingers went numb.
Had it not been for the frozen hands, I would have been perfectly comfortable.

Yeah I am pretty happy with my time. I made it to echo lake in 1:30 min, but the altitude thing killed the last 14miles. They were done at about 6-9mph so that killed the time... Plus as it was my first time up, I had no clue how much I needed to leave in the tank.

I will have to try it from the Idaho Springs side. A few guys I ran in to said it took them about 3 hours from Idaho.... I guess that would figure bc its about 5 miles less than from Bergen.

For those who want to try it (maybe next year). Here is a link to the NOAA weather forecast for the mountain. It is not reliable to use the weather forecast for Idaho Springs, since things can be quite different up there.

i do it at least once a year, did it twice this year, once by myself and the other time, the race...

the race was awesome, had the best weather i've ever had. (also had the worst weather this year, with hail and sleet and lightning and rain... scary stuff)

i've only ever done the Idaho springs approach, but my PR (set at the race) was 2h25m, which put me in 5th in my age group for the citizen class.

i love the route, definitely a highpoint of my season every year

heres a few pics

07
http://www.luttet.net/pics/mtevans082807.JPG


08
http://www.luttet.net/pics/mtevans08sm.jpg


09 (race photo)
http://www.luttet.net/pics/mtevans2009small.jpg

i have a shot fro mthe nasty weather this year too, but its up on my FB acct and i cant get to that from work so i'll post it when i get home if i remember.

i was already suited up for the descent...
http://www.luttet.net/pics/mtevans08snowy.jpg

Yeah that is pretty bad arse I love the snow in the pic.... I think it is just such an epic ride.... How does it feel RACING up that last part above summit lake? Talk about pain....

How many people enter the race each year?

Dude are you wearing sandals in that first pic? Your toes didn't get frost bitten? LOL

:( takes me three hours from Bergen park just to get to Echo Lake :p Nice job!