On Day 4 of our ride – some of us needed to get back to Boulder, so they had breakfast at the hotel and then headed out. The rest of us, had a leisurely breakfast at the Daily Bread, and then headed to Leadville. We turned off of I70 at Minturn and went over Battle Mountain and Tennessee Pass on our way. We found a parking space near mile marker 2 on the Mineral Belt Trail (aka the Leadville Loop). It is a paved bike path that loops around Leadville and features views of old mining areas. It is only about 11 miles long but has some great scenery and elevation changes. There was some construction that made us take a 1/2 mile detour – but it was a great ride.
It was starting to sprinkle when we finished so our timing was excellent. We went to the Tennessee Pass Cafe for a late lunch. John found a sign for $3.00 showers that he made us take our picture behind.
After lunch we headed home after the completion of another successful ride. We are hoping to do another ride in October when some of the people who normally would have been with us will be able to participate.
Goodby til then.
kws
Mineral Belt Trail map at http://www.trailsnet.com/mineral_belt_loop_trail.html
More pictures are at www.flickr.com/photos/kws1111 in the 2012 Bike Ride set
2012 Bike Ride – Day 3
On Day 3 we decided to see/climb/descend the Maroon Bells. So we drove to the base of the Aspen Highlands Ski area. Some of us (4) rode our bikes to the top and others opted for taking the bus. John brought his bike to the top on the bus. It is an 8 mile climb with an elevation gain of 1600 feet. At the bottom there are a few hills and an easier grade. Near the top is the steepest.
We all made it to the top – at different speeds. The views at the top and along the way are stunning.
When we were about to descend it acted like it was going to rain – so we went down fairly quickly. We still had to brake quite a bit at the top to keep from going too fast. Most of us aren’t comfortable going more than 45 miles an hour.
We drove to Basalt for a late Birthday lunch and John and Robin rode from Carbondale back to Glenwood. Janet and Janelle went shopping in Glenwood and then we drove to El Jabel after snacks for a Birthday Dinner for Janelle.
Pictures are at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kws1111 in the 2012 Bike Ride Set
2012 Bike Ride – Day 2
This day went pretty much to plan-which is unusual!. After hearing about the special weekend Bike Express Bus, and exploring the RFTA (Roaring Fork Transit Authority) schedules, we figured out that our bus left at 9:55am from a bus stop about a block from our motel. We also learned that we would have to pay $2.00 for our bikes and $7.00 for each person. We also found out that there were 10 places for bikes inside the bus and 4 outside.
(Note – Robin took the picture and John is hiding behind Janet – but you can see his leg)
So all 8 of us were waiting when the bus pulled up at 10:03.
The driver helped us use the special bike holders inside the bus – and we were off to Aspen. We picked up 4 more bikes and riders at the next stop inside Glenwood Springs. So we were full inside the bus and had room for 2 more bikes outside. The other surprise for those of us over 65 is that we only had to pay for our bikes. We were free! We made several more stops on the way – enjoyed the beautiful scenery as we moved “upvalley” but eventually we got to Aspen. We easily found the nearest access to the Rio Grand Trail and started our way towards Woody Creek. The trail was busy with bikers, hikers, and walkers but absolutely beautiful. The pavement ran out after a little way – and changed to hard packed gravel – not the best for road bikes but ok. I saw parts of Aspen that I had never seen before. The landscape changed from lush vegetation to more of a prairie grass as we climbed away from being right next to the river. There were several waterfalls along the way. We got to Woody Creek just after noon, and got lucky and were seated at a table for 8 without much waiting. After lunch Patti and Janet rode back up to Highway 82 and found the bus stop to take the bus back to Glenwood. The rest of us followed the Rio Grand trail back to Glenwood Springs. Most of the trail is on the old railroad bed. The scenery is varied and beautiful. My odometer (which reads a little low) showed 45.23 miles when we were done.
Janet’s mom Shirley joined us for snacks before dinner and then we all walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Our first choice said there would be a 1.5 hour wait – so we went to an Asia Fusion place nearby and had some great food.
Plans for tomorrow will be decided at breakfast!
It will also be Janelle’s birthday.
More pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kws1111/ in the 2012 Bike Ride Set.
2012 Bike Ride Day 1
August 3rd is the first day of the 2012 ride nominally from Gypsum to Glenwood Springs. We met to caravan around 8:00am near Boulder and drove to Gypsum. we had a picnic lunch in a Gypsum park.
We then saddled up and rode to the entrance to Glenwood Canyon. Patti and Janet didn’t ride so took two cars on to the Motel in Glenwood. Janelle started riding in Gypsum, Rick drove their car to the entrance to the canyon and rode with us to No Name and then rode back to their car.
After showers we celebrated Patti’s Birthday at dinner at the Riviera.
Tomorrow we are planning to take a speciall “Bike Express Bus” from Glenwood to Aspen, then ride back to Glenwood after stopping at Woody Creek for lunch.
More pictures will be in a bike ride 2012 set on Flickr.