I love riding on Lookout Mountain. It is close to Denver; it is full of other cyclists, and the scenery is great. I have been looking to extend my climbing rides with more hills though and this route adds two more climbs, for a total of five, to my Lookout Mountain-Cabrini Shrine loop. All the logistics are the same, so I will focus on what’s different.
tags: climbing | colorado | road cyclingClimbing Lookout Mountain is a rite of passage for Denver-area cyclists. It is easy to get to, a fairly small climb by Colorado standards, and has scenic views of Denver and Golden on the way up. I rode up it for the first time this year, after returning to road cycling and now I ride it a few times per week. Many riders just go up to Buffalo Bill’s grave and turn around, but I like to make it a little longer. The ride described here is 21 miles long with three climbs. There is an option to make it 15.5 miles long with two climbs.
tags: climbing | colorado | road cyclingI am looking through a tunnel of light filled with sparkles when I hear a voice. I hear it again and realize it is addressing me. The tunnel widens and I remember that I am standing over my bike on the top of Mt. Evans and that I just had the brilliant idea to sprint through the last switchback and into the parking lot at 14,130 feet above sea level. As my hypoxia dissipates, I see a child standing in front of me. “What,” I say, assuming the voice came from him. “Do you need a special kind of bike to ride up here,” he asks, a bit impatiently this time. “No,” I say. “You just need to be a special kind of crazy,” I tell him as I fumble for my wind breaker.
tags: colorado | Mt. Evans | road cyclingAs I noted in an earlier post, I have been spending a lot of time on my road bike this season. I have decided to document a few of my favorite rides and this is the first post in a series that will outline the routes I am coming to love.
Deer Creek Canyon is a scenic, but fairly populated, canyon southwest of Denver. It has a well-maintained road and drivers are generally tolerant of cyclists (edit: see comments for evolving tensions), who can outnumber cars and trucks during peak cycling season. Perhaps best of all, there is a cyclist rest area on the route with coolers stocked with bottled water and Gatorade. It is maintained by the local Grange, but also has a tube for donations. I wish they had a spigot for regular tap water, but beggars can’t be choosers.
tags: climbing | colorado | road cyclingI definitely have been negligent in posting, and that is largely because of the amount of time I am spending in Washington DC getting ready for a new software launch. However, a new (old) passion has been occupying much of my time in Colorado, making it even harder to keep up. I have been wanting to buy a road bike for the last few years, and this year I finally did it. We bought one for Lisa too, and we are both really into cycling again, after several years away from it for me.
My biggest issue has been that I moved from road to mountain biking about 18 years ago, and I was thrilled with that move back then. Lately, I barely ever get on my mountain bike. It is heavy and slow in the city and I have been aching for something light and fast. I will post a separate article on my bike and how I chose it, but let me just say how good it is to be back on a road bike.
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