Ride the Rockies Day One: Boulder to Winter Park

I woke up at 4am to get a jump on the day, I knew it was going to be a big one. I was both exhilarated and nervous.  I could fell the blood rushing though my body in anticipation.  Not only did I know this was going to be a hard day, probably the hardest of the entire tour, but it was also the first day.  So many unknowns, and so much to learn.

My bag was filled to the brim, so much to bring for six days, including all my camping gear.  I kept finding things I needed to add, and was nervous I wouldn’t be able to pack it back up everyday as we moved from location to location.  Jessica was a sweetheart and agreed to take me up to the starting line in Boulder.  It’s about an hour drive from my place.  She arrived, we got the car packed and headed to Starbucks so I could buy her a coffee.

Once we got to Boulder I dropped my bag, set my bike off and hit the road. We tried to find the starting line, but everyone seemed to just take off, so I did the same.

The ride started through Boulder and then up into Boulder canyon, which was a nice ride.  It had a good climb, but wasn’t too challenging.  The views were amazing. We then proceeded through Black Hawk and Central City.  This was fun, I kind of wanted to stop and gamble, but wasn’t going to get off the bike. There was an awful climb up to the Central City Express way, it was long and steep.  The expressway was a hoot, got into the mid 40’s and just flew down to Idaho Springs.

The weather started to change a little at this point.  Clouds began to form and the temperature dropped.  I stopped and put on the new rain jacket I bought before the ride, I’m glad I did.  I didn’t run into much rain, but it was sprinkling and the ground was wet.  I must have missed the heavy rain.

As I proceeded along the I-70 frontage road and eventually ended up in Empire. I knew the next part of the ride was Berthoud Pass, a major climb. I was scared of this, but I had no choice but to do it.  The first half was wet, which I really didn’t like.  It was a long steady climb, a good challenge. I think it took me a hour and a half to get to the top.  I took a quick break and headed towards Winter Park.

Going down Berthoud Pass was fun, but it was really cold. I probably averaged about 30MPH down which didn’t help as the wind made my hand turn blue. It was nice to know that the end was near as we pass through the cute mountain town of Winter Park. I got to the recreation center where we would spend the night.  I set up the tent just as the rain came in.

Day one was a challenge, but nothing I couldn’t handle.  I felt to so good to be able to finish it.  Many couldn’t and had to take the SAG down.  The conditions were a bit two extreme.  Lets hope tomorrow is a better weather day.

Ride the Rockies Day One: Boulder to Winter Park, 89 Miles, 9,911’ Elevation Gain.