I thought I was in heaven today, on my Coker ride, until the snow started dumping on me. Rode up Independence Pass to see how far the road was plowed to. The bike race is in two weeks and they open it to vehicles in three weeks. Our winter was good, so I figured that the road would not be plowed to the summit just yet. I was ready for the big 4,500’ (1372’ meters) vertical climb, even though I havent ridden much this spring, damn work keeps getting in the way. It takes CDOT two to three weeks to plow it from bottom to top, and they attack it from both sides. I passed where the gate was closed and spun my way up the steep grade. 1 1/2 hours later I could go no further, as there was over 4 feet of snow, ( 1 1/2 meters) on the road. The snowplows have gotten to within 2 or so miles of the summit, 12,000’ (3657 meters). These are the hardest miles to plow, as many avalanche chutes cross the road. I would say that they will make the deadline, but not by much. I had just put the camera away when the snow started falling down. I was at 11,300’ (3444 meters), and could see the last switchback. My camelbak was filled with all the clothes that I might need, and boy was I glad. The temperature dropped, the wind picked up and the road turned white. I pedaled cautisouly down the snowcovered road, which at this point had 7’ (2.1 meters) snowbanks on both sides. BTW, I had only seen one person to this point, 2 hours into the ride. As they say, “If you don’t like the weather wait five minutes”, well after about ten minutes the squall had passed over me and now the sun was beating down. My hands were the only parts on me that got cold, so the warm high altitude sun brought comfort back to them. By the time I was half way back down, it was hot, kind of. Well, hot enough to take the layers off that I put on up high. The leaves on the Aspen tree’s are just popping out, so the scenery changed from snowpacked hills to green trees with no snow.
I can’t wait till I can ride to the top, by next weekend, I hope. It is quite the special place to be without any car traffic. Cheers
Colorado may very well be the greatest place on the planet.
No doubt about it.
Today i spent half of my day snowboarding at echo mountain and the other half riding some street stuff in boulder.
Nice early season climb there.
For my neck of the woods they just opened up the climb up Hurricane Ridge 24/7. It was only open on weekends. I need to get up there before all the snow melts. It’s time to see what my new Kooka cranks are like for climbing. If I hit it on a weekday there shouldn’t be much traffic.
Go for it, call in well to work and get er done while the white stuff is still up there. What kind of climb is it? Those kooka’s look great, interested to hear how they last.