Nice out and back climb! You follow the highway and a stream for many sections; but the rushing water blocks out the road noise. Great scenery. Not a corn stalk in sight?
Another day above 10,000 ft. Hoping I come back to 666 ft. ±30 ft. of Illinois elevation with Chris Froome sized lung capacity and I can hang with the big dogs another couple of minutes before getting spit out the back.
Another Illinoisan observation: Climbing and head winds are pretty much synonymous here. Guess it makes sense the winds fly down the valleys. The steep sections of the climb were short with some switchbacks. Legs were a little punky today. No KOMs here. Wide range of riders on the trial!
Passed through Copper Mountain Ski Resort. I was there in Feb. of 2020 skiing with the kids just before things started shutting down.
For every foot of climbing; you were reward equally on the descent. It’s a surprising revelation how much you climbed when you are coasting and flying down the exact same path you came up on minute after minute after minute.
Clouds started rolling in on the descent which dropped the temps. Not a problem; but next time I’ll throw a light vest in a jersey pocket. Nice temps in the mountains. Mid-90’s back in Denver. Highly recommended ride if you are out here. You could always make in longer by starting in Breckenridge.