Kerr Gulch - Squaw Pass, July 5, 2014

On July 4 weekend, I wanted to take the opportunity to get in some long rides.  It looked like some people from my team were going to be out riding, but I decided to try to get in some riding with some friends from work instead.  So, I sent out an email on Thursday to see if anyone was interested, but only got a couple responses.  A structural engineer that I work with was hoping to do a ride on Saturday, and a coworker wanted to ride on Sunday.  I decided to do both.

On Saturday, I met Heath Stein from Structural Consultants, Inc,. in Morrison, Colorado for a long climb up some of the roads in his neck of the woods.  We would be riding from Morrison, Colorado up to Squaw Pass, near the entrance station to Mt. Evans.  About 30 miles uphill, and 30 miles back down, with about 6,000 feet of climbing.  Heath lives nearby in Lakewood, and rode his bike to the parking lot where we decided to meet.  My day started off on a low note, as I dropped my phone while getting out of the car, shattering the screen.  But once we were riding, I forgot all about it.

The ride started up Bear Creek Canyon.  The road was a little busy, with limited shoulder.  So, it was single-file for a few miles.  We then took a right, and headed up Kerr Gulch.  This was a great road.  After about a half-mile of rougher asphalt, the road smoothed out and became a great quiet ride for miles and miles.  After a final steep climb up towards Evergreen, we took a left and followed Evergreen Parkway for about a mile or so.  This road is very busy, but there is a wide shoulder most of the way.  Then, a right turn takes us onto Squaw Pass Road for the rest of the climb.

Squaw Pass Road is fantastic.  I really can't wait to ride it again.  The road is smooth, with a big, fat bike lane the entire way up.  Everyone else seems to know this, too, because there are a lot of bikes on the road.  This seems to be a very popular route.

The view along Squaw Pass Road.

About 2 miles from the top of Squaw Pass, Heath got a flat tire.  We stopped for a few minutes to put on a new tube, and then finished our climb.

We then turned around, and headed back down on one of the most enjoyable downhills I've ever done.  It's a steady grade, not too steep, and the turns are mostly pretty wide.  You really don't have to pedal or hit your brakes.  Even better, the entire downhill is marked as "Bicycles have use of entire lane".  Awesome.  We quickly made it back down to Evergreen, and then onto Kerr Gulch.  From there, we rode down to Bear Creek Canyon for the homestretch.  Unfortunately, about 2 miles from the finish, I hit a rock and got a flat tire.  After a little break to patch a tube, we finished the ride and got back to my car.

I felt amazingly good after that much climbing.  I'm not sure how ready I was going to be for another tough ride the next day, though.  Sounds like I was a little better than Heath, though, who later told me he crashed on his couch when he got home.