Return to Rist Canyon

Two years ago Rist Canyon kicked my ass. It kicked my ass again today but not quite as hard.

Nobody goes into Rist Canyon without wanting to. Rist Canyon ascends about 3,000 feet over about 12 miles. When I got here last week it was not on my intinerary. It was on my avoid-at-all-costs list. I considered returning to Estes Park today (it's hard to spend too much time at the omphalos) but I decided I wanted something closer to Fort Collins. Given the relative ease of the trip to Estes Park (only a few hundred yards on the smaller ring), I thought Rist Canyon would be a worthy, and maybe too much of a, challenge.

When I rode Rist Canyon in 2005 I did nearly the entire ride on the smallest, 30-tooth ring, of the three rings my bike had at the time. I don't have a 30-tooth ring anymore, just a 39- and a 53-, and teeth matter. Basically, the fewer teeth on a ring -- the rings are the things with teeth that pull the chain and to which the pedals are connected -- the easier it is to pedal, just not as far and not as fast as using the bigger rings (to learn more about this, check out sheldonbrown.com).


I used the big ring for the first couple of miles out of Bellvue. By the time I met up with Rob (right) and Luke (guys, if you're reading, let me know if I got the spellings right), I had been on the 39-tooth for a while. What blew my mind about these guys is that they were riding a road bike and a mountain bike. They'd agreed to switch shoes and bikes every two miles. When I met them they were still friends even though they had at least three switches left. I hope they were able to cope, and stay hydrated, after they found the Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department locked up tight.

There's no humiliation in taking a breather at any point in Rist Canyon. Look for the flattest uphill spot so it's easier to start once you're ready. I enjoyed the scenery, even when it wasn't scenic, in several locations. And I kept ascending.

Michael Seeberg writes of Rist Canyon in "Road Biking Colorado: The Statewide Guide," "Near the top, you'll ride 12-percent grades!" That exclamation provides only so much excitement when you're the one on that grade. Nevertheless, a mile or so from the top, a woman descending in a vintage Toyota slowed to tell me, "You're almost there!" I hadn't been so heartened since leaving Rob and Luke, or maybe since I got out of bed. Ten minutes later, I was looking at the Mummy Range, 50 miles to the west.

After a few moments I started the descent. Based on the elevations provided in Seeberg's book, it's about 700 feet down in about a mile. My high speed, I think, was over 49 mph (the speedometer, which records a sustained speed, clocked in at 48.6) but I couldn't see well because my eyes were being blown shut. Whatever speed I attained, it occurred while coasting. I braked only lightly until the last quarter mile or so, when I had to squeeze hard to avoid going into the traffic on Stove Prairie Road.

I broke 40 several times on Stove Prairie and might have been able to approach 50 except for the cattle guards (it's open range -- no livestock fencing -- for several miles), which were a real buzzkill.

My reward, beside the experience: the last popsicle at Carter Valley Campground.

Why can't I do this at home?

Today I rode to Estes Park. All in all, it was about 25 miles up, 25 miles down and 45 miles rolling or flattish. And I rode it a lot harder, especially up, than last year. So here's my question, especially for any of you folks who know anything about conditioning: why is it that my last two rides of similar distance in North Carolina nearly left me for dead but I returned from this one fresh as a daisy? No doubt it is cooler and less humid here. I'm guessing that the weather helps keep me hydrated. Stopping for lunch (two slices of pizza and iced tea) probably didn't hurt either. But I don't get it. Let me hear your ideas.

By the way, I took U.S. 34 both ways. The high speed was just a hair under 39 mph. I did hit 45 mph yesterday coming down from Horsetooth. There was a lot of traffic and wind in the canyon today. The wind helped me on the way up and slowed me on the way down. I also learned that it's really not so bad to hug a granite wall in a two-foot wide patch of gravel when a semi is passing me on a curve.

Popsicle flavor of the day at Carter Valley Campground: tropical blend. There's one left in that box and I'm hoping it lasts long enough for me to get it.

The Lyons traverse

For all the mileage I get out of telling my North Carolina friends about how every ride out here is uphill balanced on the edge of an abyss, I'll confess immediately that was not the case today. In fact, today's ride from Fort Collins to Lyons was more or less flat. Really. Flatter than most of the rides I take around Wake and Chatham counties.

Not only that, the ride was a success. I wanted to see if I could make the trip without getting on U.S. 287, one of the main arteries connecting cities up and down the Front Range. County roads -- paved all the way -- got me south from Fort Collins to Colorado 66 (about 33 miles) through ranch and farm country. Lyons is about five miles farther west. I was particularly concerned that paved roads would turn to dirt once I left Larimer County and entered Boulder County.

Lyons is a strategic key because it's at the bottom of one of the mountain roads (abysses included), U.S. 36, that leads to Estes Park. Estes Park is about 20 miles northwest of Lyons. My big ride for this trip will be from Fort Collins west to Estes Park up U.S. 34 (another mountain road) and returning via Lyons instead of just turning around. I am still mulling the route because 1) U.S. 34 is a beautiful road both for its scenery and pavement, 2) I know every turn in it and 3) it offers the best opportunity for the entire cycletacular to break 50 mph (on the descent). Weather forecasts have me thinking Thursday or Friday will be the day, so I have several days to decide.

Horsetooth and points south and east are the likely destinations for tomorrow's chapter of the cycletacular. It should be similar to Sunday but include real climbing. Since it won't be a survival or reconnaissance ride, I may see if I can add some speed.