I guess he'd rather be in Colorado

Some of you may consider John Denver that sappy '70s guy but hey, if you've ever spent any time in Colorado with your eyes open, the title of the song speaks for itself. Especially when it comes to cycling. First of all, I've recently been in touch with the author of one of my favorite books, Road Biking Colorado: The Statewide Guide. Michael Seeberg is as cool, and as pumped about life and cycling in his state, as his prose suggests. The photo included with this post (near the top of Trail Ridge Road) is one of a few that he took for the book that he was generous enough to share with me. Having actually e-mailed this man and received a response is one of the highlights of, at least, my cycling life.

Seeberg is the man who exclaimed about Rist Canyon, "Near the top, you'll ride 12-percent grades!" As it turns out cyclists are invited to join the exclamation June 21-22 on the Ride de Rist, which is for everyone from pros to, well, dorks. The idea of being able to wheelsuck my way up Rist Canyon is remarkably compelling. Instead I will probably spend those days crunching my way through the hinterlands of Chatham County not far from my current home. My Rist ride will most likely wait until September.

As much as I enjoy and respect Rist Canyon, Independence Pass is a whole other kettle of fish. Independence Pass peaks at more than 12,000 feet and is one of the few (shit, maybe the only) roads that I'm scared to drive dry and in the light. I've gone over Trail Ridge Road (even confiding to some that I had "crushed it" and I plan to go over again during this year's annual Colorado Cycletacular), which Seeberg rates as even more difficult than Independence Pass, but I still believe Independence Pass takes more rider than I can offer. But here we have video of people apparently cheerfully racing up. Note the depth of the snow on the roadside and that most of the guys you see are in shorts. No doubt it's a ride that'll warm you up. Fun fact about Seeberg: he's gone over Independence Pass "some 50 or 60 times." Talk about separating the sheep from the goats.

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.