Re: [RBW] Pikes Peak Highway, First Attempt
Good on ya Deacon! And Andy could write copy for the Patagonia catalog - great description of adventuring. -JimD On Oct 16, 2014, at 2:42 AM, ascpgh asc@gmail.com wrote: Very good. Not at all about turning about before summiting, but rather having a complete assessment of the objective that includes the valuable retreat with assets intact. In the late '80s, my friend and I saw a sign at Lake San Cristobal, near Lake City, CO, that proclaimed Silverton 27 miles and accepted the challenge as a lunch ride, leaving the truck at the parking lot of a hotel. There was no lunch, Cinnamon Pass ate it and Engineer Pass made sure dinner was in danger too. Spent the night in Silverton so beaten by the ride that we opted for a road retreat around the mountain, first to Durango (met Ned Overend at Ed Zink's Moutain Bike Specialists), then up Wolf Creek Pass and back up the Rio Grande to Spar City. A debt for the hubris upon which we acted. We were spared from the full cost of our overestimations on the climb out of Pagosa Springs where a Creede local recognized us and took us the rest of the way. The best adventures are those you finish on your own terms and may tell of to others, not those you only finish. Great pictures and description of the magnitude of effect the wind can present. Andy Cheatham Pittsburgh On Wednesday, October 15, 2014 4:08:43 PM UTC-4, Deacon Patrick wrote: My brain was a no-go yesterday and I was reflecting on how there is no substitute for being out riding or running or camping. Nothing approximates and one of those things, let alone the combo of bikepacking. So it was with elation that I woke this morning to clear skies and happy brain and headed down from our house to the Pikes Peak Highway turn-off to climb back up again. Wow! Did it feel good to be pedaling my way up the highway. Early on after the toll booth I switched to my low gear of 32-22 on the flip-flop side. The ride to Crystal Reservoir is steady climbing but relatively easy as it's in the woods, protected mostly from the wind, and still at the altitudes I ride frequently (8-10,000 feet). Things got interesting a bit after the halfway point (9.5 miles). The road was much more exposed to the wind, and it was steady at 30 mph with gusts to 40. The grade of the road was such that I may have been able to ride it sitting down without wind, but it would have been pushing it. Of course, standing make me a huge wall for the wind to blow against, trying heartily to send to backwards downhill. The next three miles to Glen Cove were very challenging. I stopped about ever half mile or so for a mini-breather, kicking into high-altitude climbing mode 3-4 miles before I figured I would. There was brief respite from the wind on occasional short sections of switchbacks, and I made it up these with relative ease, so perhaps on a less windy day that estimate would hold. I steadily made it to Glen Cove, 7 miles shy the summit. Of course those seven are likely doubly harder than the previous 12.5. Being near treeline, there was nothing to stop the wind, and the direction of the highway was mostly into its teeth. I tried standing pedaling and was able to inch my way forward. That, and me being wimpy, all combined to make the decision to turn around an easy one. The descent. Sublime. Wow. Smooth, curved flowing road. Amazing! Then I caught up with a vehicle and had to slow way, way down. On a straight-away I was able to pass, and did this several times. Passed bike tourists on the we drive you up, you bike down tour. The support van driver had cheered me on on the way up (in a good, didn't startle me way). The 4 mile section from the base of the PPH is a very familiar 4 miles of gentle climbing I usually do in 40-16t. Since I was already in that from the descent, I decided to stay in it and see how I did, to get a benchmark of if I was out of shape, or if the wind was a big factor. I had a headwind back, but rode it with ease. Hopefully that bodes well for the next time I give this a go, which I look forward to doing! https://www.flickr.com/photos/32311885@N07/sets/72157648378500158/ With abandon, Patrick www.MindYourHeadCoop.org www.OurHolyConception.org -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to
Re: [RBW] Pikes Peak Highway, First Attempt
@ Pondero: Andy's got the spirit of the seemingly self effacing wimp. In the face of these mountains, which can throw extremes and multiple unexpecteds at any time, everyone is wimpy, puny, insignificant. The rock and the wind and the wet rein at will. The wise know this and learn to dance with the mountains rather than conquer them. Growing up here, I read countless accounts of experts at mountaineering, back county skiing, hiking, etc., whose friends posthumously praised their outdoor skills, and yet they were buried because of hubris. @ Andy: Och! Aye. The San Juans are amazing, brutal mountains. The first backpack trip my wife and I took together was 10 years after your adventure. The plan was Ouray to Silverton. The best maps were GSPS surveys from the '50's. Locals in Ouray said the trail was good, but they'd never taken it more than a day hike (that was our first clue). The morning of day two the trail vanished. Poof. absorbed by the still lush September fields of hard fought Summer's tundra growth (it takes a long time for trails to disappear at altitude). I triangulated our position and we continued on. Jeep trails not going anywhere we cared to were abundant, we got caught on a 13,000 foot saddle with zero count lightening and inch sized hail from which my pack descended 2000 feet under it's own power only denting our fuel bottle, and were utterly baffled as to where we were when a valley that ought to have held a lake did not. We worked our way out to the paved highway, hitched back to our car, and drove to Silverton. We learned the lake had been mined under a decade before and that because of high four-wheeling traffic, hikers no longer used those trails. With abandon, Patrick -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: [RBW] Pikes Peak Highway, First Attempt
Deacon et al: My partner has posted a video of the Pike's Peak climb - - an amateur travel video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-9kzD7Wm7Mlist=PLq-X37FfuqZTUrbUk72O43FVOAEKxXfI9 he's done youtubes of many of his climbs up the Top 100 climbs in the US. They are kind of fun to watch: http://www.pjammcycling.com/top-1-25-u.s.-climbs.html keep climbing, friends... Max Beach Sonoma County CA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: [RBW] Pikes Peak Highway, First Attempt
It would be nice if you could download a copy of his spreadsheet ;) On Thu, Oct 16, 2014 at 11:16 AM, reynoldslugs be...@perrylaw.net wrote: Deacon et al: My partner has posted a video of the Pike's Peak climb - - an amateur travel video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-9kzD7Wm7Mlist=PLq-X37FfuqZTUrbUk72O43FVOAEKxXfI9 he's done youtubes of many of his climbs up the Top 100 climbs in the US. They are kind of fun to watch: http://www.pjammcycling.com/top-1-25-u.s.-climbs.html keep climbing, friends... Max Beach Sonoma County CA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- Keep the metal side up and the rubber side down! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: [RBW] Pikes Peak Highway, First Attempt
Thank you, Max! Very impressive. With abandon, Patrick On Thursday, October 16, 2014 10:16:05 AM UTC-6, reynoldslugs wrote: Deacon et al: My partner has posted a video of the Pike's Peak climb - - an amateur travel video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-9kzD7Wm7Mlist=PLq-X37FfuqZTUrbUk72O43FVOAEKxXfI9 he's done youtubes of many of his climbs up the Top 100 climbs in the US. They are kind of fun to watch: http://www.pjammcycling.com/top-1-25-u.s.-climbs.html keep climbing, friends... Max Beach Sonoma County CA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: [RBW] Pikes Peak Highway, First Attempt
Enough about Pike's Peak, I want to know more about Santa's workshop! Are the elves there being exploited??? On Thursday, October 16, 2014 11:36:49 AM UTC-7, Deacon Patrick wrote: Thank you, Max! Very impressive. With abandon, Patrick On Thursday, October 16, 2014 10:16:05 AM UTC-6, reynoldslugs wrote: Deacon et al: My partner has posted a video of the Pike's Peak climb - - an amateur travel video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-9kzD7Wm7Mlist=PLq-X37FfuqZTUrbUk72O43FVOAEKxXfI9 he's done youtubes of many of his climbs up the Top 100 climbs in the US. They are kind of fun to watch: http://www.pjammcycling.com/top-1-25-u.s.-climbs.html keep climbing, friends... Max Beach Sonoma County CA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: [RBW] Pikes Peak Highway, First Attempt
Considering what qualifies as being racist or hateful these days: by someone's definition of exploitation, indubitably, my good man, indubitably. Sardonic grin. With abandon, Patrick -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: [RBW] Pikes Peak Highway, First Attempt
I'm prepared to alert S.P.E.W! On Thursday, October 16, 2014 1:39:54 PM UTC-7, Deacon Patrick wrote: Considering what qualifies as being racist or hateful these days: by someone's definition of exploitation, indubitably, my good man, indubitably. Sardonic grin. With abandon, Patrick -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
