BTC 2011 Day 2

After a night of heavy thunderstorms, we woke up this morning to find that Trail Ridge Pass had been closed due to snow accumulation overnight. We explored many options and decided to go ahead and drive the long way around to our destination in Grand Lake, on the other side of the pass in the hope that the weather would clear enough that they would open the pass and we could ride it from the other side.

Our 3.5 hour drive started by passing a beautiful herd of Elk cows and calves by the side of the road in Estes Park.





While it was a long ride and we would have preferred to be on the bikes, we still had fun and Rochelle, Jerry and Jeri enjoyed the comfort of the back of the van.





As we drove over Berthoud Pass at over 11,000 feet, we saw the winter weather we were missing on Trail Ridge Pass which is over 1,000ft higher.





Once we got to Grand Lake, the weather had cleared a little and Jerry and Jeri took off riding while Ken, Rochelle and I grabbed lunch first. Then Ken and I got on our bikes and rode into Rocky Mountain National Park where we discovered that the pass had been opened at about noon. It was starting to rain again so we decided to ride up and get as far as we could go. We made it to within about 2 miles of the Visitor Center near the top-- we were about 17 miles up the climb at 10,600 ft. By that time, the snow banks by the side of the road were 3-4 ft and the freezing rain was turning to snow. The temperature there was 33. We were stopped by some emergency vehicles by the side of the road that were being used to warm hypothermic riders, so we decided it was probably a smart point to turn around and head down. We managed to smile for the camera even though we were freezing!





The ride down was the coldest I've ever been on the bike-- hard to describe what it feels like to go 30mph downhill in a freezing rain. We had just gotten back to the van and were organizing our gear when Jerry and Jeri came running up with huge smiles but no bikes. Turned out they made it all the way to the top but the weather was so bad they had to load their bikes in a truck and take the shuttle for the downhill ride.

All in all, it was an incredible and very satisfying day- proving yet again that some of the best experiences happen when you just adjust to the disappointments and take the opportunities that come with change.

Tomorrow we ride 90+ miles to Steamboat and the forecast is for sunny skies and 70+ degree temperatures-- a little welcome warmth!!

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Location:Estes Park to Granby, Colorado