BTC 2011 Day 7

For our final day, we rode another 70 miles climbed another major mountain pass, and crossed the Continental Divide again. Our day started early when we left our condo in Breckenridge at 6am in the early morning cold to ride our bikes the 6 miles back to Frisco for the start of the official ride. The light was amazing as the sun was just coming up over the high snow-covered mountains.

After several "warm-up" miles riding mostly uphill along the East shore of Lake Dillon, we came to the base of our major climb-- Loveland Pass. It is 8 continuous miles of climbing, not quite as steep as the previous day, but significantly higher, with the summit just a few feet under 12,000 feet. The oxygen is noticeably thinner up there. The first several miles of climbing are really beautiful, with lush pine forests, lots of waterfalls, and the South Fork of the Snake River running through the canyon below. Throughout the climb, you are surrounded by major rocky peaks and, as you get above 11,000 ft, you climb above the tree line and the scenery becomes even more dramatic.

On the way up, just as we were climbing above tree level, we passed the A-Basin ski resort where the lifts were operating and people were still skiing.








We all had huge smiles when we hit the summit as you can see in this photo of Jeri arriving at the top.








Ken, Jerry and I loved the fact that there were still winter signs warning of avalanche danger. More importantly, look at the scenery behind us.









It was great that we were all four on the summit at the same time for the summit photo.









After a very long downhill, including a stretch riding on the shoulder of Interstate 70 with some police escorts, we had one final hot and steep 8-mike climb back up to Central City for the finish. I guess they figured we shouldn't leave any energy unspent, but we were all elated to reach the finish line.







It was a spectacular bike tour and thanks to Rochelle, Ken, Jerry and Jeri for making it so much fun!

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Location:Breckenridge to Central City, CO