The weather was looking quite poor with very low cloud. It wasn't raining yet, but after getting quite wet on Independence Pass the day prior I donned the leg and arm warmers plus shoe covers just in case.
From town, I rolled down highway 24 to make the short and pleasant climb over Tennessee Pass (10,424 ft) the first of three passes for the day. From the pass it was mostly a fast and flowing descent to Vail other than the short climb over Battle Mountain.
Just passed the town of Minturn, Highway 24 ended at Interstate 70 just west of Vail. The next 30km are the reason I'd rate as the least enjoyable ride of the trip so far. All the way to the top of the Vail Pass, the paths and smaller roads always ran parallel to the very busy highway only a stones throw away.
Finally at the eastern end of what would be a bustling town during ski season, I joined the bike path that would take me to the top of Vail Pass (10,666 ft). This was a great section of hot mix, but as mentioned was either within earshot or even right next to the very busy highway!
The top was only a large highway rest stop and the pass was not signed on the bike path. It was here I encountered a far greater problem; the next section of the bike path to Copper Mountain resort was closed for maintenance!
There were only two options. As it is illegal to ride a bicycle on the Interstate, the first and only legal option was to reverse the loop ridden to this point. This wasn't particularly palpable, as I would have to ride the 85km including back over the longer side of Tennessee Pass on third day on legs. The second option was to take the Interstate and not only risk the heavy traffic but also risk a possible fine. As the 8km section to Copper Mountain was mostly down hill I decided on the later and ran the gauntlet...
As has been this whole trip, cars and trucks have been giving me a very wide berth so traffic didn't end up being an issue. Naturally I didn't want to be fined, so I treated this section as an 8 km time trial and made the Copper Mountain off ramp without incident.The downside of riding at threshold at altitude even if it was only such a short distance was that I was spent! I just now couldn't get the legs firing.
I now only 37km to ride back to Leadville by taking option two. But I still had to ride over Freemont Pass, at 11318 ft the highest pass of the day. Just to add to my trials, the sun I experienced down in Vail had gone and was replaced with a freezing headwind and also some rain.
I had found my limits today and it fell well short of the destination. Although I didn't stop once on the way to the pass, it was at an extremely slow pace!
From Freemont pass, much of the last kilometers were down hill so I did finally make it back.
Exhausted, I ended up laying in the back of the van grazing on anything at hand. It took close to 30 minutes till I gathered my things and went inside for a shower.
Once cleaned up, I took a quick trip to Safeway for pasta and vegies and cooked up a huge meal. It was just what I really needed!
Ride details 133.46km Max elevation 3455m
2024m elevation
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