Boulder riding

Stacey and I made it out to Colorado a few days ago and have been staying in Ft. Collins. Yesterday, our second full day at elevation, we drove down to Boulder to check the town out and go for a ride. I decided on a loop including Left Hand Canyon and Highway 72 (Peak to Peak). We also decided to climb Old Stage Coach Road on the way to Left Hand Canyon just for good measure.

Riding out of Boulder was easy enough, although the city is busy and somewhat congested, especially due to traffic-delaying construction along Broadway, a main thoroughfare into and out of town. Once we began climbing Lee Hill/Old Stage Coach Road Stacey started feeling the effects of the high altitude. She had to stop midway up the climb to regain her breath. "I think this may be the hardest [or maybe steepest] climb on the route", I told her. After her break, Stacey powered on and we descended to Left Hand Canyon. A sign near where we turned onto Left Hand Canyon informed us that the town of Ward was 10.5 miles away. I didn't realize that those 10.5 miles were all uphill, nor did I know that Ward sat around 9300 ft.

I didn't feel any effects from altitude on the way to Ward. Granted, I wasn't pushing it, but I wasn't going recovery pace either. Stacey was struggling, though. I'd loop back to her every 15 minutes or so, and once we were pretty far along the climb her struggling increased. Shortly before Ward, she had to stop due to shortness of breath and had trouble regaining her breath. Neither of us realized we were at 8500 feet or so. Despite her struggles, we continued on to Ward because we were so close.

Ward is a tiny mountain town (pop. 169) that I've since learned was originally a bustling mining town that was one of the wealthiest towns in the state. Now the only thing there is a general store. A handful of apparently feral dogs roamed free. Two older riders were sitting on a bench in front of the general store. I asked how much climbing the remainder of our route included hoping the answer would encourage Stacey. Stacey added that she wasn't used to riding under these conditions because we're from Michigan. As it turns out, one of older riders was from Detroit and went to U of M before moving to Boulder, where he has happily remained for nearly 30 years. I thought that maybe he was me in 30 years.

After our stop, we continued climbing, only this time we only had to climb a bit before hitting Peak to Peak Highway. I've found conflicting numbers, but its elevation appears to be 9200 to 9600 feet. I began to notice some shortness of breath climbing I'd normally consider a fairly small and easy climb a few miles into Peak to Peak. Other than that climb, I doubt I would have noticed the altitude had I not been aware of it and feeling for signs of its influence.

The scenery along Peak to Peak is absolutely stunning. One especially awesome part of the ride is a large U-shaped descent around a valley. A cathedral is pearched atop a steep sheet of rock in the center of the valley.

Save for the small aforementioned climb on Peak to Peak, past Ward the route is nearly all downhill. It was fun to just look around. Low traffic, good road surfaces, fantastic views, tough climbs, pleasant drivers (many actually wave!)...Boulder appears to have it all.

However, Stacey may have gotten a bit of altitude sickness. She was pretty tired after our ride and went to bed shortly after we got back to Ft Collins. An hour later she was naseous, and another hour later she was vomiting up the delicious Juanita's burrito she consumed post-ride. She's doing all better now, though. Maybe riding to >9000 ft on one's second day at elevation isn't a good idea.