Guanella Pass

Yesterday Stacey and I drove over to Idaho Springs, and then rode over to Georgetown. From Georgetown, we climbed a few miles up Guanella Pass and then turned back. The climb has a great start composed of several tight switch backs that climb up a steep wall at the edge of town. In the first photo, you  can see the pass as the dip in the mountains near the center of the photo. The switch back are barely visible to the right of the pass. In the second photo, I've climbed 4 or 5 switch backs and am looking back at town.



Stacey hasn't been riding much (nor have I, really), so we didn't go too long. After logging some more miles, though, we'll be back to climb up to the pass's summit. The climb starts at 8,500 feet, and tops out just below 12,000, at least per Wikipedia.

Otherwise, I've started running fast again after a winter of slow running. I'm squeezing some 6:15-6:30 miles into long runs, and doing a few 6 minute miles on shorter runs. Going fast feels good and not uncomfortable. Maybe I'll race in a few weeks.

Also, although I'm not yet 30, Stacey got me an early birthday present: a mountain bike frame and a few components. I'll build it up over the coming weeks, and then try not to kill myself riding it. I'm excited, though.

Apex Trail Run

I hoped to get in a long ride today, but after taking care of errands all morning I decided a run would be a better use of my time. I went over to Apex in Golden for the first time. I'll be heading back often, as it's only a 20 minute drive and has some tough trails. May be a good weekday mountain bike destination...at least once I get a mountain bike. My run was 1:37 and I only managed ten and a quarter miles, despite lots of time in the 150-160 bpm zone. Yeah, switchbacks!