September 27, 2021
Sufferfest, Colorado Style
Paonia to Redstone, a race against the clock
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Today was my big pass day for this trip. We had 2 days with expected 4000 ft of climbing-Cottonwood pass, climbed by Kelly and Jim-and today, over McClure pass, that Kelly and I are climbing. Basically, the climbing starts right away and continues to the top of the pass 34 miles later, with a 9 mile downhill to Redstone.
We ate breakfast in our rooms to save time and got a pretty early start at 7:30 am. Good thing as it turned out, because less than 5 miles up the road a big electronic traffic sign indicated that our highway, 133 N, would be closed from 1pm to 4pm at milepost 48. We did some mental math and figured that to be about 3 or 4 miles this side of Redstone, our destination for tonight. So we had choices: ride really fast to reach the summit by noon or so to have enough time to descend before the road closure at 1pm; or, go ultra slow and plan to wait until 4pm to go through the closed section; or, take advantage of having a SAG vehicle to shorten today’s course.
As it turned out, I decided to ride like hell and try to beat the cutoff time (i.e. get to the summit by noon.) Kelly, on the other hand, rode the first 16 miles to Kebler corner and then had Jim SAG her to the top of the pass, then she rode down to Redstone.
Once I made my decision to go for it, I picked up the pace and essentially rode the next 28 miles like a tempo ride-hard but sustainable. I knew I was taking a risk of blowing up doing this but I figured that I would be slow on the steepest section of the climb, the last 4 miles near the top at higher altitude, anyway, and my best chance to make up times was on the gentler approach. So I pushed myself and rode hard and made no stops for photos or food for the next 25 miles. Once Jim dropped Kelly off at the summit, he came back and hopscotched with me, stopping at turnouts every couple of miles, to be sure I was Ok. As I rode, I kept calculating in my head what pace I would need to finish the climb by noon and it looked like I could make it, as long as I kept pushing the pace.
As I approached the steeper slopes in the last 4 miles to the summit, I indeed had to slow down considerably due to the grade (6-8%,) the altitude (McClure tops out at about 8700,) and fatigue. The last 2 miles were really tough when I kind of bonked. I stopped 3 times in the last 2 miles to drink some water, to eat an Oren-tablet (Perpetuem solid, introduced to me by Oren Wright on a previous tour,) and to let my touchy back relax for a minute or two.
But I made it, reaching the summit of McClure pass at 11:50am, plenty of time to get a summit photo, drink a bottle of water and eat a chocolate chip cookie before descending.
I was so tired when I reached the summit I almost had Jim SAG me down to Redstone. But after 10 minutes of rest, food and water, I felt up to it. And I love a good downhill! This one was especially sweet-steep, big sweeping turns, very little traffic, very scenic and well-earned.
The road closure is due to blasting-the crews were setting up as I rode through with plenty of time to spare. I arrived in Redstone by 12:35pm.
Redstone is an idyllic little town with a couple of hotels and cabins for rent. It was started as a mining camp in the 1800’s and many of the historic buildings are still here and occupied. Everything appears to be pristine; the townsfolk are very friendly. And the restaurants here require masks indoors-the first places that we have seen making this requirement since we left California. I, personally, was happy to see this.
We will eat dinner tonight at the Redstone Inn, which is housed in a building built by the original wealthy mine owner. A placard on the street says the inn houses an extensive collection of vintage Stickley furniture, which will be interesting to see.
Today's ride: 43 miles (69 km)
Total: 356 miles (573 km)
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