Mesa, CO - Cedaredge, CO: Put the bike in the lowest gear and leave it there!
This big boy appeared to wonder who or what in the heck was passing by so early in the morning. I ate oatmeal in the room and was on the road by 7 AM. Sunshine and no wind. It looked to be a good day for a climbing challenge. Last year when I tried cycling Grand Mesa I attempted to ride at Jacinto's pace (too fast) and burned out. I did not make it to the top. This year I vowed to ride my own ride and get to the top. I succeeded!
My bike is a RANS Stratus XP in Titanium. It is a K frame style, for Stratus aficionados. It took a few months of persuasive phone calls to RANS by John Cunningham with Recumbent Brothers Cycles before RANS agreed to make me a Ti K frame Stratus. I call this bike my Magic Carpet Ride as I never get tired when riding it. It is a very long bike, but only weighs 21 pounds. I use a Clickstand style stand to hold my bicycle up. My positioning of the stand wasn't good here - it should be perpendicular to the ground.
This lake close to the top of the mesa was thawed. Most lakes were not. We saw a number of frustrated fishermen who were looking for open water to cast their lines in. The air on the climb was cool to cold. This was fine with me as I tend to overheat easily. We had significant wind. Depending on which direction the switch back was we were riding on, it was either a headwind or a tailwind.
At mile marker 36 is the Mesa Lakes Resort. It was beautifully rebuilt after being burned down. This photo was taken in their front yard. Fred showed up just as I was turning in the driveway. We waited for Jacinto, then we had hot tortilla soup and shared a giant cinnamon roll. Fred wondered what the health inspectors had to say about the two big dogs wandering through the tables begging food. They also rivaled circus dogs in their ability to jump onto the bar stools and sit.It all seemed very rustically charming. We were happy for the rest break before attacking the last six miles of the climb.
It's quite ironic that we had a 6,000 foot climb, but it wasn't over a pass. Our reward would be a simple elevation sign at the peak of the climb. This is one of the longest, steepest climbs in the state. If you've ridden up Grand Mesa, you've done some serious climbing.This large flat area near the top is a popular winter playground for cross country skiing, snow shoeing, and snowmobiling.
Look carefully. Fred chose to stop just at the transition spot where the aspen trees were leafing out. On the right the aspen don't have leaves. Just down the road the aspen do have leaves. This was at 7,100 feet - a bit higher than the already leafed out aspen on the other side of the mesa.
This is the only photo I took on the 21 mile downhill to Cedaredge. We had to be careful on the downhill. There were cattle guards in a couple of spots and a short construction zone. We had a strong headwind, but it didn't matter with the downhill grade of the slope. The air got warmer and warmer as we descended into town.
