WE DID IT – REACHED THE TOP OF MT. EVANS – August 13th
Deb Lower, Events Committee
(click here to see all the pictures)
Twelve (12) members of the club successfully rode to the top of Mt. Evans, the highest paved road in the US at 14,230 feet. The ride goes through three life zones and has lots of switchbacks. Cars and trucks were having a difficult time making some of the turns. Bicyclists were out in large numbers for the beautiful day for a ride to the top of the Mt. Evans.
Our ride from Monument to Idaho Springs and then up and down the mountain was uneventful, except there was a large number of folks in Idaho Springs and some slow traffic going up the mountain. Club members who made the ride include: Stan and Deb, Dawn and Wayne, Silvia and John, Malinda, John, Garrick, Craig, Jean and Ralph (on his just restored beautiful Honda 6 cylinder). The photo by the altitude sign documents our arriving at the top. The other photos show us hanging out at the high altitude enjoying the view and our “witnesses” watching their territory. More photos are on the club website.
After the ascent we rode on to the Whippletree Restaurant in Evergreen (really Bergen Park). They had an area set-up for us on the patio and there was entertainment provided by one guy playing a guitar and the other guy a harmonica. We had a good meal and a surprise birthday cake for Stan that Garrick brought from the store on the back of his bike.
We practiced making a few U turns on the way to the restaurant and then finding our way through Evergreen to 285. But we made it to the turn at Pine Junction and headed toward Deckers and Woodland Park to get us back to Colorado Springs. The weather was great with only a few rain drops on US 24.
Next riding event is for the ascent to the top of Pikes Peak after the Club Meeting on August 21st at Maggie Mae’s on Pikes Peak (a new meeting location).