Climbing road trip USA

[dalai]

To be honest - not sure about how I handle altitude... Rode both sides of the Stelvio then Mortirolo Gavia loop the next day just last September after flying in from sea level and minimal hill repeats prior and felt fine there. But the Stelvio is only 2757m and the Gavia even lower at 2621m...

Preliminary checks have the minivan hire over double the cost if a one way hire from Denver to LA, so now more likely to drive from LA. Therefore I could drive out via Tuscon to ride Mt Lemmon and Mt Graham first before hitting the Colorado climbs later that first week? Don't want to wait too long after landing to hit the CO or Sierra climbs though in case the snows come early.

Thinking about looking at hiring something like a Dodge Caravan / Chrysler Voyager were the seats fold into the floor, so I can sleep in that some nights to keep costs down.

Actual dates are still very flexible, unfortunately looked at my leave and I have only just over three weeks available by late August. So I'll need to fit as much into a short visit!

[mdeth1313]

Ah, in 2001 I spent 3 weeks in Colorado with my bike. A week long tour that included Trail Ridge Road out of Estes Park, then the Triple Bypass and then a few days in Evergreen where I went back and climbed Mt. Evans-- it really wasn't all that bad until about 13,000 feet, then I had some interesting conversations with the goats on the side of the road. Finally did the Bike Tour of Co through the southern part of the state (I think I did more climbing that week than I did the 2 weeks before) and then headed home.

It was awesome. I was miserable the whole time. I planned the trip, then met and started dating my future wife. Came home from that trip and 2 months later I was engaged.

Ask Pritchett, he'll tell you how lucky I am!

[über-goober]

Oh yeah, and my recommendation for your bike in Colorado:

RastaBikeGuy.jpg (108.19 KiB) Viewed 678 times

[dalai]

I thought that would be my LA ride über-goober

Leave has now been booked!

Latest rough plan -

Looking at now flying into San Francisco late August and out of LA three weeks later. Car hire quote is the same for this as it was LA return and saves me the drive between the two. This frees up another day to ride rather than drive...

Couple of days for San Francisco area climbs.

Drive to Reno spending six days or so looking to ride as many of these as possible (Mt Rose + Geiger Grade rd, Death Ride, Horseshoe meadow + Whitney Portal, Bristlecone, Sherwin Grade-Rock Creek-Mosquito Flat and Onion Valley Rd).

Drive to CO looking to ride (Independence pass both sides, Copper Triangle, Trail Ridge rd Grand Lake Estes Park return, Mt Evans, Pikes Peak). If I can't fit them in riding I may have to just drive the CNM and Million Dollar hwy.

Drive to Tuscon AZ (Mt Lemmon, Mt Graham)

Then unfortunately only a few days left. So drive to San Diego/LA and hit as many climbs over these last remaining days...

Sound reasonable or even possible?

[pritchet74]

Very reasonable for the SF area and Reno areas. Those are the only ones that I am familiar with.

[dalai]

So flights booked and first couple of nights in Sunnyvale. Will organise the van shortly.

First afternoon after arriving and building the bike, looking at riding a loop over Old La Honda rd and other climbs in the area. Is it safe to ride to these hills and back from near the 101 in Sunnyvale?

Next day thinking of driving to Alum rock and riding Mt Hamilton, then Sierra rd - including looping anticlockwise over the back? Is it nice enough to link the ride between the two or better to get back in the car and drive to Sierra rd from Alum rock? Then plan on driving across to Mt Diablo to ride from Diablo. Worthwhile riding over the other side and reascending if I still have enough energy?

Last day in San Francisco before heading to the Eastern Sierra – drive across the Golden Gate bridge and ride a loop over Mt Tam. Any particular circuits recommended over others?

[pritchet74]

Back and forth over Diablo isn't bad at all. I will look into the other climbs as well.