July 20th: Aspen – Leadville, 98km, 1644m climbed

Autor: Tim Goodall

We all managed to get up just after 5 am. The weather forecast showed a 70% chance of rain so we delayed our start to 6:30 which, after 3 trips from the room to the street to get everything downstairs, became 6:50. We were immediately on our way and had soon left town and entered the Roaring Fork river valley to get to Independence Pass 34 km away and 12095 ft. high. Speed limits were low so, despite narrow sections and many bends, the traffic was never a concern. We had packed several litres of energy drink and plenty of food in order to avoid dehydration and lack of energy and made frequent stops to make the most of it. In the parking area of the final hairpin bend John boiled the water for our pot noodles lunch which we have found works well. The final section got steadily steeper reaching 9% just before the summit but we arrived shortly after 12 pm in good shape for the remaining 64 km.

There were many tourists at the top and most were taking pictures of themselves in front of the summit sign, as did we and several amused themselves by holding on to our bikes to have their picture taken.

It was a bit chilly at the top so we donned jackets for a speedy but uneventful descent to Twin Lakes. After a break at a store there we continued on until we had to turn left on US24 to head north to Leadville. Unfortunately we turned into a strong headwind and the remaining 27 km seemed to take forever, especially when it turned out the motel was not in the middle of town but nearly 2 km on the far side. At least we are already 2 km nearer our next destination. Overall, we had a good day and arrived tired but in better shape than we had feared.

The valley didn’t look too demanding and it wasn’t for the first 6 km….
It soon changed with a ban on long vehicles….
and narrow sections.
The ghost mining town of Independence…
and an old building, but what was it used for?
The final ascent is up there. Enlarge to see the crash barrier against the left hand cloud.
A good view of some of our ascent
The obligatory summit photo.
Summit scenery.
There was a steady stream of motorcyclists using the route.
Twin Lakes.
The highest town in the U.S.
Downtown Leadville, taken in the evening.

179 Gedanken zu „July 20th: Aspen – Leadville, 98km, 1644m climbed“

  1. Orest Kocij Antworten

    We’ll done all three of you xx Orest
    Tim, I know you have tried to call me, thanks for that. Chemo working well at the moment. Going for my next dose today so will be feeling crap by Sunday. X

  2. Monat Antworten

    Great read! Your breakdown of the topic is commendable. For further reading, here’s a useful resource: READ MORE. Let’s discuss!

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