Summited 11,500 ft Hossier Pass.
54 miles
The dedicated bike path continued through Frisco and all the way to Breckenridge, a very crowded tourist area. The real climb toward Hoosier Pass started just after Breckenridge.
It was only a 2200 or so foot climb at that point with moderate grades of 6 to 8 percent but the high elevation made it a challenge. The slightest bit of extra exertion left me out of breath. Near the top there were several switchbacks and the grade would sharply increase going through the inside of the turn. At normal elevations the increased effort for 30 seconds or so would not be an issue but here I found myself out of breath and having to stop for a bit after just 15s or so of increased effort.
Pictures from the climb appear below.
Bike path near Breckenridge
Hoosier Pass in the distance
Views during the climb
At the summit
Campground for the night
Looking toward the saloon
The dedicated bike path continued through Frisco and all the way to Breckenridge, a very crowded tourist area. The real climb toward Hoosier Pass started just after Breckenridge.
It was only a 2200 or so foot climb at that point with moderate grades of 6 to 8 percent but the high elevation made it a challenge. The slightest bit of extra exertion left me out of breath. Near the top there were several switchbacks and the grade would sharply increase going through the inside of the turn. At normal elevations the increased effort for 30 seconds or so would not be an issue but here I found myself out of breath and having to stop for a bit after just 15s or so of increased effort.
Pictures from the climb appear below.
Hoosier Pass in the distance
Views during the climb
At the summit
Sorry for the wonky formatting on the rest of this page. If I could easily fix it, I would.
Looking toward the town of Alma
A quick 1000 ft descent into the town of Alma for lunch at the Southpark Saloon followed.
Another bike path ran most of the way to the next town (Fairplay). There I saw a sign marking the 1976 Bikecentenial route which established the transamerica bike trail.
From there it was a gradual descent through grassland to the tiny town of Hartsel. There I met Rens, a cyclist from the Netherlands, who was following the same route but in the opposite direction. There was also a vegetable stand there and I picked up a delicious bag of yellow cherries.
Rens and vegetable stand guy
This was a tiny town and my map said to inquire at the saloon regarding a camping spot for cyclists. It turned out to be nothing more than an empty grass lot across from the saloon but I made myself at home there for the night. I had been planning to reach the town of Guffey about 26 miles further down the road but a series of thunderstorms were moving through over the road ahead and I decided to call it quits here. I ended up sharing the "campground" with Rens and with another cyclist who was riding the great divide trail.
Abandoned building in Hatrsel
Campground for the night
Looking toward the saloon
Looking good. Glad you made it over safely.
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