Day two saw us starting out early from Mt Princeton Hot Springs and heading west toward Aspen! We left early this day, as it was going to be a lot of climbing.
Outlined Route
Outlined Elevation
A paved start is always welcome
We rolled into the town of St Elmo and the general store after the paved canyon ride. This awesome little town had some cool stuff, but no food or snacks.
Ready to go up Tincup Pass
We were barely outside St Elmo when the suffering began in earnest. The trail went from reasonable gravel to horrible, steep rocks immediately.
A welcomed rideable part of the Tincup climb
This part of the ride was beautiful, and it was hard. We ended up hiking for a lot of it, and riding some intensely technical sections. Once above treeline you could see all the way back to Buena Vista where we passed through the day before.
The valley approaching Tincup pass
The top of the pass had this great sign indicating that runoff would go to two different oceans!
East and West coasts
The ride down was equally rough, but at least gravity was working with us. There was even a lady in a jeep that cheered for us wildly, which was greatly appreciated.
One of a few water crossings
We rolled into Toncup and then pressed on to Taylor Park and the Nuggett Cafe. This was lunch. We were initially concerned about it not opening until 9 - boy that was a mistake as we didn't get there until 230. This was an early indicator that the day was going to be long.
Line 'em up
The next few miles and hours were totally different and totally challenging. The road we were on was sandy, which meant it became a game of 'find the packed part' and 'avoid the sand'. Also, headwind. This is a prime example of how I would rather ride uphill than deal with a headwind.
Charging into the wind
Once we got to the bottom of Taylor Pass, it was like deja' vu. More hiking, more rocks, and more water. At this point in the ride I remember all the Colorado Trail Race, Continental Divide Race, and other various suffering I'd envied through my computer. I was living my supposed dream, and after a brief pep talk from Jesse, I had a great change of attitude and really started leaning into the suffering. It became a lot more fun when I considered I could be sitting at my desk or whatever.
A walk in the woods
We had some water crossing, some hiking, some reflecting, some more climbing and then finally the top! it was great to see the top of the last climb in the light.
A great chance to clean the tires off
Not even a little beleaguered
This climb was followed by a wild descent. As tends to happen when you're holding on for dear life, no one captured pictures of the ride. If you took and mapped the pictures taken and then the progression of miles, you'd really see how things get hard = pictures get fewer.
A merciful paved road down the highway to Aspen
Eating quickly in Aspen (9pm)
We rolled into Basalt at about 11pm, and immediately hit the sack. The topic of conversation became, "Let's take the shorter option tomorrow." While this was an awesome, adventure of a day, it is not something I'd want to repeat very often.
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