Ouray to Durango

For me, this was a scarier stage than the Grand Mesa stage. Somehow the three mountain passes and the altitude worried me more than the long climb over the Grand Mesa. The map and the elevation profile and a commentary on the route are below.

"72 miles and approximately 6000 feet of climbing.  If the Grand Mesa was the hardest day, this one is a close second.  Not only are you climbing the hard side of Red Mountain, but after that climb, you still have Molas Divide and Coal Bank Pass to contend with.  This is going to be a very hard day. It’s very very very scenic, especially the front climb up Red Mountain, the switchbacks at the top of Red Mountain, the descent down Red Mountain into Silverton, and the view of Silverton climbing out of it.  Every turn will bring  new vistas that you won’t soon forget.  Also, given that you start climbing the second you leave Ouray, you should be able to complete all three climbs before the afternoon rains move in (providing you don’t sleep in until noon).  Get an early start for this day, it is long and hard." 


I've done hard events before (Pikes Peak marathon round trip. flat marathons where I wanted to go as fast as I could. 190 mile one day bike rides, 24 Hours of Booty, etc.) I always get a bit nervous before they start and don't sleep all that well the night before. I had those feelings when we went to bed in Ouray and when I woke up early. I'll admit it, I was nervous about getting over these climbs, and I DID NOT want to use the sag wagon.


We got started a bit before 7 AM. Even when I was young, it took me a while to get warmed up and have my engine work efficiently. The elevation map doesn't lie. The minute we got on our bikes we were climbing and in less than a mile we it got steep. This picture of Ouray is less than a mile up the road. It went up fast!

 It took me a bit to get started, but eventually I found my rhythm (important in climbing) and was headed upward. We followed our usual routine. I ground out the pedal strokes. Luke rode ahead, found good photo ops, and stopped to take pictures. I usually passed him while he was shooting and we repeated that up the mountain. Notice the road below in this picture.

We skipped the first aid station--it was a zoo. I stopped on the other side of it to drink some Hammer Perpetuem and eat some Hammer gel (great stuff--I highly recommend it). Then it was on to Red Mountain. This is picture near the top of the pass. This picture was taken with a decent digital camera. The first two were with an iPhone. You can see the difference. The scenery was drop dead gorgeous. Even in my oxygen deprived exertion, I got to appreciate it.

After Red Mountain, we had a nice fast descent into Silverton. We did stop there for sun screen, food, water, and a rest. Then it was up and away towards Molus Pass. It is not as high and long as Red Mountain, but every bit as steep. And it seemed to be infinite. The road just went up and up.

But, on these passes I reinforced something I knew. When you climb you find a rhythm where your heart rate is under control and you can pedal. Keep that up for a while, stand up in a slightly higher gear for a few dozen pedal strokes, sit back down and repeat. And, the kilometers melt away slowly. We made it to the top of Molus Pass and were rewarded with the best view of trip.

Luke zipped up his jersey to give the sponsors of his adventure racing team some coverage. He actually looks pretty fresh.

We didn't stay too long because it was pretty chilly for a sweaty body that was overheated. So, we put on wind clothing and headed down the pass. After another fast descent, we climbed the relatively short (although steep) Coal Bank hill. After that is was long downhill towards Durango. We had about 24 miles of downhill and I imagine we averaged close to 30 mph or more. We did have a pretty stiff head wind. We got in a few groups where we traded pulls. I felt good, I even did some strong (at least I thought they were) pulls. Luke, on the other hand, was an animal. He would get in front and just hammer away. I had to tell him to let others break the wind for while. The last 10 plus miles were pretty flat in to a head wind and it had gotten pretty hot. That was pretty hard since by this time we were pretty spent. Then, when we got near Fort Lewis college (our stop for the night), we had to climb to the top of a few hundred foot ridge. The Denver Post reported that one rider was so angry that he nearly threw his bicycle into a ditch and quit. I didn't find it that bad, but it was a bit of a nasty surprise at the end of the day for sure.

In any case, we made it to Ft. Lewis, and did our usual routine. I will say that a cold beer and some Fritoes tasted pretty darn good at the end of that.

It was a another confidence boost for me. If I could do that ride, there isn't much in Colorado that I couldn't do. Of course, we still had Wolf Creek Pass to go so the hard days weren't over yet.