Route up Old Fall River down Trail Ridge
Dave and I have been eyeing this one for a few years now. Finally found a weather and PTO window to get it done. Kevin joined with his full suspension Yeti MTB. Dave was sporting his Trek Domane SL5 loaner (due to biblical seatpost issues with his brand new SL5) with 32’s and then myself breaking in my brand new Canyon Grizl CF SL7 with beefy 45’s.
We parked at the free parking structure right on the east end of town where the gapers pick up the shuttles to go up Trail Ridge. Picked up Fall River by the Stanley and soon enough were at the entrance station. You don’t need a reservation, but you do need to pay. It’s $15 per rider.
We’ll be riding up this valley all morning.
Traffic was light, but seemed consistent for a Tuesday.
Time to start climbing
Took a quick break where the road went from paved to gravel. There were a surprising number of cars on Old Fall River and very few of them had CO plates. Almost none of them were efficient in passing cyclists. We appreciated and waved to those that were. From the turnoff to the Old Fall River Rd to the Summit Visitor’s Center is roughly 11 miles and 3400′. You’ll definitely enjoy your highest gears for every bit of this climb.
Just before hitting the dirt. Was a calm morning and a beautiful day.
Getting up there.
About to reach treeline
Took a longer break at the Chapin Pass “TH”. Kevin and his “Ultra Aero” long sleeve.
Finally
All my thoughts of getting a hot coffee and a hot meal at the summit house was dashed immediately upon entering the building. Zero elbow room, 30-40 min lines at every register, I couldn’t believe this was a weekday and was terrified to think what a weekend looks like.
We relaxed our sore backs and asses for a bit, admiring what he had just come up:
People watching
3 Gapers with the end portion of OFR behind. The uphill, sadly, wasn’t over just yet.
When we were planning this trip, Dave, at one point, stated “just a friendly reminder that the Visitor’s Center is NOT the high point of the route”. This was imperative to remember from a morale standpoint. The instant we hit Trail Ridge, the crosswinds picked up and traffic got more frequent and more aggro. We finally reached the HP of the road and had, what we assumed, were some fun downhill bombs to enjoy (but the crosswinds had other ideas for us). The instant you reached 30mph and headed in any southerly or northerly direction, the winds would pick up and your bike would start that unnerving wobble effect. I just held on as tight as possible. There was a section with a gap along the ridge that served as a wind tunnel and I thought I was gonna be blown in to the oblivion. Once we finally reached treeline, things for exponentially better (and hotter) :
Beer and Tacos are down there….
Ed’s post-ride
Finished off the outing with a post-ride @ Ed’s Cantina in town. Couldn’t have asked for a better day and outing. Thanks for reading.
Niiice. Wasn’t expecting a TR from this outing. Glad you put it together. Super solid day in the park. I’m SO over my biblical seatpost issues. Canyon should get here in a few days. I can’t wait to see what bike riding is like on a bike that works.
BTW…did I ever pay you your $15 back?? This TR makes me think maybe not?
Thanks for the write up of this one. The uphill after the summit house crushed my morale… or maybe that was just the insane crosswinds. Fun day with you guys.