Happily, Dave felt better getting up, though not 100%. We had plans to ride our bikes from the campground, down to Aspen, up to the Maroon Bells, then back. The end of that ride would include a long uphill and scarily-narrow section of the pass to get us back to the campground. Given how Dave was feeling, we opted to drive to town and start from there. That way, if he really felt awful, we wouldn't have to do the gut-busting uphill back to the campground.
Bob opted to head toward Leadville to ride there. The thought was that it would be cooler at that elevation. We drove into Aspen and parked at the local park. From here one can see the ski areas. This provided some excellent people watching as well. The best was the woman with the doggie stroller. In it was what has to be the most pampered pet ever!
We got the bikes ready, got changed, and started our ride up to the Maroon Bells. It has been stated many times that these peaks are the most photographed peaks anywhere. Any by golly, we did our best to add to that total. In this area, there are six peaks with elevations over 14,000 feet. They are angular, and symmetric and surrounded by flowers and lakes and just plain beautiful terrain.
The Maroon Bells is such a popular destination that the road to it is closed during the day to public traffic. Instead, one is suppose to take hybrid shuttle buses to the top to see the beauty. This makes for a great biking road. We don't have to worry constantly about becoming the next speed bump.
The ride wasn't brutal - just constant uphill for about 12 miles. The view at the top - the lake and the peaks were worth it. Plus, the views during the ride were quite beautiful too. I saw a momma grouse and her babies walking around. And the signs were funny - e.g., Marmot crossing!
We got to the top and sat on a bench to admire the view. There weren't that many other folks around so it was quiet. The lake was beautiful with clear water. And the peaks were amazing of course.
After a short while, we hopped on our bikes and began the downhill. This part of the ride is such fun! And it was nice not having to worry about traffic so much. I don't think drivers realize that a biker cannot hear even a noisy car (the wind in the ears is loud). Nor do I think they realize that road bikers can't ride through gravel (unless they are willing to crash and burn). It's nice to just enjoy the ride down.
We got back to Aspen and sat in the local park for a while and drank some tea. It was a gorgeous day. Aspen is a really nice city. Still, I like Boulder even more. Finally, we hopped in the camper and had a bite to eat. After some bird baths and a change of clothes, we hit the road to go home.
We drove home a different route than we went there. We headed toward Basalt, Carbondale and Glenwood Springs where we hopped on I-70. We drove a while before stopping for dinner in Frisco, Colorado.
Frisco looks to be a nice little town though not many restaurants were open on a Sunday evening. We found one place called the Boathouse which was really quite tasty. Stopping was a nice break from the drive. Following dinner, we hopped back in the truck and headed back to Boulder.
As usual, it was great getting back home and seeing the birds. They were happy to see us too!
Our next outing is very soon. On Wednesday we are headed out for our four-day bike tour. That should be a blast. Look for that report to show up in a week or so -
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