Summer conditions at Brainard

Strongman Event Day!

“Death By AMRAP,” “Seventh Son of the Seventh Son,” “Why Bother With That One Set of Ten?”

Snoooooooow!!!

The Sanitas Vortex

What a day! Had a loose idea of a plan to ride as long as I reasonably could, riffing on a much longer route I’m working on for a 4 day tour. Thought maybe I could aim for 200 miles, but that quickly went out the window when I got stymied by a trail that petered out and then realized I just wanted to bathe in the autumn colors and wander around a bit. Also when I realized my climbing legs were fried and the 5500’ climb was taking longer than expected. 

Started the day with a night view of the ADX Florence Supermax prison. Eerie… stars were amazing and I got an encouraging aaoooga from a guy in a 1940s car. 

Had some gps issues early on when the route from the gravel guidebook tapered into little more than a grassy path at the top of Pueblo Mtn Park. Decided I did not want to find out if that went through the next 3000’ of gain… so I switched to the main road. Good decision, as the colors and views were crazy. Still peak season in the Wet Mountains, an under appreciated playground. 

The Beulah side of the Wets were also home to Juan Mace, a bandit who hid out there. They also played a brief role in the Civil War when confederate soldiers hid there to attempt to disrupt postal traffic between Fort Carson and Fort Garland. The Union soldiers were quickly tipped off and routed the confederates out of there. 

Harried by wind all day, which became a gale when I crested the ridge (finally). Super techy and slow descent, with a wrong turn that was actually pretty rugged and fun until it hit a dead end. 

Got a brief tailwind on the main road, which I suspected was a trap, and it was. The storm in the north valley was sucking air into its low pressure, so 5 miles out from Westcliffe I hit the storm and the wind viciously changed direction. Hid out in Westcliffe to regroup and wait out the rain. Sandwich, frozen lemonade, pickles, and a latte did the trick while I charged devices. 

When I left Westcliffe, the Sangres had a new blanket of snow! What a range… So stunning. Couldn’t look away. 

The cruise back to Florence was beautiful. That canyon is all time, maybe the nicest scenery of the day. The hillsides were on fire with fall colors and the riparian zone and cliffs were very aesthetic. 

Let’s talk about washboarding… corrugation, braking bumps, the devils spine, “those f***ing a**holes” are also all acceptable terms. To love dirt roads is to make peace with washboards. That horrible jarring that makes wrist orthopedists rich. Some washboards have no effect, you float right through. Some are dodgable with good bike handling. Some come out of nowhere and can make your vision go blurry and knock your hands off the bars. And some extend across the entire road endlessly without a break. I had all of them today on all descents… 

Wildlife sightings:
- A 5am skunk, which was the only time I legitimately panicked today. 
- Gobs and gobs of deer. In all poses, skittish, browsing, curious, pronking, loafing, regal, demure. 
- Skeptical and panicked beeves. Not interested in getting roped, I guess. 
- Inquisitive horses.
- A few hawks.

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Wyatt Stanland

Wet Mountain Wander (abridged)

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Summer conditions at Brainard

Strongman Event Day!

“Death By AMRAP,” “Seventh Son of the Seventh Son,” “Why Bother With That One Set of Ten?”

Snoooooooow!!!

The Sanitas Vortex

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