It was so cold - temps around 30 degrees and while it had snowed a wee
bit the previous evening I was bound and determined to ride to my craft
group (where I'm knitting a hat). It mapped out as 30 miles, by the time I was done, it was 50+ miles! Not bad for my first long trip.
From Google Maps, you can get the route working in Google Earth; I suggest just
looking at the route rather than running the 'play' button as Google
Earth doesn't do nap of the earth and you end up spinning around
corners like you're in an airplane rather than on a scooter.
Also discovered that those google folks have been driving around the
mountains, so I'm including a few pictures from their Street View
option in google maps. Here goes. First, I'll show you what the area really looked like on Sunday .
And how could I not show Ariel... after 40 miles into my ride
Here we are at the beginning of the trip looking west.
a few miles later, still on dirt...
looking left, then right, then entering the Peak to Peak highway going
north!
First challenge is a series of broad S turns and a 3+ mile uphill.
There was a very strong headwind (in addition to being really cold) and
I could only get up to 45mph for the first mile.
One of my favorite overlooks:
Off we turn from the highway onto a dirt road town Gold Hill. Its a
short cut... so to speak. What I didn't realize is I go much slower on
dirt roads than in a car.
This is hard to see, but this road was really steep! And that's a long
drop off (about 200 feet) on the right -with no guard rail!
a very sweet set of curves. And in spite of the strip of sand running
down the middle of my lane, very fun to take. Speed limit here is
around 40mph...
By now it was getting a bit warmer. It felt really nice to thaw out.
and then, I got lost on the dirt roads on the plains... and saw many
horses along the way... so getting lost was not so bad!
here's the route that displays in Google Maps
click on Street View to see the images.
Now, to see this in Google Earth , follow this link to get the kml file. If you have Google Earth installed, this route will open automatically.
