I had planned on riding the Mother Lode course this spring, but instead was forced to have my wife and very good nurse, Kristi, chauffeur me around the hills for the day.
For those of you who don't know, I had a snowboard accident Feb. 28th and was life flighted to Denver for surgery. I continue to recover from a shattered pelvis, DVT, and Pulmonary Embolism. It's been a long 3 months! I will hopefully be on my feet and walking by June 6th!
It was a very sunny and pleasurable drive, with lots of scenery and wildlife. We saw Elk, dozens of deer, marmots, a coyote, and numerous hawks, eagles and other beautiful birds....while driving through many canyons that followed streams and creeks. It took us 10 hours to drive it, making us curious about how hard it is going to be?! We mapped out 207.6 miles with 13,000+ ft. of climbing. It's going to be a challenging ride, but is an extremely beautiful one. Here are some teaser pics we took of the course.
Good Luck with your preparations for Gold Rush Gravel Grinder! If you haven't registered yet there is still time to get in and get your Pedal Power ON!
An Osprey nest just 10 miles into the Gold Rush Course, right before crossing into Wyoming!
Yield to these guys in Sand Creek Wyoming!
Lots of Logging happening, watch out for the trucks when riding!
One of many bridges you will encounter on the Mickelson Trail.
Ditch Creek is a nice smooth descent.
Still a little snow in the high country at about 6,800ft.
There are many flowing streams and creeks along the Mother Lode course.
It's not all smooth, fast gravel....
Miles and miles of smiles!
Can you find all the Gold in the Black Hills?
Sun is settling in, heading down Roughlock Falls Rd.
Kristi heading out on the Mickelson portion of the Mother Lode.
Tunnel Vision... One of Three Tunnels you will pass through on the 15 miles of Mickelson Trail.
Checkpoint #3 mile 152, at the Moonshine Gulch Saloon, they have more beer!
