This year I had some holiday time to burn, and having had a successful Death Tour Ride I felt all trained up for the hills and decided that the Triple Bypass sounded like a good idea. I convinced my friend Erika to join me on this adventure since she seems to like riding hills, too.
The Triple Bypass is a one day 120 mile ride with 10,00 feet elevation gain over three mountain passes – The Squaw/Juniper Pass, Loveland Pass and Vail pass.
Erika and I decided to fly into Denver on Thursday for the Saturday ride. We shipped our bikes ahead via ShipBikes.com, so that we wouldn’t have to worry about getting a rental car that could hold 2 bike boxes.
I had secured an AirBnB on the western outskirts of Golden, just 6 miles from the Triple Bypass starting line at the foot of Lookout Mountain (with a view of the Woody Allen Sleeper House). A really great location.
When we arrived on Thursday, our bikes were waiting there for us. We got settled, then put our bikes back together and stowed the boxes. Erika was concerned that she may not have enough sealant in her front tire, so we found a bike shop in town, Pedal Pushers, to get some more sealant. The guys at the shop were really nice, super helpful, did the job, and wished us luck on the Triple, then sent us on our way.
The plan was to wake up on Friday and do a shake out/tuner ride up Lookout Mountain (to see Buffalo Bill’s grave). But just as we were about to roll out the door, Erika realized that her hydrolic rear disc brakes were not working. After adjusting them, per Google search results and YouTube video (the professionals) to no avail, she called her bike guy and he told us there was probably air in the lines and she needed to get a bike shop to bleed them for her. We headed back to Pedal Pushers and although they were slammed, they agreed to move Erika to the head of the line since we needed the bike for the Triple the next day.
My argument was that without a rear brake Erika would be sure to win some of the down hill Strava segments, but she balked, so we ended up at the bike shop. 😦
Since the shake out ride was out, we hiked the Enchanted Forest Trail instead. We were hoping to have the bike back in time to get a ride in before the big day, but alas, it was not to be. We got the bike back all fixed in the early evening and readied ourselves for the big day on Saturday.
We woke up what we thought was early in order to get an early start, but OMG this ride is huge! Our planned parking area was full, so we were directed further down the road, then again, then again. We finally found a spot on the side of the road where we didn’t think we would get towed and parked there. A gal and her boyfriend were parked in front of us and we borrowed their pump, then chatted a bit – she was from San Fransisco and her boyfriend was supporting her (by car, not bike). Really nice folks.
We got ready and headed to the start line at about 6:30am. While in seemed like we had been looking for parking for awhile, we were actually pretty close to the start line.
Getting Started – Oh, This Isn’t So Bad…
So we started ride at the beginning of the Squaw Pass, which meant no real warm-up before the 14 mile climb started. But the grade wasn’t horrible and the scenery was beautiful – green, green, green!
The Squaw/Juniper Pass is actually two passes, but you wouldn’t know because there is no break between the two. The climb is a comfortable 3-5% grade, so while it is relentless, I was able to keep myself in a reasonable gear and just grind on up the hill…forever. The Summit was about 11,000ft at 14.5 miles and it took over 2 hours to ride it. I was killing it at 7.1 mph (hint: I can run faster than that in a race).
The weather was perfect, cool and sunny. But you do work up a sweat while climbing. However, you’re gonna want to put on a light jacket for the descents because it gets cool fast! We stopped at the rest stop atop the pass and replenished our water and Gatorade and had some granola, and put on our jackets.
It was a fun, fast ride into Idaho Springs for the next 15 miles. While I am normally terrified on descents, this one was a not-scary-enough-grade, with gentle curves on a smooth pavement that I didn’t have to ride my breaks the whole way down. I chalked it up to my recent experience descending at the Death Ride Tour. Weeeee!
While 30 mph may look impressive, you did not see the insane locals careening down the mountain and passing me like I was standing still. Those folks are nuts!
Loveland Pass, Also People are Liars
Once Erika and I got into Idaho Springs, there was a not-really-a-rest-stop that we stopped at for a moment to take off our jackets. We chatted with some of the other riders. The next pass was the Loveland Pass. I have ridden Loveland before, but it was years ago and I was on a rented bike. I recall it being horrible. But “people” assured me that Loveland was not that bad. Yeah, it was a 7% average grade, but it was only 4 miles… well, maybe 4 1/2, but no more than 5. (wait a minute…). Squaw was much worse. Also, it’s actually the lead up to Loveland that is the booty kicker.
Oh, ok. Just 4-5 miles. Pfttt! I totally got this!
Oh, and a few things. People are f*ckin’ liars and OMG!
So from Idaho Springs we headed to Georgetown – about 9 miles. This really wasn’t too bad at about a 1-2% grade. In Georgetown we stopped at the rest stop to refuel and ran into that gal who parked in front of us. She took my picture and I took hers. And we wished each other well on our continued journey.
I also met a guy with a stuffed lamb on his helmet (also he was wearing a tie dyed skirt – the guy, not the lamb). I told him that I could not be beat by a guy with a lamb on his head. He indicated that the skirt would make him faster, but I didn’t think it was going to be aero going down the hills. We’ll see…
But once we got through Georgetown, there was another 7 miles at a 4% grade, but for some bizarre reason this is not counted as part of the pass climb. Why? I have no idea why. I concluded it was because people are liars!
Apparently the only part of the pass that “people” were “counting” was the part on Route 6, not even the other 8 miles on the bike path. At least the guy who made this elevation map counted the 9 miles that were a 6-7% grade.
Four miles my ass.
We did finally make it to the top of the pass at 12,000 ft. And even with enough energy to lift my bike. But it took over 3 hours to get there. I was beginning to think I was getting gipped. 2+ hours of climbing, 24 minutes of downhill, 3+ hours of climbing, well, surely the upcoming downhill would be worth it.
While we were at the top of the pass we ran into the gal that we met while parking our cars, again. I convinced her to triumphantly lift her bike overhead for her picture, too!
So, yeah, after climbing for 30 miles, I was rewarded with 8 measly miles of downhill. But there was an added benefit. Not only random, large potholes, but also insane switchbacks. So I was gripping the entire way down. Trying to avoid the potholes while grabbing my breaks so hard I could not even let go to point out the potholes to warn whoever was behind me. Then, of course, there are the local kamakazis who want to die doing what they love, I guess. Butt in the air, crouched over the handle bars, pedaling furiously as they go flying passed me on and S curve. So I had to keep an eye out for them as I dodged potholes left and right.
Only one more hill left! Also, people are liars
So that’s two down. Only the Vail pass to go. I’ve ridden the Vail Pass before. You take the bike trail from Frisco to Copper Mountain which is a false flat (it looks flat, but you are actually climbing). So I know that while it is an incline, it’s not that bad. And I don’t remember Vail being a horrible climb (not after Loveland). So I was in a pretty good frame of mind.
The road flattened out a bit for about a mile or so, then as we turned towards Lake Dillon I was climbing again. But we were no where near the Vail Pass. This is where I learned that the 6% grade for 2 miles at Swan Mountain “does not count.”
I gotta tell you, I’m wondering who made the rules for what “counts” on this ride. I’m thinking the same 6 year old who makes the rules for every card game I’ve ever played with a 6 year old.
I got over ethereal Swan Mountain and stopped at the rest stop before out last big climb. Once again, I ran into the gal that parked her car in front of ours. I finally introduced Erika and I and got her name, Danielle. So of course that would be the last time I ever saw her.
As we were mounting our bikes to leave the rest stop I saw the guy with the lamb on his head stop. “Quick, we gotta leave and put as much distance between us as possible!”
Seriously, One Hill Left
Once over Swan Mountain, the ride was on a bike path for about 10 miles to the Vail Pass. THIS is the slight incline that I remembered. It had been raining intermittently throughout the afternoon – nothing crazy, but it started again and looked like it might continue for awhile. So, I stopped to put on my windbreaker. I also fired up my iPod and mini speaker.
I would like to apologize to all of the other riders who I encountered while listening to "What Does the Fox Say" if that song got stuck in your head for the next 45 miles.
Erika and I made a quick stop at the rest area at the base of the Vail Pass to take off our jackets and regroup, then started on our last hill!
The Vail Pass really isn’t that bad. It is only about 4.5 miles with a 3-4% grade. It was on a rather narrow bike path, but it wasn’t too difficult to pass people. I just had to watch for folks who might be descending on bikes in the other direction (there is a local company who will drive you and your bike to the top of the pass so that you can coast back into Copper Mountain. I’m fairly certain that these are the Cheaters riders we saw coming down).
The rain stopped pretty early on and we had a nice ride to the top (which actually appeared sooner than I expected). Yay!
We stopped at the top – mostly just for the photo op:
I also ran into my arch-nemisis one last time.
It’s All Downhill From Here
We had 30 miles left, but it was pretty much all downhill. Erika commented that she had never felt this good after 90+ miles of riding especially knowing we still had about 30 miles to go, and I had to agree. We were killing it!
The descent off the Vail Pass was glorious. The first part was on the smooth bike path- no cars, sweeping curves and barely any climbing traffic, so we could just fly!
Then it turned into a bike path that was as wide as a car lane, but no traffic and smoooooth.
Finally we were on the road with cars (boo!). At this point there was a bit of a headwind (or maybe we were just riding that fast). We were going at a good clip when two fellas passed us. I noticed that they really weren’t going that much faster than we were, so I kicked it into high gear and caught up with them so that we could draft instead of fighting the wind. Woo-hoo!
We ran into some bike traffic and somehow ended up in front of them (I have no recollection how that actually happened), but when they passed us again, one of the guys yelled, “Hop on!” This an invitation to draft off of them and make a pace line. Another couple joined us and soon the 6 of us were hauling ass.
The cops were stopping the car traffic for the bikes, so we were flying through the intersections. It was insane! At a few points I thought I was going to get dropped, because even with the draft it was tough to hold on we were pedaling so hard, but then I would think “Nuh-uh, I don’t want to be riding into this wind by myself.”
We averaged 23-27 mph for the last 30 miles (after riding 90 miles). Yes, we are badasses!
I’ve done the three day Death Ride Tour through Colorado. I have done the Tour das Hugel in Austin, twice. I’ve ridden to College Station and back over 200 miles in one day for tacos. The Triple Bypass is probably the toughest ride I have ever done.
Erika and I had designs on a recovery ride the day after. Nope. When I got up in the morning it was clear that that was not going to happen. We considered a hike, but couldn’t find a trail that was flat enough. A swim would have been nice, but we didn’t have a pool or any swim attire. So we opted to eat a lot of Italian food instead.
Even now, three days later, the best I could manage was a 4 1/2 mile recovery run. I still feel like a pinata.
But I must say, the support on this ride was phenomenal. Plenty of rest stops, great directional markings, so many happy volunteers, all kinds of food and drink on the ride and after the ride. I had a great time and would definitely recommend this ride for anyone who like a challenge and likes hills.
jredtripp 
Riveting read….