On the long road to the Mt. Blue Sky (Evans) summit.
When it comes to classic Colorado road cycling routes, the ride up and down fourteener Mt. Blue Sky (fka Mt. Evans) from Idaho Springs is about as famous as they come. Though admittedly not much of a pure road biker myself, this one had long been on the list in the must-do-at-least-once category. So when Brian shot me an invite to join he and his cousin Kevin on a ride up the highest paved road in North America earlier this summer I immediately signed up.
An overview of the upper route above Echo Lake seen from the south. Up and down the day clocks in at ~56 miles and 7,000 feet of elevation gain. Click to enlarge.
In terms of route description there’s really not much to say. Start in Idaho Springs (in our case from the Westbound and Down Brewing parking lot) and ride up the Mt. Blue Sky Scenic Byway (aka CO Road 103) to Echo Lake. Nail the single right turn up the Mt. Blue Sky Road (aka CO Road 5) and follow it all the way up the summit at 14,268 feet. Then reverse it all the way back down and drink beer.
Echo Lake.
Brian and Kevin just beyond Echo Lake and the Blue Sky Road turnoff.
The only question mark for the day was the weather, as we were looking at 60-70% chance of rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon with clouds building and rolling through the area all day. With someone having tragically died by lightning strike on the summit the day prior, it was naturally in all our heads to get up and down by noon if we could.
Into the alpine.
Nearing Summit Lake with the final push up to the top ahead. Though cloudy for most of the day, true to the peak’s new name we also got a lot of intermittent blue sky to brighten our spirits.
Eventually we all made the summit and joined the crowd of around a hundred people milling around up top. One of them was nice enough to take our picture next to the Mt. Blue Sky sign:
Happy to have made the summit. Now let’s get out of here.
It was finally time to enjoy the long-anticipated down. Though a bit rough in spots I didn’t find it particularly teeth-chattering relative to most gravel riding I’ve done. The stretch of newly paved road below Summit Lake didn’t seem like it deserved closing the route to the top for the entirely of last summer, but I suppose repairing roadway at 13,000 feet isn’t easy either. Below Echo Lake it was a cruise back down the much smoother road to the finish line.
WB&D post-ride.
Kevin, Brian, thanks for the invite, let’s do it again sometime…