Saturday, July 15, 2023
Idaho Springs, CO → Dillon, CO
76.58 km && +1535 m elevation [47.58 mi && +5036 ft elevation]🇧🇷 Song for today: Apesar de Você — Chico Buarque 🇧🇷
Crossing the Rockies, the OG way
In 1973, the Eisenhower tunnel was opened to allow an interstate highway to cut through the Rockies and improve transportation around the region. It was the highest elevation tunnel then, and to this day it is the longest mountain tunnel. As it's crossed by an interstate, however, cyclists aren't allowed.
So we had to go the old-school way: up and around. We climbed a decent amount today to get to Loveland Pass, located at almost 12,000 ft above sea level! This is pretty much as far up as we'll go on this trip. Things will mostly go downhill from here.
The pass was also a very popular location for bikers from near and far, so we got to exchange some cycling stories while at the top!
Chilling at the lake
At the end of our route, we met Joy's parents at the Dillon reservoir for the rest of the afternoon. We had some great fried rice and egg rolls, then went out paddle boarding. The bay was beautiful, and we stayed around until it got too cold for comfort – crazy how not even the hottest stretch in recorded history can compete with altitude.
The Rockies are pretty
Here's a random assortment of photos taken over the last 2-3 days or so. This part of Colorado is cool.
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