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Tackle an Above Category Climb This Weekend
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Looking up from the 16 mile mark
The Tour de France categorizes its climbs from 4 through 1 (in ascending difficulty) with the quaint “HC” (hors categorie – or “above category”) reserved for the most difficult cols. Categorization is definitely a subjective business, but with some clever statistical fiddling I’ve come up with a way to apply Tour-like categories to any climb. I’ll write about that idea later. Today I want to encourage you to ride up Left Hand Canyon to Ward. If you do so, you can brag to friends that you wrestled an HC climb into submission.
Get started at the Amante Coffee shop on Broadway in North Boulder. You’ll run into plenty of like-minded fitness advocates as you sit sipping your double espresso outside in the cool early morning air. When you’ve had enough caffeine to feel sufficiently charged up (i.e. once the perspiration is pouring off your forehead and your eyes are bugging out of their sockets), jump on your bike and head north on Broadway. Shortly you’ll come to Foothills Highway (36). Carefully cross to the northbound lane and get your rhythm going on the downhill swoop that leads to your first mini-climb.
Highway 36 has great shoulders (PLEASE use them rather than impede traffic), so get yourself in a mental zone for the 4+ miles to the turn off to Left Hand Canyon. You’ll turn left right at the Greenbriar Restaurant. For a few hundred yards you’ll be flying, but the road does tilt up shortly. The first mile is easy – about 113 feet (2.1% grade) of climbing. Left Hand has mile markers on the right hand side (as you ascend), so pay attention to them to mark your progress. There is a shoulder most of the way to the top, so PLEASE use it.
Mile 2 is a bit steeper – about 130 feet (2.5%). Before you get to the Mile 3 marker, you will see a small park with pit toilet on the right (I’m not aware of any other facilities until you get to Ward). You’ll also pass Olde Stage Road which intersects on the left. Mile 3 climbs about 166 feet (3.1%), then the climb gentles a bit with Mile 4 at about 138 feet (2.6%). Mile 5 is a tad harder (176 feet at 3.3%), but just after passing the Mile 5 marker you will need to choose between staying the course to Ward or taking the shorter trip to Jamestown.
Since you’re hard core and want bragging rights to an HC, you will take the left hand turn at the bridge. Be careful here – traffic coming down from Jamestown might be moving quickly and visibility up the canyon at this point is very limited. Just before the Mile 6 marker you will see Lee Hill Road intersecting on your left. Mile 6 climbs about 192 feet (3.6%) and leads you into the second most difficult stretch of the ride. Mile 7 (263 feet at 5.0%), Mile 8 (223 feet at 4.2%), and Miles 9 and 10 (both 249 feet at 4.7%), give you ample opportunity to feel like you are tackling the Alps with your heroes.
Just after Lick Skillet Road the climbing tempers a bit, with Miles 11 (189 feet at 3.6%), 12 (161 feet at 3.0%) and 13 (197 feet at 3.7%) giving you a chance to get back into a more comfortable rhythm. But after the Mile 13 marker, the road kicks up again, climbing 216 feet (4.1%) in Mile 14 and another 261 feet (4.9%) in Mile 15.
When you see the Mile 15 marker you can feel good knowing that from a mileage point of view, you are almost done with the climb. Unfortunately for you, the serious climbing begins here. If you’ve got a triple, use it now. If you’re one of those riders who never wants to use your lowest gear because you get a psychological boost from having something in reserve, good luck maintaining that philosophy for the next mile. You’ll climb 437 feet (8.3%) by the time you hit Mile 16, with some of the stretches in the 10-12% range.
Even though you have less than a mile to go from the 16 mile mark, you may want to stop here. There is a pipe propped up on a rock out cropping that offers fresh, cool spring water. You’re also just a few quick steps from a great pancake or French toast breakfast at Marrocco’s Restaurant. Unlike some earlier business tycoons in the Ward metropolis, the owners at Marrocco’s seem to actually like and welcome cyclists.
The worst is over, but there is still the nasty 310 feet in 0.9 miles (6.5%) to climb to the top of the canyon where you will intersect with the Peak to Peak highway and you can stop cursing whoever put you up to this foolishness in the first place.
A common gathering place for cyclists in Ward is the Utica Street Market where you’ll find lots of goodies including home-made cookies. Some riders stop on the way up, others like to get to the top then coast the few hundred yards back down to the Market before taking a breather. There is a porta-potty just on the uphill side of the Market.
After your tales of daring (or whatever) have regaled all the other cyclists lined up on the outdoor benches outside the Market, climb back aboard for a rocket ride down to the Colorado plains. What might have taken you 1.5-2 hours to ride up, will be history in 30-40 minutes on the way down.
If you’re concerned that 3800 feet of climbing in 17 miles is not enough, feel free to “short cut” on Olde Stage and/or Lee Hill Road in either direction. Although neither will add much to your total climbing, you will discover some very challenging slopes on either route.
Left Hand is a very popular cycling route, so on almost any day of the cycling season you will find plenty of other riders with whom to share the agony. The road is not that heavily traveled with motorized traffic, but many of the motorists you see will be locals who live in the mountains nearby. The locals seem to have adapted to the necessity of dodging cyclists on a regular basis, but please be considerate and help deter the locals from becoming as aggressively surly as they are on Coal Creek Canyon. Move to single file as quickly as possible when a car is approaching from either direction. Help maintain a healthy and challenging riding environment by giving drivers as little reason as possible to hate us.
Back at Amante, feel free to exaggerate your accomplishments (every rider there will be doing the same), but no matter how much you get one-upped in that venue, take personal satisfaction in climbing a mountain that even Tour riders approach with respect.
For more info: If you're looking for more rides this weekend, check out http://rmccrides.com/schedule200808.html
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