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| Day 1 - getting the touring bikes set up in Idaho Springs. |
Day 1 - Idaho Springs, Central City, Black Hawk and Rollinsville.
Covering only 32 km on our first day, we have a fairly steep climb to get us just outside Central City, quickly descending into Black Hawk followed by a steady elevation to Rollinsville.
Excitement levels were high as we begin our cycling trip! We were collected from our hotel in Denver by the guys that we rented our touring bikes from, driving on hour to our starting point in Idaho Springs.
We set up the touring bikes with all of our gear, getting straight off the main road and travelling up a steep gravel road -'Rd 279'.
'Oh-My-God-Road'
Five minutes into our first climb and with no time to adjust to the altitude, we were struggling. Without realising it, we had started on 'Oh-My-God Road'... and let me tell you it is called that for a reason!
Once we had managed to stop laughing at ourselves as we walked up our first hill, we reassured ourselves that as we get fitter along the way, the easier the hills will get easier!
Oh-My-God Road is 13.6 km long and took us steeply through historic mining country, linking us to Central City (population 683) - a great town with lots of character.
On-route to our campground we passed a great place for a dinner ('Stage Stop', Rollinsville) and with only a 1.2 mile cycle to our campsite, we arrived with enough light to set up comfortably and settle in for the night...great first day!
Starting point: Idaho Springs, CO
End point: Just outside Rollinsville, CO
Total distance: 40 km
Campground: Kelly Dahl Campground
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