Independence Pass!

Lynne Kiesling

I’ve been out in Colorado since Friday teaching at this year’s Institute for Regulatory Law & Economics annual workshop for state regulators. Yesterday we had a free afternoon and today we wrap up and travel home, so my post for the day is this picture from yesterday’s free afternoon: three of us rode from Aspen up to the top of Independence Pass. 20.5 miles out and up, a 4000-foot elevation gain … and 2000 of those feet of elevation gain come in the last two miles before the summit. Ouch!

It was breathtaking in many ways — lack of oxygen at 12,000 feet, gorgeous scenery, riding on a road that’s little more than a paved mountain goat trail clinging to the side of a mountain in some places — and it was a good challenge and good fun. I wouldn’t have stuck with it without my riding buddies Ray and Brian, so thanks to them I got to have this spectacular experience!

2 thoughts on “Independence Pass!”

  1. Sounds fun.

    This morning I traveled just under 2 miles on bike, deviating slightly from my usual commute to stop for coffee. According to Gmaps Pedometer, there is about a 20 ft drop in elevation in the first 1/4 mile, then not much up or down for 1 and 1/4 miles, and then a nearly 50 ft increase in elevation packed into that last 1/2 mile.

    So I know how you feel. 🙂

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