HWY 50 from Royal Gorge to Grand Junction Co

4runnerguy wrote:

RedRocket204 wrote:

Thom02099 wrote:
Monarch Pass is considered one of the most beautiful passes in Colorado, tops out ~11,300 feet. At the top, there's an aerial tram that goes to the top of Monarch Ridge at ~12,000 feet. Spectacular vistas from up top there, highly recommended for some real Colorado photo ops.

And also the beginning of the Monarch Crest MTB Trail, a classic IMBA Epic 100, 35 miles mountain bike trail ride. Yes, the ride starts at 11,300 feet elevation. It's a real lung burner.

Sorry, couldn't resist :B

Do it right and ride up Monarch Pass before you get on the trail. Riding the loop is much more of an accomplishment than taking the shuttle. ;)

Never actually done it that way, but we have ridden up Marshall Pass and completed the loop down the Rainbow Trail/Silver Creek Trail. Only get up to 10,800', but you've definitely earned your turns coming back down.

Haha, yeah, I'm absolutely sure it is much more of an accomplishment! :)

If you look at the shuttled Monarch Crest ride, specifically the elevation loss/gain, most believe it is primarily downhill. Granted, there is a lot of downhill but those thinking there is not much climbing will be very disappointed. Here is the gain/loss from my Garmin during the ride:

2,687 ft Elev Gain
6,293 ft Elev Loss

And that includes the final 4-5 mile run-out, which is all downhill on a road. Whatever the case, it is a very fun trail but one where I'd suggest a very good quality full-suspension. It could easily be done on a hardtail but a quality full suspension would be a much funner ride.

I was close to 50 when I last did M.C. and planning to ride it again once the snow clears this summer. But I'll choose to shuttle it again. Heck, the first time I was on Loveland Pass was via a road bike during the Courage Classic so I'm not afraid of climbing at altitude. I do love being out in the CO air!!!