Cheyenne Canon

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Cheyenne Canon - a Classic Colorado Springs climb. Gaining 1,139 feet in just 3.1 miles, it's a popular testing ground for many cyclists. Roadies flock to the narrow ribbon of black top for long climbing intervals. It's deceptive, starting out easy, kicking steep the middle through a few switchback, settling down as Helen Hunt Falls approaches, then kicking again near the summit. No matter how hard or easy you go, it's going to be a challenge. I've been doing two trips up and down for repeats the past month, getting some good climbing and steady state repeats on that road. The first time, I narrowly missed some thunderstorms, on my road bike. Two weeks ago, I opted to take the Fate to the blacktop. Cracked in the heat, but still made the trips. I've also been doing the time trial series (more on that later) so I've been able to get plenty of data for that particulare climb. Given the nerve wracking descent in rain drenched roads at the last time trial, for this weeks fun I opted to forgo data for stability. More rain was looming and one trip down on the wet roads was enough for me. 

As usual, there were plenty of roadies in the canon yesterday. And judging by the looks they were giving me, I don't think they appreciated my mode of transport. Most of them were sporting the latest and greatest road bikes and super light weight carbon wheels. I have nice wheels on my road bike, but the carbon braking surface kinda sucks when it's raining. I wasn't going to take the chance again. Maybe if I'd been riding my Fate, the roadies wouldn't have been so insulted. After all, a hardtail is a very efficient bike and close to a rode bike. But the Fate's still in the stand - I couldn't get the derailur adjusted in time for the ride after swapping back to the spare wheel. So... Might as well ride the bike that's already dirty. And it doesn't matter what the ride is as long as I get the workout in right? I have to admit, it was fun passing a few of the uber serious roadies. Nothing like getting chicked and by a girl on a trail bike to boot! Yeah, the Stumpjumper isn't the most efficient bike for road climbs, but it was sure fun coming down!

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