Bicycling Colorado's Mountain Passes

Michael Fiebach contributed this article about bicycling in Colorado that starts out defining passes and divides before moving on to explain why anyone in their right mind would want to cycle one on a bicycle..

What is a mountain pass anyway ? Since the beginning of time mankind has asked this question. Well - no they haven't. Still, if you like to cycle in the mountains, the question crosses one's mind eventually. The best definition I've been able to come up with is this: A pass is an established path across a divide, where a divide is a separation of watersheds. The divide can separate waterheds of any size, say North Muddy Creek from South Muddy Creek, or the Pacific from the Indian Ocean - no, that would be unlikely - the Pacific from the Atlantic then.

But we cyclists being what we are - stuck in our own little world - ignore these definitions and use different measures, criteria more suited to define the pass as a "bikable object". To see how this question has been approached, the definition formulated by the "club de cent cols", a French club specializing in these matters, is an interesting representing example. First of all, in order to count, the pass has to be named. The fact that it is named is shown by the presence of a sign and a name on the map. No requirement of altitude is made on the pass. Divides or summits are not considered. The club de cent cols also restricts itself to paved road passes. France has enough of paved passes to last a lifetime. There are literaly hundreds. The scope is big enough.

In Colorado, conditions are somewhat different. The word divide is sometimes used interchangeably with "pass". Let's face it, if it's in the mountains and has beautiful scenery, it's worth cycling, weather it's a divide, summit or passes (but not a gap). To show that a pass is named, a label on a map is required.

Now that we have a reasonable definiton of "pass", we can ask "What's so great about dragging a bicycle up a pass ?" If Hillary Stevens would have been a cyclist, and somebody would have asked him that question, he would have answered "because it is there". That about sums it up. If you understand, you already know. If you don't, no argument will convince you. The answer to this question amounts to preaching to the choir. But it's fun to preach to the choir so here it goes.

Colorado's wealth of mountain passes make great cycling workouts and offer fine alpine scenic experiences in the process. High mountain passes have given me a high for many years, in more ways than one. There's usually the climb towards the tree line. You see the ecosystem change around you. With it changes the temperature, the weather, even the climate, and your vantage point on the land around you. You start to wonder, just how high up this path is going to take you. Finally comes the view that answers all the questions.

Often the pass crests with climaxing switchbacks near the top. However, sometimes the word "pass" has to be taken with a pound of salt. Early crossings of mountain ranges were selected for the ease with which they could be crossed, not for their alpine characteristics. These passes often have a rich history, but don't differ much from the rest of their surroundings. In general there is something like an inverse relationship between the historic importance and the scenic spectacular quality of a pass. Also "historic importance" is not the same as "interesting history". Why this state ? Colorado has more named ridgeline crossings, that can be accessed with a bicycle, than any other Rocky Mountain state.

For practical information, such as elevation profiles, descriptions, historic importance and route suggestions of paved or MTB passes, check out Bicycling Colorado's Mountain Passes.

Submitted by Michael Fiebach

Micheal is the web master of a very interesting web site that not only discusses bicycling in Colorado but it also contains information about his past tours.

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