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Some time ago I came across this helpful cycling map of Colorado and thought I should make some time for a short tour, being as though Colorado is a relatively short drive away. CDOT will even mail you a nice printed version of the map for free*

After putting together a couple routes I decided on a climby loop along low traffic roads that would take me up and over the Continental Divide, twice. I had recently finished building up a new (old) bike and have always wanted to sew a set of panniers so this was a chance to try out both, along with my being my first front load biased tour.

The bike
This is a 1989 Koga Miyata RandonneurExtra that I picked up a few months back. It's tall (63cm) with a short reach (57cm top tube), and is essentially a 1986 Miyata 1000 with chromed stays and fork, and a couple extra bits brazed on. More info on the bike here.

I made all of the bags with the exception of the long flap saddle bag which is a Carradice knock off from a Merry Sales brand called "Cardiff" that I picked up cheap. I've found that I can prop it up with my roll top under saddle bag and that will keep it from hitting my thighs. The panniers are new for this trip. 1000D Cordura exterior, floating nylon liner, reflective shock cord lacing front and back with rear bottle/tent pole pockets, roll top closure.



Day 0: Outside Buena Vista, CO
I parked along a county road in Pike National Forest and setup camp next to a stream and under a big tree the first night. Drank a beer, and got my things together to start riding bright and early the next morning.



Day 1: Buena Vista to Basalt via Independence Pass & Aspen (115mi)

I woke up, made coffee, locked the car and hit the road. Within the first 10mi I had deviated from my planned route up US-24, and I sure am glad I did. Behold CO 371, a lovely well maintained dirt road that follows the Arkansas River. The magnificent views would become a staple of the trip, but this road was a highlight none the less, even if there was only 10mi of it.



These holes blasted through the rock were exceptionally cool




After that it was a quick jaunt up US-24 on a nice wide shoulder to Twin Lakes, a small town at the base of the climb up to Independence Pass, as well as the intersection of the American Discovery Trail, the Colorado Trail, and the Continental Divide trail. Needless to say, it’s popular with through hikers and cyclists alike.



For the first hour I could count the number of cars that passed me on one hand, after that it it got quite busy, but drivers passed slowly and with a wide margin.

The switchbacks get tighter towards the top. At this point motorists weren’t just giving plenty of space, they were clapping and cheering. It was a lot of fun, and the view was fantastic.



But not as good as from the top! This is Independence Pass, the highest paved crossing of the Continental Divide at 12,095ft. The air is thin up here, I could hear it in my voice when repeatedly answering “I did” to the question “Did you ride your bike up here?” I had switched from my usual 12-27 cassette to a 12-36, and I sure was happy to sit and slowly spin up that climb, there wasn’t enough oxygen for standing, huffing and puffing. Also, yes, those are patches of snow.



The ride down was most excellent, I’m sure there was plenty of traffic, but I was doing at least the speed limit the entire time, so I wasn’t passed often.



Aspen was nothing to write home about, but it is the start of the Rio Grande Trail, a paved multi-use path that takes you all the way to Glenwood Springs

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Day 2: Basalt to Gypsum (40mi)

I’d planned this to be a short day since I’d be riding along the Colorado River and wanted to stop and enjoy it often. Unfortunately I had some business to take care of first: I’d somehow lost my light charging cable the day before!

Fortunately there was a Habitat for Humanity ReStore just outside of Glenwood Springs. $1 later I was on my way with a cable AND a really tasty donut



After stopping in Glenwood Springs for tacos I hit the bike path along the Colorado River. It doesn’t get a lot better than this. Except that it was really really hot out. With my Wahoo reading in excess of 90F, I stashed my bike in some bushes and immersed my fully clothed self in the frigidly cold river. It was wonderful. I threw on some dry shorts but otherwise continued my ride soaking wet and happy.





As you reach the confluence of the Colorado River and the Eagle River you leave the canyon and the landscape opens up



I spent the night camping outside of Gypsum which I absolutely can not recommend, there’s nothing there. If you keep riding past Edwards you’ll come across much nicer camp spots right next to the Eagle River.

Day 3: Gypsum to CO 371 via Tennessee Pass & Leadville (95mi)

As Gypsum had little to offer, and I had a long day planned, I rose early, scarfed down some food in bar form and got to pedaling. I hit Edwards, an oddly golf focused community, for 2nd breakfast: A breakfast burrito. I also grabbed a sandwich to go as it didn’t look like there would be much in the way of services between there and Leadville, 42mi and 3500ft of climbing away.

Turns out Minturn, 11mi on, is actually a really cute town. I’d suggest lunch there if you find yourself doing a similar route. Minturn is also where the fun gets started and the climbing begins, it’s 25mi from here to the top of Tennessee Pass at 10,424ft

At 9000ft I hit Gilman, an abandoned mining town, and EPA Superfund site. It’s a lot prettier if you don’t know it’s horrifically polluted. Sorry to be a spoiler.



Continuing on I hit the turnoff for Redcliff. I should’ve stopped to fill water in Redcliff, but it would’ve meant decending and re-climbing 600ft, and I wasn’t having it. Pushing on.

Still two miles from the top, and 10mi to Leadville from there and I’m running very low on water. Remember how hot it was on Day 2? Same deal on Day 3. It was hot, and steep and there’s no towns between here and Leadville, things are looking grim.

And then, ahead, in the distance, a service station sign! And another sign under it that says “CLOSED”. Sigh. But wait, what’s that other sign, off the road, with an arrow… “Cyclists: Good water ahead”. What? A mirage? No, an oasis

Whoever maintains this is a national hero. Two big jugs of water and shelves stocked with Gatorade and tri-flow. A miracle in the mountains.



Refreshed I continued up to Tennessee Pass at 10,424ft



In Leadville I stopped for a burger, topped off my water, including the Gatorade bottle and prepared for a relaxing cruise downhill along, according to the map CDOT sent me, a low traffic road with a 4ft+ shoulder

What followed would be in the top 5 most terrifying cycling experiences of my life. It turns out the CDOT printed map isn’t accurate and doesn’t match their online map. The shoulder on the road out of Leadville is ~6”, and traffic is heavy. I can’t recommend this road, and I definitely can’t recommend that horrid map. Use the online one. I didn’t stop for pictures here, clearly.

After 15 terrible miles I reconnected with CO 371, found a campsite on the side of the river and passed out.

Day 4: Finish up (20mi)

With only 20mi to go, I slept in, made oatmeal, and drank camp coffee next to the river. I then stopped for a larger coffee in Buena Vista before pedaling ~10mi up yet another road that was marked low traffic & wide shoulder, but was actually high traffic and no shoulder. Le sigh. I cut off the road early and took the dirt county roads back to my car, which had been helpfully guarded by a camping family that parked right next to it and was happy to see that I was ok.



Bonus: The beer I’d left in the cooler in the back was still cold!

*I would later learn that the printed map is terrifyingly inaccurate. So inaccurate I’d actually call the map dangerous and encourage CDOT to discontinue its distribution

JaccoW

Great route! I'm jealous.

Millstone

Wow, what a trip!
Nice pictures too. I learned something too: the Continental Divide. Never heared of it, but sounded logical once I hit that wiki-page.

And now I want a Koga Miyata Randonneur too
If I see one, I'd be sure to check it out. 60-62 cm should do for me.

Really nice story! This is _exactely_ why I want to do more roadtrips by bike. Fortunately my family goes along with that (for now at least).

Cheers!

The Golden Boy 

Wow!!! Congratulations!

Those vistas are amazing! I’m jealous!!

illenvillain

Looks like an epic ride, very inspiring. Thank you for sharing!

cycleheimer

Thank you for sharing. Inspirational!

bikemig 

Cool write up, great trip.

Hobbiano 

From my cubicle, those pictures look great!

Salamandrine 

Awesome! CO 371 by the river looks especially appealing. I'm jealous too. Thanks for sharing.

gugie 

Outstanding in many ways! Great bike, and your bags look professional! Front loading a touring bike makes so much sense, and shows you don't need a rear rack to carry camping gear.

ryansu

I am pretty spoiled for epic scenery here in the PNW but wow that is some gorgeous country OP thanks for sharing, how did your bike behave?

fliplap

The bike was great, best behaved touring setup I've used. The front load doesn't wander up steep grades, and doesn't shimmy on fast descents.

gugie 

That's been my experience as well.

Did you get an overall loaded weight? Your kit looked fairly compact for camping.

non-fixie 

Great report, great bike. Just my preferred size, too. Thanks.

fliplap

I didn't get an overall weight, but this was definitely a somewhat minimal setup as I was expecting to pass through many towns and resupply often. I also expected, and got, weather that didn't drop below 40F. Drive side pannier houses a 2p tent and sleeping pad, left has my sleeping bag and a couple small items. Saddlebag holds nothing but clothes. Rando bag has my cooking setup along with layers, gloves, and food.

Those panniers, owing to the hookless design, are also quite light: 10oz per side, compared to Ortlieb front rollers at 22oz each. Of course, they're not as waterproof as Ortliebs. They'll hold up to anything short of submersion, though I have rain covers for them too.

Tulok

Great stories! Awesome pictures! Really cool gear, homemade. 👍🏻👍🏻 Awesome ride report. Thanks!

deux jambes

You sir, appear to truly be living the good life! Thank you for sharing this glimpse of it here. The scenery, and views are stunning just in photograph. I can only just imagine actually being there.

And that Koga Miyata along with your panniers & rando bag... an all around beautifull build!

bwilli88 

Great write up and nice photos. Care to share the patterns for the bags?

JaccoW

I'm currently going through the Koga-Miyata brochures and I think you would love/hate this later accessory to the RandonneurExtra (1991-1993):

BFisher

Thanks for sharing. This was a fantastic read, and the pictures were spectacular.

52telecaster

Great read and pics. Im ready to back out, unfortunately it wont be in colorado.

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I don’t usually make a pattern as it’s actually more work to develop than the bags themselves. I usually start with a sketch, without specific dimensions, of what I want.

Then I make a cardboard mock-up to see how it sits on the bike. I’ll use that to come up with more refined measurements. Here’s the one for the panniers, as you can see, it’s held together with tape. I’ll trim it, resize it, etc, until it’s the size and shape I want.



From there I make a minimal prototype, usually from Tyvek, to see how the main compartment of the bag will pack, and maybe test out new construction methods. This prototype won’t have stiffeners, or zippers or straps. I mock those with packing tape as needed. I like Tyvek because it folds like paper, but sews like fabric, and you can actually use Tyvek bags for a few days to see how they work on the bike. Eg, checking for thigh contact. I’ll continue to refine my sketch from there. I don’t have a shot of the one I made for the panniers, but here’s a saddle bag I made for my wife’s bike.



Even when when I go to make the final bag, the sketch isn’t complete, but here it is, as you can see it lacks many measurements and doesn’t contain any information about construction steps or methods. It’s basically just notes for me. I continue adding to it even as I sew the final bags.



And then, finally, the finished bgs go for a test ride:

non-fixie 

Nice work on the bags! Thanks for sharing the story on those.

non-fixie 

You can safely put me in the "hate" camp.