50,000 Views - the joy of the destination

Destination Rides

Don't we all have our favorites. Almost more than a loop route, a destination ride is the best way to spend a day. Let's ride to a lake, let's ride to a cafe, let's ride to a great view, let's ride up to the top of that mountain. But what do we find once we get there? We all have our favorites finds at the end of the road, here in Colorado, about once a week during the late spring, summer, and fall, I do my favorite local ride up Deer Creek Canyon / High Grade Road. It is a destination ride. My goal is a wonderful rest stop located under the shade of tall pine trees. 

Last week I arrived at the rest stop in the woods and no one was there, I almost expected to see a local bear walk up, when 8 cyclists trickled in over the next 10 minutes. Swarming the site, they walked their funny walk in their cycling shoes in the dirt, filling water bottles and watching each other come and go and checking out the bikes. This is Colorado's version of the town water fountain. 

The High Grade Rd rest stop

There are no other stores or water supplies on this route. The rest stop is a courtesy of the local grange (I was recently told by a cyclist that you can write-off your purchases as charitable donations) and is resupplied by local grange volunteers who say their purpose is to keep the local cyclists safe (in a sometimes not so friendly neighborhood). Water at the top of a climb makes cyclists happy. Having a place at the top of a climb as a marker of we have arrived is even better.

To celebrate 50,000 views, I have collected some of the more famous destinations (and my favorite memories), of the top of some other well known climbs:

Restaurant on the Col du Tourmalet, France

Creperie on the Col de Peyresourde, France

Cafe on Col d Soulor, France

Cafe on Col d'Aubisque, France

Cafe Col d'Agnes, France

Cafe Col de Port, France

Cookie man on top of Mont Ventoux, France

Chalet Reynard on Mont Ventoux, France

Restaurant / Hotel on Col de Lautaret, France

Restaurant on Col de Telegraphe, France

Restaurant on Col des Aravis, France

coffee bar on Col du Glandon, France

And for local cyclists who ride near Boulder, Colorado ...

The general store in Ward, Colorado

PedalDancer.com is celebrating 50,000 since April 2010. Merci!

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Col de Port is a great ride

A good bike ride in the Midi-Pyrenees if you are in the area

Between St Girons and Tarascon-s-Ariege lies the Col de Port (south of Foix) along the D618. This is a fabulous ride. If you are in the area, or traveling between areas, at the very least, let someone out of the car to ascend and descend this climb. Where else will you see a profile like this? The color blue = fun!

This year the Col de Port is not included in the Tour de France, but it has been in years past. In 2010, Stage 14 of the TDF travels just to the east from Revel to Ax-3-Domains. And then again during Stage 15 of the 2010 TDF the route travels from the north in Pamiers, just to the west and south to Bagneres-de-Luchon. Col de Port is in the middle of all that excitement.

Picture of the day: the view from the cafe at the top of the Col de Port. Over to the right I could see the mountains of Andorra and Spain.

*By the way, the Auberge (between Biert and Massat), Les Deux Velos serves lunch, so if you are riding or driving by, you may stop in for lunch or a drink. It is not signed as a cafe, but walk through the bike gate, knock on the door and ask Elma or Mark.

 

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