Trout Route Recon Photo Gallery by William Burke at pbase.com

Trout Route Recon

The BillyBob's first fishing trip will be to Rampart Reservoir, which, if I've plotted the route correctly on the topo map, is a little over 30 miles from my front door.

I'd never ridden up Rampart Range Road before, so...

11-AUG-2008

Before hauling The BillyBob(tm) up there, I decided it would be prudent to explore the route.

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11-AUG-2008

I wanted to get an idea of what the terrain was like, and look for camping spots to be used in contingency; just in case, for whatever reason, I'm not able to make it all the way to the lake with BillyBob in one day.

FYI, the blue blob in the background is Pike's Peak.

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11-AUG-2008

I also wanted to get a feel for the elevation gain.

The altitude at the crest of Rampart Range Road approaches 10,000 feet and this will be the highest I've ridden in over 20 years; my last two-wheeled trip above the tree line being in 1985, to the summit of Mt. Evans.

So I go slow and steady, trying to keep my heart rate below my LT, which is somewhere close to 145bpm these days - ensuring plenty of reserves for the return trip.

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11-AUG-2008

Just under 5 hours after peddling out of my driveway I arrived at the crest of Rampart Range Road.

That breaks down into about 1 hour to reach Garden of the Gods, and then 4 hours of continuous climbing up Rampart Range Road. Total distance to this point was 26 miles - with 3600 Ft of Ascent.

It is all down hill from here to Rampart Reservoir, which is 4 miles further as the crow flies... and probably 2 or 3 times that far on the winding road.

It's 3:30 in the afternoon and the clouds look threatening. I've confirmed to myself that The BillyBob and I can make it to the Reservoir, and there's no need to taunt Zeus - so down the mountain I go.

3 hours, and one VERY sore behind later, I'm home with a total of 52.3 miles and 4625 feet of ascent logged for the day.

The Trout must be trembling with fear...

Swim, and Hide!

Soon The BillyBob(tm) will be heading their way.

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