Evergreen Tri - Biking portion

I knew I wanted to try and bike the course for the Evergreen Sprint Tri on Sunday, since the next few weekends are so busy - but I didn't really know how I would feel after the 14er trip yesterday (Saturday!). Luckily with an early start, meant we were home and in bed early! I easily got 9.5 hours of sleep!

I was on the road by 10 AM headed to Evergreen. I wanted to scout out the route first and then bike it. I got totally turned around and it took a while to figure out where I wanted to go, but I was happy that I mapped out the route before I went.

Route follows Upper Bear Creek Road then Stagecoach and back down Evergreen Pkwy

Green = Elevation & Blue = Speed

 I figured out how to get down to Upper Bear Creek and started the drive. It goes right by Evergreen Lake, through windy roads with beautiful houses and amazing scenery. There wasn't much of a shoulder but I saw so many other bikers and the speed limit is 20 on the road. I could tell this was going to be a challenge but was so excited to try! I found an RTD lot near where I wanted to start and got ready to go!

The first 4 miles are uphill, but manageable, and I was just enjoying the gorgeous scenery and the weather. The first four miles I was averaging a 4:30 pace. 

Managed to snap a pic while riding!

Most of the road windy with gorgeous scenery

At about mile 4 the grade kicks up and then next 2 miles were really hard. I was basically in my lowest gear the whole time. I decided to stop at the intersection around mile 6 before going up to Stagecoach to take a few power gels and some water. I had some energy for the next hill and there was a great lookout for another picture :-)

View from the Evergreen bike today

Next time I'll know if I make it up that hill on Stagecoach I'll have a break with a downhill! The next 2 miles had more good climbs but you got a break once and a while with a fun downhill. I knew there was one final hill around mile 9 and I stood up and pedaled hard through the hill. Miles 6, 7 and 8 were between 8 and 8:30 min miles. The remaining 3 were mostly downhill and the clouds started to come in a little so I was glad to be getting home. My ninth mile time was 2:07 :-)

All in all it was a great morning trying out the course. I definitely have a lot of work, but I finished in 57:26 with 1,100 ft of gain. I hope I get to do this a few more times before the race and next time I won't stop!