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Week 6 : Del
Norte - Grants Start : Del Norte, Colorado, USA Finish : Grants, New Mexico, USA Dates : September 22nd - 29th, 2022 Riding days : 6  You leave Del Norte in a south-western direction along Piños Creek. Where the pavement ends, the real climb begins. The climb to Indiana Pass, the apex of the Great Divide. A good quality curvy gravel road through thousands of colored aspens brings you higher and higher. You gain 4,038 feet of elevation in 23 miles and the top at 11,910 feet is surrounded by some of the prettiest subalpine basins. After the summit you roll up and down for a while and pass through Summitville, a former bombed-out mining site. |
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The following miles down to the
town of Platoro
is possibly one of the most stunning sections of the
entire Great Divide, especially in autumn when the
aspens turn into a myriad of colors between yellow and
red. The little settlement of Platoro is a natural and unspoiled vacation destination nestled in the San Juan Mountain Range. We follow the pristine waters of the Conejos River downstream ending in the town of Horca. Sprawling grasslands, forests of aspen and spruce, and tundra and rocky areas make up the surrounding landscape. |
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A paved main road leads you over
La Manga Pass
(10,230 feet) from Colorado’s
Rio Grande National Forest
into the Carson National
Forest
of New Mexico. The Manga Pass is steep in sections with
gradients of 7 to 9 per cent, but the paved pass is
still the easiest part of the day. The rest of the stage
to Hopewell Lake
is mostly undulating roads through the mountainous
highlands of the Brazos Ridge and the Cisneros Park.
Steep goat terrain alternates with good quality gravel
downhills and narrow sandy paths through lush meadows
alternate with short rocky ascents. The continuously
changing landscape and stunning vistas over the Cruces
Basin Wilderness more than compensate for the tough
cycling. Read more in the BROCHURE... |
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