Back in January, you may recall we checked out the lower portions of Lefthand Canyon, with this greeting (which is still there, and for good reason).
Even then we saw cyclists heading up the canyon, but it took me until March to work in a couple of climbs ... before the canyon closed again the latter part of April for debris removal in advance of the spring thaw.
I counted a couple dozen dirt segments (well, 29½, including the one-lane dirt section at Lick Skillet Road), 16 of them between mile 2 and the fork to James Canyon. But you don't really notice as you're climbing and just enjoying this great scenery and being in the canyon again!
Most of the damage is lower down, but even at milepost 15 (and above), some washout.
It was still a snowy scene at Sawmill Road, which climbs to Gold Hill ... while folks down on the plains were biking in shorts.
I found these climbs restorative, all the more with the low traffic volume, and the smattering of dedicated cyclists.
Here's hoping for some good "mixed-terrain" riding once the canyon reopens to cyclists.
-jle
Too "dedicated" for me.
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