Mary and I rode the Spanish Peaks and Great Sand Dunes bike tour in Colorado with Lizard Head over six days in June 2015. There were seven guests and two guides, John and Leslie. Three guests besides Mary were engineers! One other guest was doing bioinformatics like me, and Leslie did graduate work in phylogenetics before she decided to become a guide. This was our kind of tour!
Here is our itinerary.
On Day 1 (Sunday, June 21): We shuttle from Colorado Springs to Beckwith Reservoir and then bike to Westcliffe. We cover 51 miles (with 5,800 ft of climbing) and go over four 9,000-ft passes!
On Day 2 (Monday, June 22): We bike 61 miles (1,800 ft), mostly downhill, from Westcliffe to Walsenburg.
On Day 3 (Tuesday, June 23): We do a short shuttle to Segundo and then bike 112 miles (7,300 ft) to Great Sand Dunes National Park. We go over two high passes: Cuchara (9,995 ft) and La Veta (9,413). We pass riders going the other way in the Race Across America. This is the Queen Stage of the tour, i.e., the longest ride, and we are really tired at the end.
On Day 4 (Wednesday, June 24): We hike in the park for awhile and then bike 59 miles (500 ft) against a strong headwind to Joyful Journey Hot Springs Spa. We spend the night there in a yurt.
On Day 5 (Thursday, June 25): We shuttle to the Royal Gorge and then bike 55 miles (7,500 ft) to Victor. We encounter showers and a rainbow above Cripple Creek before going over Victor Pass (10,201 ft).
On Day 6 (Friday, June 26): We shuttle to the base of Pikes Peak where we begin the big climb to the top at 14,110 ft. I do the whole climb (!) but Mary shuttles the last few miles because she is not feeling well. We have an exciting descent to finish the ride and the tour. I bike 39 miles (6,900 ft) for the day, and Mary does 32 miles (4,000 ft).
Photos and commentary follow.
Day 1 (Sunday, June 21): This is the view of Pikes Peak from Colorado Springs, where we start the day with a shuttle. Our objective on Day 6 is to bike to the top from the other side! 
The shuttle takes us to Beckwith Reservoir, where we begin biking for the day. 
We have lunch by Lake Isabel. 
Soon afterward we get to Bishop Castle, where we climb part way up the left tower. Check out the dragon! 
Jim Bishop, who built the castle, rests nearby. 
After biking over four 9,000-ft passes, we finish with a great downhill to Westcliffe, where we spend the night. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains dominate the skyline.
Day 2 (Monday, June 22): We start biking in Westcliffe. 
We pass some picturesque red barns. 
We cruise downhill with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on our right. We see pronghorns, but they run too fast for me to take a picture of them. 
Near the end of the ride, we come to one of the few climbs of the day. 
We spend the night at La Plaza Hotel in Walsenburg. Parked in front is the Lizard Head rig that shuttles our suitcases and sometimes us.
Day 3 (Tuesday, June 23): After a short shuttle from Walsenburg to Segundo, we begin with some easy climbing to go around the Spanish Peaks, which are off to the right. The tan rock at the left of center is a massive dike radiating from the peaks. 
After a steady climb we get to Cuchara Pass (9,995 ft), the first high pass of the day. 
We pass a herd of donkeys in the valley on the other side. 
Mary starts the climb to the second pass of the day with the Spanish Peaks behind her. We started the day on the other side of them and went over Cuchara Pass to the right. 
Here I am at the second high pass of the day. It is mostly downhill from here to the end of the ride, but there is such a strong headwind that we have to pedal to go down!
Day 4 (Wednesday, June 24): This is the morning view from our lodge overlooking the Great Sand Dunes. 
We hike across Medano Creek to get to the dunes. We see some fascinating surge flows in the creek. 
We only hike part way up a dune to save energy for the biking ahead. 
Mary begins biking for the day. 
We pass a field of desert wildflowers. 
And then we see one of the San Luis Lakes in the middle of the desert! 
After fighting a strong headwind, we finish the day at Joyful Journey Hot Springs Spa. We spend the night in the yurt on the left.
Day 5 (Thursday, June 25): We start the day with a shuttle to the Royal Gorge where we begin biking. 
Mary rides on a backcountry road on our way to Cripple Creek. 
Mary enters Cripple Creek. The pile of rubble in the upper right is from a huge gold mine. The black clouds portend rain ahead. 
This is the huge open-pit gold mine between Cripple Creek and Victor. Those trucks are really big. 
We bike under a rainbow during a brief shower (photo by John Humphries). 
We go over Victor Pass. Pikes Peak is in the distance (photo by John Humphries). 
We spend the night at the Victor Hotel. It was built of brick in 1899-1900 after all the wooden buildings in the business district burned down (photo by John Humphries).
Day 6 (Friday, June 26): We shuttle to the bottom of Pikes Peak and pass through the toll booth near the start of the climb. 
The switchbacks go up and up. 
I pop out above the clouds. 
Mary joins me on the summit after I bike all the way to the top! We both have a thrilling descent back to the bottom and the end of the tour.
Wayne Pfeiffer 