Mary and I rode the Colorado Cols bike tour with Lizard Head in June and July 2015. Over seven days we covered 540 miles, including two centuries, with 36,000 ft of climbing. Bruce from Chicago was the only other guest, and Emily was our only guide. John Humphries, who runs Lizard Head, made special arrangements so we could do this tour with only three guests. We really appreciated that 🙂
Here is what we did each day.
On Day 0 (Saturday, June 27): We drive from Colorado Springs to Grand Junction after finishing the Spanish Peaks and Great Sand Dunes tour the day before. We visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park along the way.
On Day 1 (Sunday, June 28): We shuttle to Mesa and bike 70 miles (with 6,600 ft of climbing) to Paonia over Grand Mesa. We rate this our best Lizard Head cycling day yet!
On Day 2 (Monday, June 29) We bike a shortcut from Paonia to Crested Butte over 10,007-ft Kebler Pass. It is only 47 miles (5,000 ft) compared to the 110-mile recommended route. However, 23 miles of the shortcut are dirt and gravel, which is why it is not recommended. We manage to make it on our road bikes without falling, see beautiful scenery, and get to Crested Butte early in the afternoon.
On Day 3 (Tuesday, June 30): This is the Queen Stage of the tour, i.e., the longest distance. We go 134 miles (8,000 ft) from Crested Butte to Creede. Mary and I bike all the way in 13 hours!! She is only the second woman to do this on a Colorado Cols tour. We follow several rivers and go over two high passes: Slumgullion and Spring Creek. We have perfect weather with mild temperatures and very little wind. Bruce completes the bike ride too but gets sick afterward and rides in the van for the rest of the tour 😦
On Day 4 (Wednesday, July 1): We bike 65 miles (3,100 ft) from Creede to Pagosa Springs and go over Wolf Creek Pass. This is net downhill and easy compared to the day before. Soon after we get to Pagosa Springs a spectacular thunderstorm arrives. While we are soaking in our first pool the light rain turns to heavy hail. The pools take on a new dimension as the water jumps up when the hailstones hit. Before long the pounding on our heads makes us want our bicycle helmets. That and nearby lightning prompt us to go inside until the storm passes. Afterward the hail is piled up like snow in many places.
On Day 5 (Thursday, July 2): This is nominally a rest day. However, we do an easy 31-mile loop west of town (1,900 ft). We have lunch by a lake that reminds us of Wisconsin. Afterward we soak in several pools without worrying about hail and lightning 🙂
On Day 6 (Friday, July 3): We shuttle from Pagosa Springs to Durango and then bike 72 miles (7,500 ft) from there to Ouray through the spectacular San Juan Mountains. We go over three high passes – Coal Bank, Molas, and Red Mountain – and descend one of the most incredible roads we have ever been on: the Million Dollar Highway. We spend the night in an “unusual” room at the Columbus Hotel, the last hotel in Ouray with any rooms on the holiday weekend.
On Day 7 (Saturday, July 4): We celebrate our anniversary by biking 121 miles (3,900 ft) from Ouray to Gateway. We do one more climb to nearly 9,000 feet, but the rest is mostly downhill following the San Miguel and Delores Rivers. The ride begins with cold rain as we leave the mountains and finishes in desert heat moderated by high clouds.
Photos and commentary follow.
Day 1 (Sunday, June 28): After a shuttle from Grand Junction, we begin biking in Mesa. 
Mary starts the climb up Grand Mesa. The Book Cliffs on the other side of the Colorado River are in the distance. 
We pass a beaver dam along the way. 
We have lunch by this lake near the top of the mesa. 
We spend the night at the Bross Hotel in Paonia. This town looks like Evansville Wisconsin, where Mary grew up.
Day 2 (Monday, June 29): We follow the North Fork of the Gunnison River for miles. 
We bike up a good dirt road to Kebler Pass. 
We reach Kebler Pass at 10,007 ft. The road is paved at the pass but is dirt on either side! 
Crested Butte towers above the town of the same name. 
We spend the night at Elk Mountain Lodge. Many buildings in town have bicycles in front. 
Mary, Emily, Bruce, and I relax while we wait for dinner.
Day 3 (Tuesday, June 30): This is the elevation profile for today’s 134-mile Queen Stage. Slumgullion Summit is the big peak at Mile 94. The total climbing for the day is 8,000 ft. 
We bike upstream for miles along the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River. 
Mary climbs up Slumgullion Summit. 
We celebrate reaching the top of Slumgullion Summit. This is the highest pass on the tour. 
After a brief downhill, we climb again to Spring Creek Pass, which is just a bump after Slumgullion. The water on the side that we came up on drains into the Colorado River, while the water on the downhill side drains into the Rio Grande. 
Wildflowers are in bloom along the headwaters of the Rio Grande. 
Two happy bikers celebrate in Creede after their 134-mile ride!!
Day 4 (Wednesday, July 1): After we leave Creede, Mary rolls downhill along the Rio Grande. 
The day includes one big climb up Wolf Creek Pass at 10,857 ft. There we cross back from the Rio Grande side of the Continental Divide to the Colorado River side. 
We are treated to a delightful descent down these switchbacks on the way to Pagosa Springs. 
We spend two nights at the Springs Resort and Spa. The San Juan River is in the foreground. 
While we soak in the springs a thunderstorm passes overhead and piles hailstones next to this sidewalk and on the window sill.
Day 5 (Thursday, July 2): On our rest day we do an easy out-and-back ride to Hatcher Lake where we have lunch. This lake reminds us of Wisconsin. 
When we get back to the springs we check out the Lobster Pot. At 112 °F it is the hottest pool and is never very busy 🙂 
The Top O’ the Mornin’ pool is our favorite.
Day 6 (Friday, July 3): We begin biking in Durango after a shuttle from Pagosa Springs and see these deer just out of town. We see lots of deer on the tour, but these are the only ones who seem unconcerned about being close to people. 
We bike along a flat country road in the Animas River valley before climbing over the San Juan Mountains in the distance. 
We have a great view of the high country in the San Juan Mountains just after we top Coal Bank Pass. 
Red Mountain Pass is the third and highest of the day. 
We bike down the incredible Million Dollar Highway on our way to Ouray. The road is notched into cliffs with no guard rails, so everyone goes slowly, whether in cars or on bikes. 
Mary poses at an overlook above Ouray.
Day 7 (Saturday, July 4): We bike in a cold rain as we leave Ouray but are treated to this beautiful, parting view of the San Juan Mountains after the rain stops. 
Mary climbs Norwood “Hill” after following the San Miguel River for miles and miles. 
Next we come to the Dolores River with its Hanging Flume in the right center. 
This is a zoom of the flume. Most of the wooden parts are gone with just some of the iron “bents” that supported it left. This flume was built in the 1880s to move water downstream at high enough elevation to provide the pressure needed for hydraulic mining of gold. 
Emily soaks Mary with the hose from a cold spring near the end of our ride. 
Mary, Emily, and I celebrate the end of a great tour below the Palisade in Gateway. Mary and I biked “every fricking inch” of this tour, including two century rides of over 120 miles!
Wayne Pfeiffer 