Alex and I celebrated the 4th by heading up to the little town of Gold Hill just west of Boulder, Colorado. Josh and I have been up Four-Mile Canyon a few times and I ride up Lefthand Canyon just to the north quite a bit, but I’ve never been to Gold Hill.
The day started out rough. I didn’t sleep well the night prior and 6a came fast. Then Alex’s 15-year old Campy Chorus crankset had a catastrophic carbon failure about 10 minutes into the ride, Luckily we were still near home and were able to limp back and swap out bikes. The rest of the ride was uneventful until we realized in Salina that the road to Gold Hill was steep and dirt. I’m not sure I’m a “gravel” rider, even on 30mm tires.
The views were amazing and I ran into Ryan Van Duzer (https://www.youtube.com/user/Duzaster) at the pub in Gold Hill. We helped a “pro-looking” girl change her 23mm tire outside the pub and donated a tube to the cause. She looked like she had never changed a tube in her life and always had a team car following her. She did look like she could smoke me and Alex up any climb out there though.
Of particular note: this is the first ride I’ve ever done with the GoPro Chesty mount. I’ve had it for a few weeks and finally decided to put it to a long-ride test. I was surprisingly comfortable and took some great footage. Previously I’ve used the K-Edge combo mount where the GoPro mounts below my Wahoo Bolt. The chesty adds a new dimension, but can be a little shaky at times. The last two videos below are coming down Sunshine and are a blast. Enjoy!
Views from between Salina and Gold Hill… much better in person. The clouds and misty air fogged up the camera lens
A section of Sunshine Canyon before the pavement begins
The final paved section of Sunshine Canyon into downtown Boulder