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Team Mosquito lives... After job relocations, job changes, personal changes, and what not, the team lives on. Over the past years, we've actually become a very geography disbursed team. Minnesota, Vermont, Alabama, Arizona, California, Washington, and, of course, Colorado. Time and responsibilities may have changed our places, but we still love to ride. The Rockies in Colorado have long been our destination of choice and now living here makes it better.

Goal

  

After spending 19 years of riding across Colorado, I've crossed every paved pass over 8,000 feet at least once, if not multiple times. And, despite the years I've spent here, Colorado still lacks an "average Joe" summary of what can be expected riding up a pass. Maybe there is a book in my future, but for now, this works for me. There are some great books out there describing the passes and various routes, but most seen to be written by those obsessed with climbing, sporting legs of steel. At 6'4" and weighing in over 250 pounds, people see me more as a defensive end for the Chicago Bears rather than a cyclist... and climbing is a royal pain in the rear. Gravity, at least on the climbs, is the enemy. These summaries are written from the viewpoint of a climbing slug. For me, I tolerate the climbs and live for the scenery and the downhills.

In addition to riding in Colorado, over the past years, I created a number of rides in and around my former home state of MN and recently, in California and Arizona. I've also followed many of the routes designed by any number of other folk. Some of these are just simple flat rides to work out the kinks after a long day at work, others are challenging hilly routes and century/near century rides. I now live on the Palmer Divide in the Colorado Front Range and would not trade my view of Pikes Peak and the Rampart Range for nothing.

What I hope to do is include a wide selection of rides that has something for everyone. I hope the experienced rider will find the stats and route data helpful. I hope the average rider will get a perspective on what they are about to face in places like Colorado, and hope to show the newest riders or those that need to do a little exercise first that this really is a great sport that just about anyone can do. As always, if you have not ridden in while and have not been active for a while... please be to check with a doc before jumping head first into any strenuous activity.