Boulder 56-Mile Ironman Loop
Gorgeous views, rolling hills, and bike-friendly traffic… But tons of gophers!
Boulder 56-mile Ironman Bike loop
Pre-bike mounting pose
25-miles in, finally trusted myself on this crazy bike enough to take a selfie! St. Vrain had me huffing.
Where the fun ends (for me) dismount and then run!
Here are my thoughts on the Boulder 70.3 bike course. First let me say- this was my first time on a triathlon bike and honestly these beasts of equipment are cheating when it comes to cycling. Fast and amazing… basically If I could do one thing always, it would be riding a triathlon bike 😂
But this isn’t about the bike so here are my thoughts of the course:
Overall, I would say the bike course was manageable. As the heat increases throughout the year I’m sure the course will become more difficult and physically draining.
At the start, I was not able to follow the exact course because the Resevoir is considered a “recreation area” and they won’t let you bike through it without paying a day toll, which I was unwilling to do. Great start right?? I know, trust me. I hate when hiccups come right before a huge bike ride or run, sometimes it makes me wanna hang the session up in the closet. But, it seems to build character so I found another route to get on the first leg of the course.
Once on HWY 119 I was able to follow the course to the T. Cruising NE on 119 is a slight elevation gain, but nothing that burns the legs. Plus I was fresh on the bike. With the large shoulder the busy street didn’t bother me. Once I made the U turn to come back down towards 63rd the sun began to settle on the shoulders pretty heavily, but after making the turn to 63rd the sun switches direction that it hits the body and all of a sudden a new energy came along. 63rd is a country road with a slight climb till Niwot, nothing too challenging. There is a right turn onto Niwot and it too is a slow grade uphill for a few hundred yards and then it levels out. There is some shade and beautiful sharp turns heading out towards 35. On Neva there is a climb up to 35 and once there 35 is a sharp right and continues on a massive shoulder for a while. Direct sun on the back- headed straight north. There is no shade and the road is a steady climb, basically the whole way to Nelson.
Oh God, Nelson… How fun!! Lets just say that by the time Nelson comes I was ready to get off 35 and have some fun. I welcomed the sharp right turn onto Nelson. This road is smoooooth and groovy and fast. I loved it. Luckily I was finally getting used to riding “aero.” As an avid MTN biker- this is a world of difference. But there is a very sharp downhill that dog legs before the final bottom point of the ride on Nelson and at this point you climb a short distance to get to 65th. The climb feels fine because Nelson offered some respite for the legs and wind for the skin. 65th on the other hand was a pretty steady climb, albeit shaded, great time to pour some nutrition in to get ready for St. Vrain. This road dead ends into St. Vrain, the crux of the ride.
I can see a lot of people dropping back between mile 25 to 30. It will be important to use Nelson as recovery because the entirety of St. Vrain is up hill. Huffing and puffing, it was hard for me to consume water. But don’t worry because after the final steep push to 36 there is some slight respite. 36 offers some scenic rolls that don’t require too much effort. The ride is gorgeous and fast and dead ends to 66- right over a beautiful creek. 36 is hot as hell so the creek has a tendency to zap the energy out of my soul. All I wanted to do at this point was dunk my body in the cool mountain river. The right hand turn on 66 is welcomed, finally the sun is at a different angle on the body. The road turns into grooved concrete that I didn’t fancy too much. But the shoulder was big and the ride was just about flat, maybe a little up. This is a great time to catch up to some folks before turning onto 75th.
They had closed 75th for the full ironman, and hopefully they will again. There is a shoulder, but its not too big. The smooth asphalt is a great ride- but on the shoulder every 10 yards or so are sets of large bumps, at watch out for the water gauges!! This road is beautiful, cruising through the country. Sit back and enjoy the rolling hills- there are a couple that offer great speed. It turns fairly sharply onto 73rd and there is plenty of shade and cruising back to 71st. From 75th to 119 is an excellent time to pour nutrition. Don’t miss the final water station. Hydrate hydrate hydrate- cool off the body. 119 is hot and the run is coming up. After getting off 119 at the transition it is going to be scorching. It will be imperative to rehydrate on 75th- so don’t get too wrapped up in enjoying the beautiful scenery.
Once back onto 119, the trek is not over, but I felt like I was close. The high spirits made the down and back on 119 enjoyable but by the time the reservoir comes back into view- the legs were starting to feel ready for a change of motion. I can see myself pushing too hard on 119 and trying to get ahead. I will have to pace myself and concentrate on hydration before transition.
The transition felt good, but once onto the run the heat settled in. It was hot as hell and it’s only June 15th! The road you start the run on is also very wash-boarded because there have been heavy rains this year. This was a challenge for me to jog on, staying in the center helps- the sides are a little to squishy.
Overall I think the bike-run will be enjoyable. One caution to note is the serious amount of large Gophers either running in front, resting beside the road about to launch in the biking trajectory or already dead, smashed and obstructing your path. These are not little ground squirrels. They are large and bloody and fast!