Glenwood Springs, CO TAR 2006 Day 6 - Maroon Bells & Ashcroft - Friday, July 7, 2006
Bob: 719-649-6895				Gary: 303-818-3030
Plan to depart Glenwood Springs at 8:00AM for the drive to Aspen Highlands. Drive south on CO Hwy 82 towards Aspen. Turn right on Maroon Creek Road, this is the first right when entering the roundabout on the northwest end of Aspen (about 40 miles). Drive on to the Aspen Highlands parking area. The road is closed to vehicular traffic at this point. We will begin our bike ride to Maroon Lake from here. The Maroon Bells are the most photographed peaks of Colorado Rockies. This is an uphill ride and the climb steepens as you approach Maroon Lake. You may want to bring walking shoes with you on this ride. We will then descend back down to Aspen and ride up Castle Creek Rd to Ashcroft about 12 miles. These are epic Colorado rides. Finally we will descend back to Aspen for lunch before returning to Aspen Highlands. Maroon Bells is a must see. If you have had enough climbing, turn around any where on the ride to Ashcroft and become an Aspen tourist.
Line #	Turn	Total Distance	Point Distance	Route Directions
1	L	0.0	0.0	Left turn from Aspen Highlands Parking Area
2	U	6.0	6.0	Maroon Lake turn around point - You may want to spend some time here walking the trails and taking photographs.
3	R	15.0	9.0	Right turn at roundabout onto Castle Creek Road for the climb to Ashcroft. The climb to Ashcroft is less steep than the climb to Maroon Lake. The elevation in Aspen is 7907 feet and Ashcroft is 9498. The elevation at Maroon Lake is 9580.
4	U	27.0	12.0	Ashcroft turn around point or continue to the end of the payment about another 3 miles.
5	R	39.0	12.0	Right onto bike path just before the roundabout to ride into downtown Aspen. There is a very nice pedestrian mall in the center of town and plenty of patio cafes and several bike shops. Return to bike path and use the bike path return to Aspen Highlands.
6	L	43.0	4.0	Return to Parking Area and drive back to Glenwood Springs