Thursday, December 4, 2014

Battle Mountain II -- Pictures

Yesterday I was reminiscing a little bit about Battle Mountain in Colorado, which was one of my favorite bicycle rides. It was a very challenging ride from both directions, but presented the most amazing views - both historical and natural. Since I posted that memory, I've been thinking about my Colorado mountain rides and the memories.

I never took pictures during these rides. They occurred long before "selfie" became an accepted term and I just didn't think about photography. But the internet is full of photographs of anything a person would desire to look at - and there's some pictures of Battle Mountain. These pics help me to remember the rides, and hopefully some of you can understand the haunting memories that can be borne of such enchanting places.
This is, of course, not me - but a good view of one of the climbs.

The very beginning of the Northbound climb, coming in from Leadville. I forgot the name of this bridge, but the steep ascent starts just to the left of the bridge. If you go to the right (South) there is a long, steady climb up over Tennessee pass into Leadville.

This rider is climbing up the incline just north of the bridge pictured above.

A view from the top of the mountain. The top has old mines scattered about, and very old homes that were built for the workers. It is enchanting to ride my bike on the highway, looking down on the old "ruins". 

Another look at one of the old mines.

This is steeper than it looks lol!
I guess, since I'm closing in on 62 years old, I'll never ride my bike over Battle Mountain again - or perhaps anywhere in my Colorado Rockies. That's ok. But I'll never lose the memories.

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