Colorado High Country 1200k Ride Report

[Chrisheg]

Not AUK, but another long ride report for a long ride. Hope you enjoy it.

http://home.comcast.net/~cheg01/CHC1200/chc1200.html

[vorsprung]

It looks fabulous.

I didn't like the sound of the bit at the end of day 2 where "riding gravel downhill in the pitch dark" is part of the route

[fboab]

Marvellous. Thanks for sharing.

[marcusjb]

I will read this in more depth at the weekend - but a quick skim through the photos and it looks incredible (and challenging - those are some big passes!).

Fabulous and thanks for sharing it with us.

[Riggers]

What a fantastic report! Absolutely stunning scenery to die for. Thanks very much for posting all about it on here Chrissers old chap. At the end of the ride, I wondered, do you sleep for a week? I know I would. As a test of endurance this must take some beating, but at least (during daylight hours) there's some wonderful views. Well done Sir!

[PAC]

This is excellent...I also had a quick look at the PBP link I'll have another look at this at the weekend.

[Exit Stage Left]

Very nice, that dyke feature was especially interesting, as was 'the gangplank'. Much of the scenery was like the Pyrenees.
The strangest thing to us is the land to the immediate East of the mountains. The chequerboard pattern of the sub-divisions and the radial irrigation are utterly alien to our eyes.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Fort+Collins,+CO,+United+States&hl=en&ll=40.48939,-104.77644&spn=0.06619,0.154324&sll=57.746995,-4.687341&sspn=5.947418,19.753418&oq=Fort+Collins&t=h&hnear=Fort+Collins,+Larimer,+Colorado,+United+States&z=13

[Chrisheg]

What a fantastic report! Absolutely stunning scenery to die for. Thanks very much for posting all about it on here Chrissers old chap. At the end of the ride, I wondered, do you sleep for a week? I know I would. As a test of endurance this must take some beating, but at least (during daylight hours) there's some wonderful views. Well done Sir!

I slept for about 18 hours but recovery took longer. Some of the night views were wonderful too. It is DARK out there so you can really see the stars.

[Chrisheg]

Very nice, that dyke feature was especially interesting, as was 'the gangplank'. Much of the scenery was like the Pyrenees.
The strangest thing to us is the land to the immediate East of the mountains. The chequerboard pattern of the sub-divisions and the radial irrigation are utterly alien to our eyes.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Fort+Collins,+CO,+United+States&hl=en&ll=40.48939,-104.77644&spn=0.06619,0.154324&sll=57.746995,-4.687341&sspn=5.947418,19.753418&oq=Fort+Collins&t=h&hnear=Fort+Collins,+Larimer,+Colorado,+United+States&z=13

The land use pattern has it's origin in the 18th century shortly after we "withdrew" from the commonwealth.  There were huge tracts of land that had never been surveyed. The old "400 paces east of a large rock 200 paces from King's creek" survey system that was used in the 13 colonies was hard to apply in unsettled places to they came up with a rectanglar survey known as the Public Land Survey System . It based on a grid of Range-Township-Section where Sections are 1 square mile, townships are 36 square miles, and ranges are the distance of the township from a baseline meridian. Sections are further divided into half sections and quarter sections. That was used in most of the US. That's why there are  so many square fields and perpendicular roads in our country. The circular irrigation is driven by the simplicity of having a single fixed point water supply attached to a swing arm sprinkler system.

The "chequerboard" pattern is very obvious in some areas. When the government was trying to get companies to build the transcontinental railroads 1860s they would grant 10 square miles of land to the railroad for every mile of track built. They gave them sections alternating with government owned sections, hoping that development of railroad land would increase the value of public land.  In practice, you now see large areas where the public sections are forested and the private sections are clear cut. Law of unintended consequences. 

[Chrisheg]

It looks fabulous.

I didn't like the sound of the bit at the end of day 2 where "riding gravel downhill in the pitch dark" is part of the route

Yes, and no one knew it before the pavement ran out because that part of the route was not pre-ridden. Surprise surprise!

[mr magnolia]

Fabulous.
Very small baggages being carried .
Oh, and I'd have to go at about half that speed, and sleep with the bears, if there are any left.

[Exit Stage Left]

Very nice, that dyke feature was especially interesting, as was 'the gangplank'. Much of the scenery was like the Pyrenees.
The strangest thing to us is the land to the immediate East of the mountains. The chequerboard pattern of the sub-divisions and the radial irrigation are utterly alien to our eyes.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Fort+Collins,+CO,+United+States&hl=en&ll=40.48939,-104.77644&spn=0.06619,0.154324&sll=57.746995,-4.687341&sspn=5.947418,19.753418&oq=Fort+Collins&t=h&hnear=Fort+Collins,+Larimer,+Colorado,+United+States&z=13

The land use pattern has it's origin in the 18th century shortly after we "withdrew" from the commonwealth.  There were huge tracts of land that had never been surveyed. The old "400 paces east of a large rock 200 paces from King's creek" survey system that was used in the 13 colonies was hard to apply in unsettled places to they came up with a rectanglar survey known as the Public Land Survey System . It based on a grid of Range-Township-Section where Sections are 1 square mile, townships are 36 square miles, and ranges are the distance of the township from a baseline meridian. Sections are further divided into half sections and quarter sections. That was used in most of the US. That's why there are  so many square fields and perpendicular roads in our country. The circular irrigation is driven by the simplicity of having a single fixed point water supply attached to a swing arm sprinkler system.

The "chequerboard" pattern is very obvious in some areas. When the government was trying to get companies to build the transcontinental railroads 1860s they would grant 10 square miles of land to the railroad for every mile of track built. They gave them sections alternating with government owned sections, hoping that development of railroad land would increase the value of public land.  In practice, you now see large areas where the public sections are forested and the private sections are clear cut. Law of unintended consequences.

We have similar landscapes in Lancashire. Large areas were undrained peat bog and unreclaimed marsh until the 19th century. Those were drained and enclosed, but the fields are generally rectangular and not aligned North-South. Strangely, given the reputation of Lancashire as a wet place, there is a lot of irrigation, as the produce includes soft-leaved crops such as lettuce.
Aerial views of that landscape show the rows of green against the dark-brown peat. The effect on the ground is probably very similar to a lot of US landscape, albeit on a very much smaller scale.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ll=53.681408,-2.86756&spn=0.012887,0.038581&t=h&z=15

[marcusjb]

I read the report in full in bed last night - really fantastic reading and a very exciting sounding ride (with a bit of rerouting for the fires thrown in). 

Some mighty big passes there - sounds very challenging.

How often does the ride run? 

[Chrisheg]

I read the report in full in bed last night - really fantastic reading and a very exciting sounding ride (with a bit of rerouting for the fires thrown in). 

Some mighty big passes there - sounds very challenging.

How often does the ride run?

Every 2 years.