North Table Mountain in the Wind

With the recent pattern of frequent snow falls and freezing and thawing -- at lower elevations anyway -- it's probably been a better winter for skiing than for mountain biking. But last weekend was preceded by enough of a warm spell to dry a few of the rockier foothills trails. We hadn't previously been on Golden's North Table Mountain, but with the thermometer expected to read into the 50's, we decided to give it try. We drove to and parked at the very civilized trail head just north of Golden, where a rather smooth but loose gravel road climbs steeply to the mountain's flat top: 450 feet up in not much over half a mile. 

Click here to check out the Garmin log.

Driving towards Golden with the bikes on the truck, we had noted that the wind was really picking up. At the trail head, the wind was strong enough that we donned our extra layers, rain and wind jackets that we keep in our Camelbaks just for such unexpecteds. As we pedaled up the very steep grade toward the top, the wind was mostly behind us, giving us a helpful boost up what would have been short but tough climb. At least, I found it to be a helpful boost; the rest of the crew found it so strong it was hard to stay on their bikes, and ended up pushing them to the top where we huddled in a depression behind a small bluff to get a break from the wind before continuing our ride on the top.  

This picture was taken from the top of North Table Mountain looking back down the gravel road toward the parking area.

So we pedaled around the trails and gravel roads on top of the mountain, but didn't cover near as much ground as we'd hoped, given the brutal wind. From the top, Denver's downtown was visible in the distance.

 

When riding across the wind, it was hard to stay upright and hard to stay on the trail.

I thought this might make a nice picture, but I didn't realize the phone tower was hiding behind the tree.

Along the edges, the mountain's volcanic history is evident. I am looking forward to spending a little more time on the mountain, so we can explore those rocky edges.

Given that none of us were finding it very enjoyable, and in fact at times some of us were downright miserable, we decided to cut the ride short, get off the mountain, and head home for some lunch. So we'll have to go back again someday when the weather is a little more favorable.