The Short Course Profile + GPS map
This ride is doable for the average rider! It’s meant to get you outside with some friends on some new gravel roads and back home in time to-do whatever else is on your list in late September. Some folks will ride it really fast, and that’s ok too.
Starting in the town of Elbert settle in to pedal at your own rate for what we believe is a beautiful course. Ride south and turn onto West Kiowa Creek Road and keep pedaling over some of Colorado’s finest chatter-board and hang a right at Badger Lane and up and over a small hill that connects you to 15/21 where you turn right and will head north.
Cutover turning left at James Trail which puts you back on 15/21 and head north for a short spell where it turns into CR 21. Ride this easy grade on CR. 21 due north to CR. 106. Stay true to gravel and hang a left at the bottom of the hill at CR 106 pedaling this all the way to CR 5 heading west. Then take a left cranking south at CR 5.
Stay on CR 5 south past the Ben Kelly Air Park where it crosses CR 98 and turns into CR 9. At the top of a short ramp and at then end of CR 9 will be an aid station at right about the 22 mile marker for those folks who need it.
From here ride west on CR 86 to CR 1 then hang a left and ride southbound past the Dutch Heritage Garden Center to County Line Road. Turn left here and take on the last few humps of the day heading east thru the pines.
Check out the profile and you’ll see the grade for the last 10 miles goes mostly downhill and with any luck, but depending on the time of day, you could have a nice southern breeze pushing you all the way back to where you started.
Stop for a photo at the Merdian Horse or cruise on by swinging north again on CR 17/86 riding past CR 82 and the road will hook on to Kiowa Creek Rd where you will take a short tour of the Town of Elbert taking a left on to Broadway St., a quick right on Copper, then another left and ride down the dirt on Eccles St. to the finish line — STAYING SAFELY OFF THE ELBERT ROAD.
Now that you’re back where you started you can have some lunch and tell your story to both friends and strangers alike. Or get back to that honey-do list if you need to. We plan a little more fun with a podium (maybe you’ll get to stand on a tree stump) and we’ll hand out some trophies and prizes for M&W Open + Masters M&W 50+… So hopefully you can hang out and cheer on the both the short and long course finishers!