Part 2 — Deer Creek Canyon to the Summit | 1hr 40min

Part 1 was the warm-up. This is the ride.

From the C470 trail corridor, the road tilts west and doesn’t apologize. Deer Creek Canyon opens up around you — narrow, twisting, carved by water and time — and the climbing begins in earnest. Steep rocky cliffs rise on both sides, a creek threads the canyon floor below, and towering evergreens close in overhead. It’s one of Colorado’s most beautiful roads. It’s also relentless.

There are no intervals here. No rest cycles. No mercy spikes followed by recovery. This is sustained climbing — 2,500 feet of real-world elevation gain that grinds through your legs, lungs, and mental resolve from start to summit. Average heart rate sits at 85% max. Peak effort pushes 94%. The road demands everything you brought.

The summit at 7,269 feet is earned, not given. And when you get there, something happens — the suffering and the reward collide in a way that only cyclists understand.

This is what climbing feels like when the terrain is honest.