We've past Leavitt Station and have started our way up the hairpins. This part of the road has 25 and 26% sections. After riding seated for a while, I get uncomfortable and decide to stand for a while. The draw back to this is I start to get winded in the thin air. Andra approaches the second and final hairpin as I catch my breath in the shade.
Several cars pass with the stench of burning brakes. So many drivers today haven't a clue how to drive in the mountains, and risk brake failure riding their brakes all the way. If you are uneducated on mountain driving, don't drive steep mountain passes! You'll likely end up dead or kill someone else. At best you'll ruin your brakes.
Here we are at the final hairpin with a beautiful view of the valley below. I love this photo. Andra goes out of her way to walk around to the uphill side of me, so that she won't appear as short - LOL.
This is a much better picture (for a cell phone), of the valley. You can see the road we were on. It appears as a bright vertical line in the center. A gentleman, coming down from the top, stopped and rolled down his window. He said, "I've ridden Monitor Pass and Ebbetts Pass, but I never thought of biking this." I'm starting to think perhaps people think this pass is outrageously difficult. Now I did pop a couple wheelies when not paying attention, but mostly that was my poor form. Besides I don't really risk landing on my back until the grade gets to 30% (I generally avoid such grades these days).
Considering the regular hand gesture cheers and this last gentleman's comment, I suggested we turn back rather than finishing the 0.7 miles of ultra steep road before we reach mere single digit grades. My biggest concern was checking my speed on the way down. My body weight tends to want to overpower the brakes on my bike. Andra and I headed back and once we reached more sane grades, we were passed by some motorcyclists pumping their fists as if to recognized the extent of our undertaking. Wow - biking this pass really IS impressive.