High Points: Ride for Independence

Independence.

It’s such a great word. Not just for its profound meaning but for the way it sounds and for the way it makes us feel when we say it. It defines what personal freedom is all about. Of all the words in the English language, it has to rank in the top 10. And all of us here get to live in the shadow of a place called Independence Pass.

At 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 17, somewhere around 300 bike riders will take to the street and begin their ascent of Colorado Highway 82 on the road to Independence. That would be the ghost town of Independence.

This year marks the 31st edition of the Ride for the Pass, which is the annual kickoff to the summer biking season in Aspen. Riders will start 5 miles east of town at the Winter Closure Gate on Highway 82 and proceed for 10 achingly beautiful uphill miles until they reach the finish line at the town of Independence. The race features a climb of around 2,300 feet to a breathtaking elevation of 10,800 feet at the finish. And with early-season legs still getting in shape, riders will feel every vertical inch of the climb.

While Highway 82 is not scheduled to open to auto traffic for the summer season until Thursday, May 22, just before an early Memorial Day weekend, riders will be allowed to continue their ride to the summit of the pass if they so choose, as the road has already been cleared to the top by Colorado Department of Transportation. That will add another 3 miles or so to the trip, which is already among the most challenging open-to-the-public rides imaginable. And don’t forget the ride back downhill at adrenaline-pumping speed.

The town of Independence, where the Ride for the Pass finishes, was conceived back in 1879 after a prospector named Bill Belden struck a rich vein of silver on the pass on Independence Day, July 4, 1879. Over the next couple of years, the population grew to reach 1,000 people before the ore diminished and the town became the ghost town it is today.

While the Ride for the Pass is all about the ride, it is perhaps even more important to remember it is a fundraiser for the nonprofit Independence Pass Foundation (IPF), whose stated mission is “to restore and protect the ecological, historical, and aesthetic integrity of the Independence Pass corridor and to encourage stewardship, safety, and appreciation of the pass.”

Without the IPF, there is no Ride for the Pass or its sister winter event, Ski for the Pass. And the landscape of this incredible cliff-hugging road would be considerably different.

Since its founding back in 1989 by the late, long-loved, local environmental activist Bob Lewis, the IPF has played a vital role in restoring the fragile ecosystem that suffered from serious erosion over the past century and a half, from the original mining days in the early 1880s to the more recent construction of Highway 82, which was fully paved in 1967. The work of the IPF is instrumental in bringing awareness to one of the most historically significant passes in all of America.

This past April, Executive Director Karin Teague marked her tenth anniversary helming the IPF, and she has done a magnificent job of keeping the legacy of Bob Lewis alive and running the foundation. Be sure to say thanks to Karin this weekend for her efforts and happy anniversary.

If you are not already signed up, be aware registration closes at 5 p.m., Friday, May 16. The ride costs $45 for adults and $25 for kids under age 18. There is a family package for $75 and a shorter ride to Weller Lake is available for $25 for adults and $15 for kids. For more information, go to independencepass.org/2025-ride-for-the-pass or you can call Kristen at 970-618-3309.

Long live independence. And the Pass.

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, and dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.” — Ed Abbey (If you know, you know.)