This route is brought to you by Sharon Madison and John Genell of We Ride 4.
We Ride 4 is community of cyclists and a non-profit whose mission is to give more kids and individuals who otherwise may not be able to ride a chance to experience healthier lifestyles by engaging them in outdoor fun. They have successfully build an interconnected community between members, sponsors, partners and the non-profits they support.
They offer members weekly rides, participation in cycling events and social gatherings throughout the year.
We Ride 4 is also an Ambassador for RWGPS. This route was originally published on their ambassador page where you can also find several more excellent routes (including two more routes from Gateway)!
I've mapped several hundred routes in Colorado and I would put this one in my top 5 most scenic gravel routes!! For the entire route, you will have breathtaking views of the beautiful Dolores River which is framed by dramatic red cliffs of Wingate Sandstone.
Seriously, no matter which direction you look anywhere on the route, the scenery is absolutely amazing! Especially notable is:
- The view of the Palisade rock formation which, at just over 7,000 feet, rises more than 2,000 above the small community of Gateway, CO. (On your way out of the resort just as you turn onto 4 1/10 Road, look to your right!)
- At mile 8.5 and 17.8, there is a photo-worthy, panoramic view of the Dolores River.
This area is fairly remote, so you'll have little to no car traffic and lots of peaceful moments where you feel like you are out there all alone.
This route crosses the Utah border and is an extremely easy route to follow. Once you get onto 4 1/10 Road, there really aren’t any other roads in the area so you can’t get lost. When you get to the end of the road at the Fisher Creek (Approximately mile 13), turn around and follow the road back to the start.
There are no services of any kind along this route. Since there is nowhere to refill water bottles, bring as much as you need or pack a water filter. (We rode it on a hot July day with 2 bottles. My 2nd bottle was almost empty when we finished.)
Do this ride if you like smooth gravel, great scenery and the feeling of being alone in a gorgeous canyon.
This route starts from the trailhead parking area at the Gateway Canyon Resort & Spa.
The Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa is a perfect jumping off point and great place to stay for exploring this area. They have a good restaurant and nice little cafe for pre or post ride food.
There is little else in Gateway except a General Store/Gas Station. Plan to pack all the food and water you will need for the entire ride.
Sharon Madison & John Genell
Sharon Madison & John Genell are the founders of We Ride 4.
Sharon:
Early on in her childhood, Sharon figured out her mind was a powerful engine if she fed it with the right words and actions. Her approach paid off! In her early adult years, she started in retail, finding herself being promoted as one of the youngest store managers at the Ralph Lauren shop in Cherry Creek. When she took up bike racing and put in the hard work it took, she became a top competitor. Because of her actions and thoughts that “she’s got this,” she found herself the winner of 2 gold medals at the Maccabi Games in Israel in 2013 and the Colorado Road Race State champion in 2014. Her positive energy caught the eye of a nonprofit wanting someone to build up the cycling club arm of their organization. Sharon took on the challenge and created a thriving community of cyclists who followed Sharon’s lead in supporting each other with their goals.
Not only does Sharon harness her thoughts and actions to make “it happen,” but she also knows how to “turn lemons into lemonade” when everyday life throws her curveballs. The pandemic caused the nonprofit to shut down her 6-year efforts of building up the cycling arm, where she put her whole heart and soul into its development. Yes, she was crushed by its closing, but her lemonade-making skills were put to the test—best lemonade yet, because she was determined to create a new nonprofit that would be even more robust than the previous one. We Ride 4 was born end of April 2020, where she is the Executive Director. She made sure to make her new nonprofit serve dual purposes: to build wonderful camaraderie amongst the membership, but, just as importantly, to have the organization give back to the larger community by riding for a local nonprofit supporting kids’ healthy lifestyles by getting them involved in outdoor fun. A round of applause for Sharon’s success with making We Ride 4 a reality!
John:
Along with Sharon Madison, John is one of the founders of We Ride 4 and is principally involved in developing and executing its long-term strategic initiatives. He is a senior executive with over 35 years of business experience. Prior to co-founding We Ride 4; he spent the last 11 years of his career as the market sales leader for Grant Thornton in the Desert and Mountain States Region. He also has over 10 years of experience in Management Consulting working with Fortune 100 C-Level executives developing strategic business and technology solutions for their global operations.
He has a B.S. in Accounting from Villanova University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
To many members of the We Ride 4 community, he’s known as the Chief Ambassador. To others, he’s known as Juan Jose Gigante, international roadie, gravel rider, and route mapper. To those that don’t know him very well, he’s often mistakenly referred to as Mr. Madison, Sharon’s plus one. For We Ride 4, he’s a ride leader, brand ambassador, strategic advisor, and curator to our operating model. For him, it’s not how far you ride, or how fast you rode it, but how many people join him for ice cream afterward.
When he’s not dreaming up routes for our 3-day events in Colorado every Summer, you can visit him at his house in Tucson between the first and the last snowstorms in Colorado every Winter and he’ll show you all the best road and gravel routes in Southern Arizona while helping to grow the We Ride 4 Tucson chapter.
