As the saying goes — You don’t get anything for free! That was true with my ride today. You rarely get a warm day in January without wind. Last weekend was one of those rare exceptions and it would have been really amazing if we were treated to the same conditions today.

No such luck. Oh well, I was going to ride anyway. It wasn’t snowing and it wasn’t cold (it had to be 50-60 degrees!) and the wind was fairly steady instead of gusty.  That, and after my fine ride yesterday morning with Blue Sky Velo at the velodrome I wanted to get outside and back into the fresh air. I also wanted to get in a nice recovery ride because yesterday was quite a workout. It is a bit harder to get a recovery ride in when the wind is forcing you to bear down. My approach was to limit my reaction to ‘rabbits’ and not take on any ‘Strava segments’ on my ride. I figured that would dial me back enough that I could call it a recovery ride. I also had a feeling that even if I wanted to ride hard, my legs wouldn’t let me.  They definitely were thinking recovery ride!

Check out the clouds - winds really messes with them!

As warm as it was, seemed funny to see ice on this pond.

The wind was mostly out of the west — with a little component out of either the north or south depending on the moment. It was most apparent when I would be struggling along at 10-12 mph and the riders coming the other way were FLYING! There were not very many other riders out today. I’d say that I saw fewer than 20 cyclists – and most of them seemed to be couples. I imagined that they started out before the winds picked up when it was warm and calm. There were also a few cyclists that looked pretty hardcore.  One competitive rider who I’ve seen out before caught  me as we rode up the Hog’s Back — he came out of nowhere really — and although he was working and breathing hard, he still passed by going a few mph faster than I was. I watched him open a gap and even if I’d tried, there was no staying with that guy.

Clear as a bell - Longs Peak was quite the sight.

On the home stretch of my ride — after I came off the Hog’s Back and started back south towards home — I rode with a couple who were from Boulder. They still had quite a ride in front of them and by this time the wind was actually getting worse. So, I took the front and I pulled them for a couple of miles . Then I dropped back — reminding myself that this was a recovery ride! They continued on and I spun the rest of the way home — well, as much as you can spin into cross/head wind!

Yup -- there really was a "stiff breeze" today!

Earlier than I would normally go since I help Beth feed the farm on weekends. Beth was agreeable to swapping though so she fed for me this morning and I’ll do a feeding by myself tonight or tomorrow. It was worth the hassle of rearranging chores and getting up early! I had a great time.

There were 11 of us by the end of the session as a couple cyclists came in part way thru the session. We started with a 20 minute warm-up made up of some unstructured riding and then some pace line riding and a 40 lap high-pace segment. I was plenty “warm” after that! There was one other woman there initially. Her name is Ellen and I met her a couple of years ago when I used to ride Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 6am (training for my cross country trip). She is a very talented rider, a year younger than me (and probably 30 lbs lighter!).  Ellen is the gal who holds the best one-lap time right now. She actually isn’t on the Blue Sky Velo racing team this year as she’s moved on to a more competitive team and one that is affiliated with the bike shop she uses.

The middle portion of the session was devoted to some competitive “pursuit” races and a ‘take a lap” drill. In the pursuit race,  one group of 5 riders started on the ‘red’ line, (lower on the slope – goes about 130m a lap)  and a second group of 5 riders started on the ‘blue’ line (higher up on the slope — covers about 140-150m each lap). The goal was for one team to catch the other. Of course, the ‘red line’ group should be able to catch the blue line group if all things are equal since they’re covering less ground each lap. I was in the  ’red’ line group the first race and although it took us a while, we did manage to catch the ‘blue’ line group. It was still a lot of work! The purpose of this drill is only partly physical. It is as much about becoming comfortable riding fast in a tight group and communicating effectively. Towards the very end of that first pursuit right as we caught the ‘blue’ line group, I heard a bit of a commotion behind me and Ellen yelling “STICK!” very forcefully. Once the pursuit was over and we were in the pit, I asked what had happened. Apparently, the rider behind me (Paul) had overlapped my wheel slightly and so moved up track to try to slow down. When he did that, the fellow behind him had to move as well and he (or both of them?) almost collided with the ‘blue’ line group. Thankfully, no one panicked and some good bike handling skills kept things it from being a major pile-up.

The ‘take-a-lap’ drill is one that you often see groups of riders do during open riding time. A pace line forms and once it is rolling merrily along at the blue line, the front rider shots off the front, drops down to the red line and sprints hard while the rest of the pace line continues at a moderate rate of speed. Within a lap or two the sprinting cyclist catches the tail of the pace line and joins on the back as the last rider. As they join, the next rider shots off the front and starts their sprint chasing the tail of the pace line. This continues until everyone gets bored with the idea…  We did it long enough that everyone “took a lap” three times.

I felt strong and when it was my turn to pull in pace lines I didn’t have any trouble holding the speed. Even when we rode fast in the ’sprinter’s lane’  I was able to hold the wheel in front of me and not be a liability. There was one time when Ellen yelled “Whoa” — letting the front know that the pace is too high to keep everyone together, and I backed it off a little too much. Live and learn. It didn’t result in any overlapping wheels or near-miss accidents — we just lost distance to the team we were chasing.

The two hours went by quickly. I checked the computer after we finished and I had gone around 388 times — that over 31 miles….in 130-15-m increments! My fastest time today was 9.520 (.002 faster than my previous best time). Ellen’s record is still a little below that — something to strive for!  I enjoyed the Blue Sky Velo group and asked Doug, the president, to send me the paperwork so I can join the club and start a new chapter in my cycling life.

Once I was riding, it was clear to me that I was NOT going to be cold. If anything, I might start to overheat a little. There was a slight wind out of the north and west — not so strong that I felt I was having to fight it, but enough that I was glad I had wind protection.

I headed north again. Since I missed out on getting a time riding up the face of the dam, I thought I’d head back out that way and try to keep my computer running this time! Within a half mile of leaving the house I started to see riders coming the other way. There was a steady stream of them. Large club groups as well as singleton and smaller groups of 2-4 riders. Mostly guys, but some women too. I bet I saw between 100-125 riders. Seems like everyone knew that today was the day to ride! And, since the conditions were so nice, everyone I came upon seemed to be enjoying themselves. I heard lots of chatting as the bigger groups went by and I exchanged greetings with everyone along the way. I just love the cycling community.

I even got passed by a group going the same direction as me! That is not all that common.

My route took me up behind the Hog’s Back and down to Hwy 34. I pushed on the approach to the Hog’s Back as I knew this was one of the segments but not as hard as I did the first time when I was trying to establish a ‘personal best’ time. Today, my target was the climb up the dam face, the “Creepy Cult Climb” on the way back and perhaps a shot at the climb up to Horsetooth Mountain Park trail head.

I’ve probably included shots like these before — these red rock cliffs are breathtaking. There is a ridge north of Hwy 34 and I almost always take a photo or two of them. The different light transforms them and every ride I see something new so feel compelled to capture it.

The climbs felt good — but I found that I had to take my Turtle Fur helmet liner and warm gloves off. I wore the glove liners to allow some heat to escape and at one point, I was riding with bare hands to keep from overheating. Those winter tights were certainly doing their job! I’ll have to remember that if I decide to commute into work this winter. I was still feeling fresh when I got to the base of the dam so decided to ride it with some real energy. Of course, it always looks easier and shorter as you approach it than it does when you’re half way up it! I dug deep, was sucking air and looking for the climb to end by the time I got near the crest. I forced myself to continue to power over the top instead of backing off as soon as things leveled out. I was just hoping my computer was recording this effort. It didn’t feel as strong as my first attempt, but I knew that it was a solid climb.

That's the dam climb -- looks more like telephone wires crossing the field.

After the dam climb, I decided that I would continue on and go for the climb out of Masonville up to the Horsetooth Mountain Park that overlooks the Horsetooth reservoir. That would make today’s ride my longest of the year — and longest in quite a while. But, I reminded myself how fortunate I was to have this great weather and that eventually (and probably sooner rather than later) winter WAS going to show up in Colorado! There were other riders on that climb as well. Since it was going to be work to get up that hill, I once again took off my helmet liner, my gloves and, this time, my wind jacket too! Truth be told, I probably could have taken off my super-duper winter tights too and just ridden up there in my cycling shorts! It really was a nice stretch and protected from the winds.

When I got up to the park, I used the facilities (hate to pass them up!) and chatted with a gal who was taking her dog for a hike.  I let myself dry off a bit, then put my layers back on and headed back down the hill. It was quite a bit nippier on the descent and I was glad for all my layers. By this time, I was starting to feel a little fatigued. I still had the Creepy Cult Climb ahead of me and the grade back up the Hog’s Back — both segments where I wanted to improve on my previous times. I managed to find the will to push up both those segments. There were two cyclists ahead of me right as I started up the Hog’s Back so that was all I needed as a spark on that one!  Unfortunately, they weren’t very strong riders and I overtook them in the first minute or so of the climb. It was enough to get the juices flowing and I was able to find a pace that was tough, but sustainable. Once I finished that stretch, I took it more leisurely the rest of the way.

All said and done, I rode a little over 45 miles and climbed 2,200′. Not shabby for the middle of January (on my sister Barbara’s birthday!) And, when I uploaded my data, I found that I have the second fastest time up the dam face (a.k.a. Loveland Reservoir Hill) at 2:58. The best time is held by Meredith Miller, a pro cyclist who is currently in Belgium competing at a cyclocross World Cup race! Watch out Meredith, I’m gunning for you now! 

There were riders EVERYWHERE!

While looking at the data for ride segments in my area, I saw there were a couple of climb segments just north of hwy 34 that I didn’t have times for yet. So, that was my goal — ride those segments and get some idea of where I stand on those. It is clear that I am now a “segment chaser.”

I started seeing other cyclists almost immediately and there was a steady stream of them the entire time I was out. There were a handful of women cyclists which was nice to see. One group that I saw was split into two smaller groups separated by a hundred yards or so. Each group must’ve had at least 20 riders in it! Looked like a club ride to me.

My first personal challenge of the day was staying ahead of a cyclist that was clearly a stronger rider than me. I had turned onto the east-west road from the south and the cyclist was in my rearview mirror the first time I checked. I swear, it is like someone flicks a switch inside me. The competitive juices flow — and I find myself elevating my cadence and pushing to stay in front and open the gap if possible. Initially, my efforts resulted in a bigger gap, but I think the other rider was on to my game. He closed the gap as we approached a quarter mile uphill grade. I upped the ante and dug a little deeper. This effort allowed me to keep the lead to the top, at which point the other rider came along side, said “How’s it going?” in a very sincere, pleasant voice (without even a hint of fatigue). I managed back a somewhat breathless, “Doing well, great day for a ride, eh?” He rode on and gradually out of sight.

The next leg of my ride was rather uneventful. I rode north again and headed for hwy 34 and the road up the face of the dam that is north of there. Funny thing was that as soon as I crossed hwy 34 the winds started to pick up. From nothing to 10-15 mph within a quarter miles time. Really bizzare. And, they didn’t let up. I rode with this wind coming out of the west the entire time I was north of the hwy. It made for slow going but I still enjoyed myself. I stopped and took pictures of the river — not sure, but it is probably is an off shoot from the Little Thompson river. Then I pushed myself  on the ‘dam’ climb — as this was one of the segments I had noted. I climbed it faster than I ever had and I got my heartrate up in the low 160s. Then, after I had crested the top of the climb, I noticed that my computer wasn’t running anymore…. I must’ve bumped it when I was taking pictures down by the river before the climb. So, all for nothing! Well, not really — it was still a great effort and a fun climb. No data to compare with other people’s attempt at that segment though. I guess I’ll have to come back and do it again!

I went past the Emissaries of the Devine Light’s “compound”. Always makes me curious when I ride past their buildings, church and agricultural property. I had to chuckle now — when I got home and was looking at the www.strava.com data, there was a segment that I had ridden named “Creepy Cult Climb”. That is a stretch that starts at the bottom of the hill north of the compound and climbs up to and in front of the main buildings. The person who named that segment sure had a sense of humor (and probably shares my curiosity).

Nothing else of note except that as soon as I was back on the south side of hwy 34 the winds let up. I rode home by way of the Hog’s back and clocked in with just over 35 miles. Not bad for the middle of winter!!!

The temperatures say one thing and the wind (and fore-casted winds) lead to a different answer. When we got up to feed the horses (we care for about 40 of them…) I dressed for winter. I had on my “Elmer Fudd” hat (fur lined, Klondike hat), a sweatshirt under my Carhart farm coat and lined gloves and boots. Before I even gave the first paddock of horses their breakfast it was clear to me that I had over-dressed. As I pulled wheel barrows of hay around the farm my mind started processing around whether to go for a ride on Pogo right from the farm or drive down to Boulder and ride at the Boulder Indoor Cycling velodrome. It was not a slam dunk either way. Temps that looked like they could soar into the 50s were in favor of riding outside near home but pesky wind gusts reminded me how nasty it can be riding in the winter when the gusts come up quickly and with a vengeance. I debated back and forth and never landed solidly on an answer.

Either way, I’d have to get my base layer riding clothes on – so I delayed the decision and got dressed instead. Once all the preparations to ride were complete I had to decide. My first decision was to ride outside but when I stepped out to validate my decision the wind was howling and visibly moving the trees in our backyard. Time for plan-B. Reluctantly, I loaded up my velodrome bag and headed out with plans to be there in time for the 10-11 am riding session. One aspect of riding at the velodrome that had me pretty excited was my new “MyLap.com” timing chip. I ordered it right before the new year and haven’t had a chance to get it installed yet. So, that was also on my velodrome agenda. My Fuji track bike is staying at the velodrome these days. They rent out spaces underneath the track where you can hang your track bike by the saddle over 1″x1″ bars. I’ll have to get a photo of the bikes — it’s pretty cool. Anyway, my thought is that if I only have to keep a gym back with helmet/shoes and bike clothes I can be more flexible about dropping in to ride. So far, that hasn’t happened, but I am still optimistic.

The staff helped my mount the timing chip on my front fork and then I hit the track. There was only one other rider there at 10am, a young fellow in a Blue Sky team racing kit. He introduced himself as Will and we warmed up together — setting a descent pace while still being able to carry on a conversation. He no longer rides for Blue Sky — switched to Rally Sport this year — but talked highly of the team. I shared with Will my desire to race this season and he thought Blue Sky would be a good match for an entry level racer like me. Shortly after we warmed up, Dale Stetina (of US Olympic and National team cycling fame) arrived and made it three.

Once we warmed up, I rode with Will and Dale in some lively pace lining but went my own way after about 10 minutes of that. I started to think about checking out my new timing chip. I found my own space on the track and I pushed the pace a little since this would be the first real data I’d have with respect to my lap speed. I pulled into the pit area and looked up my data on the computer screen. It seemed like all my laps were a little over 10 seconds. And, they were remarkably close but it seemed like I got just a little slower each lap. That puzzled me because I know I tried harder on a couple of them and expected to be able to pick them out of the list pretty easily. After scratching my head over this, I realized that I was reading down the “Time of Day” column instead of the “Lap Time” column — so yes, my times would reflect the clock time — about 10:30 am. Too funny. Once I found the right column, I could, in fact easily pick out the laps where I had exerted more. My lap times varied quite a bit — as I would expect. When I was riding “tempo”, my times seemed to be around 12-13 seconds per lap.

Ellen Laird holds the 50-54 year-old, women’s one-lap record at 9:48 so I had an idea what a good time would be. My goal today was to drop down into the sprinter’s lane a few times and see what times I could produce. I did the sprint laps in pairs. I rode out at about 75% for the first lap and then turned it up a notch on the second one. It is hard to say whether that second lap was 90%, 95% or ???. I do know that I went fast enough that I had a little trouble holding my line in the turns! Reviewing my heart rate data, I also see that my average ws 136 bpm and I hit a high of 167 bpm.  That represents a significant effort on my part. I rarely see heart rates that high when I’m out road-riding. Anyway, bottom line — I rode close to 225 laps today (in about an hour of riding time) and my fastest lap was in 9.552 seconds.

Kinda funny, I am the rabbit I’m chasing today! I’m anxious to go back again to see if I can improve on that. I’m also going to start looking at my average speed over the entire ride and probably look to improve the total number of laps that I can complete in a training session. Fun stuff — just when I thought I had every possible scrap of data I find a new source!

It still felt cold to me when I headed out. I almost wore my heavier cycling jacket but decided at the last minute that since it wasn’t going to be too windy, I’d start off “cool” and hope to warm up once I started exerting. I did wear my nylon balaclava though — my ears are less tolerant of the cold than other parts of my body are. My route today took me north (big surprise there, eh?…NOT!) . I stayed on CO-56 until the stop sign and then turned north and continued on the loop that takes me by the Overlook development. There is an awesome fountain at the entrance to this development that you’ve seen before – it is the Momma bear and cubs. Here’s a photo of them from today.

Normally you can see some of the Rocky Mountains in the background. Today I was lucky if I could see much of the Foothills! There was a storm moving in — no doubt about it.

I was surprised by the number of other riders I saw today. There were two larger groups that looked to be teams out for a training ride. You can see that the riders in this group are pretty bundled up too.

When I got to the ‘T’ at the Hog’s Back I took a short break at the stop sign before turning left and starting my climb home. As I waited there, I watched  a rider came from the right and proceed in the direction I was about to travel. He had a good 30 seconds on me by the time I turned onto the road and started off after him. Ahhh, I had a rabbit! The question was, would the rabbit head straight up the Hog’s Back or turn right and go up the more challenging back-side of Carter lake. I decided right then and there that I would follow either way. And, wouldn’t you know it — he turned up towards Carter lake.

It was a good time to put a stake in the ground as far as my climbing fitness. The back side of Carter lake is a long, steep climb that is difficult regardless of what shape you are in. I’ve actually come to enjoy the climb over the last several years. There was a time when I worried whether or not I’d have to walk, or do the paper-boy weave. I no longer worry about that. Now I see how hard I can push myself on the climb. I see whether or not I can close the gap between me and the rider(s) ahead of me. Today, I did manage to close the gap a little. Not much — but I rode it well and did not feel spent when I got to the top.

I got to see that Carter lake is still ‘open’. I didn’t see any ice at all on the surface which surprised me. That means that Beth and I may still be able to get some kayaking in. Time will tell…. Here’s a picture from the northwest corner of the lake. The water level is down, but that is expected at this time of the year.

This one is taken from the east side as I’m riding towards the dam. The shore in the distance is the south rim – that’s where we launch the kayaks.

I kept my rabbit in sight all the way back down to CO 56 where he turned left and I turned right. I was pretty much on my own after that — but I was only 3 miles from home so I didn’t need a rabbit to motivate me anymore! I could smell the barn!  I did pause and take a few more pictures — these gray days are so rare that  felt compelled to document today.

 It was still cold when I got home — actually colder than when I left. The hot shower felt wonderful.

I bet I hadn’t been home 30 minutes before it started to flurry. Looks like my weather website was pretty accurate today! Glad I checked it before heading out.

Looking forward to some sunshine on my next ride!

Actually, it was far from calm today and I had a special reason for saving up my energy. I signed up for a 2-hour “Race Certification” class at Boulder Indoor Cycling (a.k.a. BIC or the velodrome). This class is required for anyone participating in the BIC’s amateur race night. Guess what I want to try? If I can keep all my muscles from straining and my wits about me, I plan to race the second Friday in January. I’m not going to let the fact that it is Friday the 13th scare me off. I’ve always found this to be my lucky day!

The race class was all about covering things to keep you safe and confident in competitive situations. Most of us ride for fitness and fun — not for fame and fortune. As such, when we ride, other riders are generally going the same place we are at about the same pace. There is no real desire to get there faster or first. So, you could say it is very polite and cordial. On race day, I understand that changes. In a race, you still use all the track commands and communicate with other riders with ‘Stick’ and ‘Stay’ but you are definitely trying to beat them to the line.

Tonight we practiced pace-lining, sprinting in the sprinter’s lane (where else, really?) passing safely from the sprinter’s lane and taking 1/2 and 1/4 lap pulls. Then before we wrapped up, we tried standing starts from the rail and a few psuedo-race laps where three of us road and on command the second and third riders sprinted around the lead rider and were off to the finish. What a blast! I posted a new personal best top-end speed during one of those sprints. My previous best was 32.6 mph (back in March 2010) and required a lead-out by another stronger rider. Today I was just a tad faster at 32.7 mph — but there was no lead-out. I did it all myself.

No telling how I’ll do against the competition in a couple of weeks — one things for sure, it will be a good time!!

Here’s a picture I took a couple of days before Christmas. If you look closely — there is a rider at the blue line in the corner. His name is Bill, he works at Google with my friend Russ. Small world, eh? Bill and his family recently moved here from California where he raced on a larger track. I asked him what his top speeds are when racing and he said that he tops out at about 40 mph! OMG!

I dressed warmly and wore my Pearlizumi Barrier jacket as a top wind-proof layer. I also wore warm, winter-ish gloves. My lobster gloves when in my back pocket though just in case the winter-ish gloves ended up being over kill.  My feet were toasty in my winter shoes — boy were they a great investment last year!!!

Off I went on my “normal” route. I headed north and turned left after about 5 miles. I was warmed up by this point and the Barrier jacket and winter-ish gloves needed to come off. The problem with the jacket is that although it is a great wind and rain barrier, it does not breathe well (or at all?). It was definitely wet on the inside when I took it off. Beth Laber would tell me that this is why I get chilled so easily (and no doubt, she’d be right in this case!). I swapped out the heavy gloves for my lighter ones too. I was a bit chilled until my shirt(s) dried off and then I was quite comfortable.

There wasn’t much sun on this ride — gray clouds were forming as I left the house and they got thicker instead of thinner as I rode. By the time I was at the half way point in the ride, it was looking like it might snow! I didn’t speed down the hog’s back — just didn’t want to get too cold, so I took it leisurely and enjoyed the scenery. There were a few other cyclists out, but not many and those that were riding looked pretty serious. Most were decked out in fancy kits complete with stream-lined jackets. Very smart looking. And most looked wicked fit. I did see a small number of more pedestrian riders. I certainly fell into that category today. That is until I was about 6 miles from home and made a turn onto the long stretch of road that runs north-south in front of the Carter Lake turn-off. I noticed a rider turn onto the road right after I did. The switch flipped. I was no longer interested in a leisurely pace. No, I was interested in staying in front of that rider, whoever it was. It was not a conscience decision, I don’t remember flipping the switch. But the next thing I knew, it was ON! My pace increased until I was moving along at about 20 mph. It was a slight uphill grade but there was little or no wind — and I just continued to turn those pedals. It felt great. I checked  a few times and the rider got smaller and smaller in my rear  mirror. Either they weren’t interested in catching me, or they couldn’t.  By the time I turned at the fire house onto Cty Rd 23, I couldn’t see the rider at all. I continued my accelerated pace until I got home just the same. It no longer felt like winter — it felt like a nice, fall ride as I turned into our driveway.

Marsha and Sid never got a chance to have that conversation. Sid Johnson was struck and killed by a 20-year-old driving an SUV as he rode his bike home that afternoon.  In that instant, a family lost a beloved father, our company lost an awesome leader and many of us lost a friend and collegue. 

Sid was only 52 and making the most of his life when it was suddenly cut short. He will be remembered for his extrodinary contributions at work; his value-based leadership and his passion. His family was at the center of his world and I ache thinking of their loss and how they must now face every day from now on without him by their side. It just isn’t fair.

I will remember riding bicycles with Sid. He and his younger daughter, Kirstyn, rode with a group of us that was training for the Triple Bypass ride. We rode South St. Vrain Canyon together and up Loveland Pass. I smile thinking of the Loveland Pass ride — Sid was riding a nice, light-weight road bike and Kirstyn (probably a senior in high school or maybe a freshman in college) was on a hefty mountain bike. Sid couldn’t keep up with her and asked another friend, Randy, to keep an eye on her and ride with her up the pass. That was Sid — always watching out for his girls!

This photo of Sid was taken on Ride the Rockies — which he rode in  2009 with his younger daughter, Kirstyn.

Last year I got Sid to join a group of us at the Boulder Velodrome. I got to see the “I’m not so sure about this….” side of Sid that doesn’t show itself very often. Something about steeply sloped tracks that bring that out of a cyclist (myself included!). He swallowed hard though, pushed off and was riding the middle and upper parts of the track in no time. I feel fortunate to have shared cycling with Sid and look forward to riding with Kirstyn more in the future.

I know my Mom reads my posts — and I suspect she’s likely to feel more anxious about my riding now that she already was. Please don’t worry about me, Mom.  I think another important thing to take away from this day and that is — Sid was doing what he loved. He was living life to the fullest and without regrets.  I am like Sid that way. I love to ride, it is a big part of me. I do everything I can to be safe when I ride — but, there are not guarantees in life.  I know that.

Fall is a perfect time to ride in Colorado. No more sweltering heat, no bugs and, for the most part, fewer late afternoon thunderstorms. It was almost a little on the chilly side this afternoon when my co-worker from the Chicago area, Kurt, and I headed out to ride the Morgul-Bismarck route.

Kurt - started the ride with a smile that never left!

This is a familiar route to just about every local cyclist and many non-cyclists as well. This hilly 13 mile loop that culminates with a steep climb up McCaslin Boulevard that has a few short 12% grade sections was made famous as a stage of the Coors Classic bike race back in the 1980s. In those days, the pro cyclists did 8 laps of the Morgul-Bismarck as a circuit stage. For us, one lap was just about right!

We did park close to work (at the top of Sims) which added a couple of miles each way — but those four miles were pretty tame relatvie to the rest of the ride. I realized that I hadn’t ridden the entire loop in over 20 years! In many ways, nothing has changed in all that time — the roads are the same. No new spurs and the pavement is still in good shape. However, we rode by a huge shopping mall with a Super Target, Whole Foods (also referred to as Whole Paycheck)  and a COSTCO warehouse store at the outskirts of Superior that certainly were not there the last time I did the circuit!

Kurt in front as we headed out of Superior towards The Wall

Today’s ride was special in that Kurt and I have been trying to ride together all summer long. Every time it looked like we might both be in Denver and have time to ride something came up. Scheduling conflicts, a fall and subsequent hand surgery, too much work or bad weather. But today, everything came together. It almost got derailed when I had a last minute request to get something ready for delivery by the end of the day. I was still working on that as our original departure time came and went. It was another hour before I finally got things far enough along that I could hand it off to someone else to do the final verification and packaging.

Then it was off to Kurt’s hotel so he could get his changed and pick up his bike. He brought his all-purpose “Tricross” bike that reminded me more of my touring Trek 520 than Scooter-II. Kurt’s bike had a frame pump, a couple of computers (can’t say much about those since I usually have two as well), two large water bottles , a bike rack complete with a roomy rack bag. I think there might also have been a mini-fridge and a well-stocked pantry in that bag. My point is, Kurt did not have any equipment advantage today! He took on a tough route and had to work a lot harder than I did whenever we fought gravity — which was quite a bit, actually. He did a great job — and from his ever-present smile, I’d say he had a damn good time too! It was a pleasure to be his guide and companion today.

Clouds were all around us and it looked like it might be raining on either side of us. The route in front of us was fairly clear and it looked like we might be able to squeeze in the ride without getting wet. There was also a light breeze — which made it a bit chilly at first. Once we had a climb under our belts though, I didn’t feel chilled anymore. Kurt said he was still a little on the cool side. Better that then sweating to death though!  We both sucked air a bit at the start but found a comfortable pace and settled in as we rode the large rollers towards of Hwy 128 towards Hwy 93. Once at Hwy 93, we climbed a very short hill and then enjoyed a long, fast descent to the Marshall/Eldorado Springs traffic signal. Of course, we were right in the middle of rush hour so had a fair amount of traffic to deal with on the descent. I went first and enjoyed a traffic-free descent as Kurt was behind me holding back the line of cars! Thanks, Kurt.

It’s amazing how things changed as soon as we turned off of Hwy 93 and headed east towards Superior. Kurt and I both enjoyed the gentle upward trend of the road as it paralelled the open space mountain bike route along the hillside. After the ascent we rode next to CO 36 for a short time — that was louder than I remembered. Then we went past the shopping mall and finally made our way to McCaslin Blvd. After turning right, we were officially on our approach to The Wall. There is a short, rather steep climb right out of Superior that never gets mentioned but didn’t go unnoticed by either of us. Of course, I think Kurt was starting to think about what lay ahead. Not far now….

Piece of cake! Kurt cruises to the top of The Wall.

One more little downhill to catch your breath and recover…. then, the traffic circle and the start of the ascent. Just a slight slope at first, then as you turn the corner you can see the ribbon of road wind up … and up…. and up. You can’t actually see where it tops out when you start climbing. But as you crawl up the face of The Wall you can see a steep (as if it isn’t ALL steep!) section right before the top. UGH! It is a great climb! And Kurt conquered it without any problems. I can’t wait to see what he does next time when he brings his other bike and leave the mini-fridge and pantry at home!

Taken on my way home from our ride….great ending to a perfect ride!