June 14, 2014

REAL LAST DAY OF RIDE!! WE MADE IT!!

6/14/14 Castle Rock to Aurora - 26 miles

My apology - I mistakenly titled yesterday's ride the last day. Actually, todays's 26 mile ride back to Dawne's house was the real last leg of the trip. And the only way to describe it is "magical." I decided to try a new route back to Aurora, following the Cherry Creek Regional Trail. I read about this trail at the outset of planning before we left Dawne's to begin the ride two weeks ago.  It was described as a 40 mile paved trail from Denver to Frankton. However, when I inquired at two bike stores in Aurora before beginning the ride, none of the people at either store seemed to have heard of the trail and did not have any maps. This did not seem to bode well, so I decided to ride the first part of the trail that ran through the state park across the street from Dawne's condo, then pick up Hwy 83 south before heading over to Castle Rock. As you may recall, this was a pretty high traffic route. Had I known what I know now, we would have taken the Cherry Creek Regional Trail the first day. But I am getting a little ahead of myself.

We took our time getting off this morning since we only had a 26 mile ride to Aurora on the last leg of the Colorado bike ride. Another beautiful bright blue sky and perfect temperatures. A few gusty winds, but mostly of the cross-wind variety as opposed to direct headwinds. Our route took us north of Castle Rock on Founders Parkway, and there were a few gradual inclines to warm up the legs. Soon, we were on N. Crowfoot Valley Rd for several miles. Wide broad shoulders and lots of bikers out for their Saturday morning ride. Along the side of the road we saw many prairie dogs perched on their dirt mounds, chirping away. They were so cute. I never could get my camera out to take a close enough picture before they darted into their mounds. Also a lot of healthy looking horses grazing in pastures and lush green fields. Just a perfect start to the day.

After about 10-11 miles, we got on the Cherry Creek Regional Trail. What a totally unexpected and delightful gift, i.e. grace.  A beautifully paved concrete trail that wound in and out behind neighborhoods, along the creek, and through fields of wildflowers and green plants. Lots of other bikers and walkers on the trail enjoying their Saturday morning. It was quite breezy, but that just seemed to enhance the winding cruise-like feel of the ride. A few people  stopped to ask about  our ride. The feeling was one of unencumbered freedom and pure joy. A fitting blessing to end the trip. Birds perched in trees and on posts alongside the trail and chirped. There were many benches and picnic tables along the way for rest stops. 

Approximately 6 miles from Cherry Creek State Park, the trail was closed for a few miles - probably due to being washed out in parts - and we were re-routed through some lovely neighborhoods. Eventually, we found our way back to the trail proper, and began to recognize some of the places we had biked past on the first day of the trip. We never had to get back on the main busy road, and at approximately 12:45 pm we found ourselves at the entrance to Dawne's condo complex. Happy and grateful for a stunning day to end the Colorado bike ride; sad it was over. 

Spent the remainder of the afternoon unpacking, washing clothes, and re-packing. Dark clouds gathered, and it rained and even hailed for a while. Another weather miracle, since it was perfectly clear up until we reached Aurora. When Dawne got home from work, we had a great time sharing the details of the ride. Dawne is a wonderful cook and fixed a terrific meal of grilled barbecue pork chops, corn on the cob and a delightful summer salad full of veggies. For dessert, LaDonna was in charge of putting together the strawberry/blueberry shortcake with Bluebell homemade vanilla ice cream. We were all happily done in by 9 pm.