June 2, 2014

6/2/14 - Aurora to Castle Rock - 27 miles

Started a 2-3 week bike ride within the state of Colorado today. This ride is quite different than my previous two rides (2012 cross-country and 2013 "Tour of the Leaves" from Minneapolis to Bar Harbor). Mostly because I had a hard time discerning a route. I chose Colorado for two reasons. First, I did not want to ride across the Southern Tier because of the summer heat and/or long flat stretches of limited scenery. Second, I had originally planned to ride through Colorado in 2012 as part of the cross-country ride, but altered that plan due to the wild fires as I approached from Wyoming, and because I met the guys from Arizona and started riding with them to South Dakota. So, I wanted to see the scenery from a biking perspective. I also have a number of friends who live in Colorado and thought it would be fun if the opportunity arose to see them during the ride. 

The selection of a route ultimately hinged on my riding companion for this trip. LaDonna is a friend from Georgia that I met almost 40 years ago at a basketball camp in South Carolina where I grew up. We were good friends our senior year in high school, then I left for Texas to play basketball for Jody Conradt. As life often happens, we eventually lost contact for over 35 years until I received an email during the 2012 cross-country ride via the Truth Be Told website from Ladonna. Apparently she had stumbled on my bike ride journal and was following along. Since that time, we have re-connected and she indicated that she would be interested in learning more about bike touring. So, I told her I would do a ride with her. This Colorado ride is the result. The choice of a route was difficult because, although LaDonna is in good general physical condition (she hiked the 500 mile El Camino Santiago across Spain last summer), she has never done much bike riding and certainly not in mountains. To make a long story short, my friend Dawne suggested we start from her home in Aurora near Denver and ride along the Front Range that parallels the mountains. That way, we could avoid some of the more steep mountain inclines and still enjoy the scenery. 

So, we started the ride on Monday from Aurora headed south towards Colorado Springs, then Pueblo. We have to play it somewhat by ear because the route is not great for biking and requires some flexibility on our part. Also, LaDonna is still getting used to the whole biking thing and how she adjusts will determine in some part where the route eventually takes us. 

We left Dawne's at approximately 11:30 am and started on a bike trail called the Cherry Creek Greenbelt Trail. This was a very poorly marked trail, but gave us a chance to get our biking legs under us and address the initial biking issues that always arise the first day or two as you are settling in. I especially wanted to start off the highway if possible to give LaDonna a chance to settle in on her bike. The weather was perfect - low 80's and clear blue skies with very little wind. The trail ran alongside grassy meadows, and occasionally alongside a stream where happy dogs frolicked with their owners. Snow-capped mountains framed the distant horizon.  The perfect way to start the ride. 

Although the Cherry Creek Trail supposedly runs all the way to Frankton - approximately 20 miles south - I was unable to locate any really good map information from the nearby bike shops and the people at the shops did not seem too familiar with the trail, and most had ridden on Highway 63. So, I decided to opt for Highway 63 after approximately  5 miles. The shoulder was fine for most of the ride, but the traffic was heavier than I would have preferred. Still, we biked along with little problem and only an occasional headwind or two for brief moments. At Frankton, we headed east the final 7 miles to Castle Rock, our destination for the night. This was a lovely ride through rolling hills and a couple of very challenging winding inclines. Perfect for preparing for the upcoming rides the next couple of days. We arrived in Castle Rock at around 4 pm. After a good dinner (completed by a free piece of apple pie a la mode) we called it an early night.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we plan to ride approximately 48 miles to Colorado Springs. We think that we have identified a couple of off road bike trails to take most of the way. The obvious advantage if these work out is that it is off road. But these rails to trails are often flatter and less hilly. We will have to see. 

June 3, 2014

6/3/14 - Castle Rock to Colorado Springs - 48 miles

Another perfect day for riding. Clear blue skies with a forecast for the 80's. We started the ride on the Plum Creek Parkway trail for a few miles until we accessed the feeder road along I-25 for approximately 5 miles. At one point a train came up alongside and the conductor stuck out his head and waved at us with a big smile. The train continued along at a slow pace for several miles. 

We turned west on Tomahawk Road for another 4 miles of almost all incline. This was a fairly strenuous  climb, but we were rewarded with stunning views and a long exhilarating downhill coast of several miles that ended at Co Rd 105, which we road for a good 14 miles. This part of the ride had a lot of slow gradual inclines and occasional wind gusts. Traffic was far lighter than yesterday and the road was in good condition, but not much of a shoulder. We saw several road bikers out for their daily rides. At one point as I was waiting on the side if the road for LaDonna to catch up, I turned around to look for her and to my shock, delight and fear saw this huge black bear crossing the road approximately 50 yards behind me. He was gorgeous! A beautiful thick coat and confident attitude. My initial thought was to pull out my camera, quickly followed by the realization that I better plan my escape if he decided to turn in my direction and come my way. Before I could fully realize my fear, he pretty much ignored me and continued lumbering off the road and into the forest. It was a magnificent moment. I realized that just up ahead on the side of the road was a sign for Bear Trail Ranch. That made me laugh.

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At about the 24 mile mark, we came upon the New Santa Fe Regional Trail. This was a crushed gravel trail that ran for almost 20 miles until it intersects with the Pikes Peak Greenway Trail for the final 5-6 miles into Colorado Springs. It was nice to get off the roads, but we had to pay attention for places where there was a lot of loose gravel susceptible to slipping. Beautiful views of Pikes Peak in the distance. I found that I had to drink a lot of water, and it did get quite hot.  After a while, the constant vigilance to avoid loose gravel took its toll and I was feeling pretty tired. At one point, we stopped at a rest hut for a break. A man came up on his bike and told us he had ridden from west coast to Bar Harbor a number of years ago. I, of course, shared my most rides with him. 

The trail entered the Air Force Academy property, and the trail became increasingly more challenging as it went up and down several steep gravel hills. The scenery was varied and interesting when you could afford to look away from the trail long enough to see. We passed a man walking the trail that warned us he had seen two 40 pound bear cubs in a field just around the next bend, but no Mom. This must be bear theme day. 

By the time we reached Colorado Springs around 4 pm, I think we were both pretty exhausted. We stopped at a bike shop for maps, directions and motel recommendations. We headed for the recommended motel, located several blocks from downtown, and checked in. There were a number of, shall we say, interesting looking characters staying there, and I probably would not

have stayed there had I been on my own. However, because we were tired and I didn't feel like riding around to look for wi-fi to search out other accommodations we just checked in. After a great shower and feeling somewhat renewed, found a Wendy's nearby - love their apple pecan salads - and had an early dinner. Also learned some very useful information. Wendy's has a free smaller size Frosty for seniors.

Tomorrow we plan 35-50 miles along scenic byway 115 towards Florence and/or Canon City.  This hooks up with the Adventure Cycling TRANSAMERICA route at highway 50. Keeping in mind the forecast for rain this weekend.