Day 217 Fort Collins to Golden

Time: 6:17:19
Distance: 71.5 miles
Avg Speed: 11.0 mph
Terrain: Rolling

I can’t really think of a title for the blog today. There was just so much that went on. We rolled out of Ft. Collins about 6:30 this morning and quickly got under way heading south. We did take a quick pit stop to get a battery for Leslie’s cycling computer so we could share our stats. We made it Loveland during the start of rush hour and quickly worked our way to some quieter country lanes. At about 8:00 am we caught a glimpse of a silver streak over our left shoulders. The streak turned out to be our friend Diane armed with a couple of coffees. She was so good, she had even ordered them extra hot so they were still hot when we got them. We chatted on the roadside for a little while, took a couple of pictures and then went our separate ways. It was a great surprise and really made our day. Leslie and I figured out how to put the cups in our water bottle cages so we could ride and sip at the same time.
Further south we drifted into Boulder County and were immediately aware of it by all the road cyclists keeping the highways hot. We usually wave to fellow cyclists and usually get a smile, nod or wave in return. The cyclists from Boulder are above that. I bet we were 50/50 on being acknowledged and being ignored. I would bet we saw 100 cyclists. Leslie finally got fed up with all the smugness and would wave really big and smile at other cyclists. She was finally able to crack a shell on those lucky enough to encounter her. It all reminded me of a South Park episode where several characters become so smug that the only thing good enough for them is the smell of their own farts. That was our welcome to Boulder. We stopped for a couple of sandwiches and got out of town riding past the always impressive Flatirons and Eldorado Canyon.
The ride on into Golden was nice with a little tail wind in parts and not crazy amounts of traffic. We both got to Golden and decided that we were probably cooked for the day and called in the Calvary. Leslie’s dad was kind enough to come get us and haul us the rest of the way home.
CK