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

Granite Gears

Day: 216
Horsetooth Mountain Park
Time: 2:20:00
Distance: 17.0 miles
Terrain: Singletrack

We followed up a day of climbing and hiking with a day of biking. The venue was Horsetooth Mountain Park, just west of Fort Collins. Every time we ride here we wonder why we didn’t ride it more in the past. I guess we’re a little more free from a day to day routine and that “let’s just get in a ride” mentality.
The ride started with a gut busting climb to Horsetooth Rock and there were no speed records set on the way to the top. We stopped for a moment to take in the fantastic views before rolling into an exciting downhill singletrack. In this case, exciting takes on two meanings. The trail was both thrilling and scary. The scary part entails the chunks of granite found at various places along the route. For those of you who have ridden through this type of landscape you know that a fall can tear you to shreds.
And now for the geology lesson…
Granite is an igneous rock that was formed far below the earth’s surface. Due to the depth it cooled very slowly and the rock formed with very large crystals. As the Rocky Mountains were formed (during a geologic event called the Laramide Orogeny), the granite formations were forced up and eroded down into what we see today. Chris was unlucky enough to examine one particular outcrop of the pink rocks up close during the ride. Those same crystals we discussed earlier did a number on his knee and he quickly remembered that it’s more important to look at what your tire is rolling over rather than the signs ahead.
We finished our ride by checking out the new bike skills park at Spring Canyon. We made a couple laps around the perimeter to check out the catwalks and teeter-totters. Don’t worry, Chris wasn’t allowed to try anything…
Keep the rubber side down,
LK

Extracurricular Activities

Day: 215
Grey Rock
Time: All Day

We often would talk while we traveled about all the things that we like to do, but were unable to since we only had bicycles and four bags.
Today we took part in one of our favorite pastimes…Climbing. Leslie, Chris S, and myself all headed up the Poudre Canyon to take a little trip up to Grey Rock. The area is about a 2 mile hike off of the Poudre River. Grey Rock is a large granite mountain that contains hundreds of rock climbing routes. We decided to do a 5.7, 4 pitch climb called Barfy’s Favorite. Chris and I climbed while Leslie scrambled around and took pictures. The climb was nice and straight forward (by Grey Rock standards) and took Chris and I about 2 hours. We met Leslie at the top and quickly scrambled off and headed back to our packs. Towards the bottom we began to discuss the Michael Jackson album ‘Thriller’. Chris wasn’t so sure that it was that great of an album so Leslie and I started listing the songs we remembered and began singing the lyrics to Billie Jean.

She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene
I said don’t mind, but what do you mean I am the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round
She said I am the one who will dance on the floor in the round
2nd verse
She told me her name was billie jean, as she caused a scene
Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round

For full lyrics click here:
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/michael+jackson/billie+jean_20092703.html

We were about back to our packs when we heard a climber above us belting out the lyrics to the song we were discussing. He did quite well with the lyrics, and even though he probably wasn’t born when the album came out, he was passionate.
We made it back to the car with out incident and promptly went to the climb shop to replace the gear that we lost on the climb today. We usually don’t lose gear like that, but today was just one of those days. A couple of stoppers and a carabiner is a small price to pay for a great day out.
CK