RECAP: May 28th Deer Creek/High grade

Did we have a great ride on Saturday or what?  Our ride started out with some phenomenal weather, temps were in the mid 60's with a lite breeze.  We had a good size group of 9 riders for this new adventure to Deer Creek.

Things started off with a nice warm up to the CC Res. were we ran into the Intermediate group on their way into CC park.  We headed straight through the DTC to Happy Canyon and then on to Dartmouth.  From there we headed south on the Platte trail were half way to Chatfield Ken got a flat.  After a quick change we were back on the road and riding through Chatfield State park.  This is where the fun really started to begin...  we started our climb up Deer Creek and every one was finding their own pace up the mountain.  We had a quick regroup as we turned up High Grade where Eric ended up getting a flat after jinxing himself early when Ken had his flat.  After an amazing climb and gazing at some beautiful scenery we made it to the top of High Grade and had some refreshments, caught our breath and discussed how our individual climbs went.  After we had refilled our water bottles and had a bite to eat it was time to return home.

The top of High Grade.

We rode an out and back but we ended up loosing a few riders because some wanted to ride a little further such as Eric, Mike and Dave.  Jan did the descent with us but then went his separate way to meet his wife.  After a very fast trip down where Ken was just screaming we all decided we need some more fuel other than GU's and Chomps that most of us had brought with us so we stopped at our usual gas station to fill up some more.  I'm glad we did because we all needed the calories for our ride back to the shop.  We had a slight head wind riding back up the Platte trail but Ken did a great job pacing us back to Dartmouth.  Our legs were really starting to feel it so instead of going back through the DTC we cruised down Yale to save some time and miles.  By the time we arrived back at the shop we had logged 73 miles.  Every one rode really well and we enjoyed a little ride recap back at the shop with the remaining riders.

Thanks for a great ride guys!  I had a blast and we will definitely be doing that one again.

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Advanced Ride: Deer Creek by edge705cb at Garmin Connect - Details

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Advanced Ride May 28th: Deer Creek

This week we will be venturing some where new and will head out to Deer Creek Canyon.  This will be another first for us which will be exciting.  I've never been out there myself so I may have to depend of some of you for some direction...  According to MapMyRide if we leave from the shop go down Happy Canyon to Dartmouth then to the S. Platte trail past Chatfield and up Deer Creek to the top of High Grade it should be around 67 miles round trip. 

The weather isn't looking too bad with a high of 64 degrees and partly cloudy skies.  Should make for a nice day.  Make sure to eat your Wheaties cause there will be some good climbing!  See you guys Saturday... :)

RECAP: May 21st Triangle of Death

This weekends ride was quite a change from last week's cold temperatures.  The weather was absolutely perfect except for the little bit of head wind we had for some of the ride.  We had a small group of 5 riders today that were willing to test them selves on the "Triangle of Death."  The route took from the shop to Inspiration, down to Chatfield then up to REI and finally back to the shop.

Our adventure started out with a ride through CC Res. then to Potomac and on to Broncos Parkway.  From there we entered Chanango and enjoyed a nice little climbing through some residential areas.  After a speedy descent down Inspiration we hopped on the 470 trail and headed west towards Chatfield.  Here we encountered a little bit of a head wind but it wasn't too bad compared to what we've had to deal with on previous occasions.  Solomon helped pull and set the pace for a little while which was appreciated so I could have a bit of a break.

Tom and Solomon cruising down Broncos Pkwy

We took a break at our usual gas station where we shared some stories and a few laughs with one another.  After a little R&R we remounted our bikes and proceeded to ride to the S. Platte trail.  Once again we ran into a head wind all the way up to REI.  The trail was quite busy with families out riding and other cyclists enjoying the beautiful weather after the week long rain spell we had.  We reached REI and took one last break and did a little people watching and shared some more stories while getting re-hydrated and having some snacks.

After this last break we had a relaxing trip down the CC trail that was pretty busy with other cyclist, runners and walkers.  After clearing downtown we bumped up the pace a little and cruised back to the shop.  All things said and done we had put in 67 miles on this beautiful day.  My legs were a little sore but it was a good feeling and we had a great ride and hopefully the weather will continue to improve from here on out.

Thanks for a great ride guys and I look forward to seeing you all next Saturday.

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Advanced Ride Triangle of Death by edge705cb at Garmin Connect - Details

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Advanced Ride May 21st: Triangle of Death

This week we will visit the "Triangle of Death" once again but for the first time this year.  It will be the same route as usual, we will start from the shop at 9:30 and head to Inspiration then take the 470 trail to Chatfield and from Chatfield we will take the S. Platte trail up to REI.  Finally we will take the Cherry Creek trail and just cruise back to the shop.  Mileage for this route the last two times we've done it have been 67 & 72 miles so you can figure some where in between that.  Ride time of 4 hrs.

RECAP: May 14th Golden/Look Out

Well this wasn't one of our best trips out to Golden that we've had.  The weather was pretty cold and damp with a lot of moisture in the air.  It seemed that the damp weather really had an affect on every ones riding, because none of us felt very good.
Things started with a nice ride down the CC trail and then to 23rd like usual.  After we turned on 26th Ken ended up with a flat which we repaired in not time and we back on the road because we were all starting to cool down fast.  On our way out to Golden Jan informed me that Look Out may be closed due to construction.  Once we reached the Sinclar gas station in Golden we agreed that if the road was closed that we would head back, but if it was open we'd climb it.  Well it was open so we did climb Look Out and to our delight they had started to repave the surface and wow it was like glass!  New asphalt is so nice to ride on...  any way as we made our way up in elevation the weather deteriorated the higher and higher we went.  By the time we reached the top there was a light mist/rain falling and it was very cold.  We all decided to just turn around there and not continue down the back side like we had done in the past because we wanted to avoid the incoming rain.  That descent was super cold, my upper body was so cold and I was shivering so bad that it was making my handle bars shake.  We took it pretty slow on the way down for numerous reasons such as our rims were wet so breaking wouldn't be that good, new oily asphalt and the visibility wasn't that great as well.
Every one made it down safely and we had a nice fast ride back to the shop.  Ken had some really great pulls on the way out and back that was a huge help.  After coming down from Look Out it almost felt warm and we were starting to thaw out.  The last couple of miles were pretty painful as my legs were fairly lactic and was hanging on to the thought of getting back to the nice warm shop.  It was a tough day and I was glad it was over.   I didn't take any pics this time because it was too cold to do so.

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Advanced Ride Golden/Look Out Mtn. by edge705cb at Garmin Connect - Details

Sorry my battery died on the way back so I didn't record the whole ride.  :(

Advanced Ride May 14th: Golden/Look Out

This week we will once again head out to Golden and then ride up Look Out weather permitting.  Last time we did this ride we put in 65 miles and a ride time of a little over 3.5 hrs.  The weather doesn't look like it will be that nice so come prepared for some cold riding temps.

RECAP: May 7th TT/Inspiration

This day could not have been any nicer, sunny skies temps in the high 70's and absolutely no wind.  It's what I would consider perfect riding weather.  We had a small group of 6 of us which worked out really well for our TT  as we were able to get through every one quickly.  Following our TT we rode Inspiration.

Our journey started off by riding to the top of the CC dam and then instead of riding through the park we rode straight down Jordan.  Crossing Arapahoe we meandered our way to the Meridian where we rode to reconnaissance laps so we could get an idea of the terrain and plan our particular sprint.  

Mike started things off with the best time of the day with the rest of us falling behind. Place and times are listed below.  I have to say it was a lot of fun and some thing very different from what we've ever done before.  I'm not sure if it was the hard effort that we put in or that there was a tree that was blooming and there was a lot of pollen in the air but after our lap we were all hacking and coughing.  

We left the Meridian and headed east on the 470 trail and stopped off for our break at the gas station on the corner of Parker & Cottonwood.  Continuing on to Inspiration we enjoyed the nice climb and rollers that followed.  Riding back down Jordan we hooked up with a guy on a TT bike so we rode his wheel for awhile and then took turns leading as we made our way through the CC park.  The wind did pick up a little bit but overall it was a great day and some fun riding.  

1st Mike 5:34:2

2nd Chris 5:42:3

3rd Ben 5:44:2

4th Ken 5:50:9

5th Tom 5:51:5

6th Eric 5:55:2

Stay tuned...

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Advanced Ride Meridian TT/Inspiration by edge705cb at Garmin Connect - Details

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Advanced Ride May 7th: TT @ Meridian/Inspiration

Hi guys so this weekend we will have a first, a BV time trial.  We will have a nice easy ride out to the Meridian where we'll do at least one reconnaissance lap for those of you who haven't been out there before and then we will have a time trial around the loop.  This will be an all out sprint against the clock around this 2.5 mile loop.  We will do this again towards the end of the season so people can hopefully some concrete info on their improvement through out the season.
Following the TT we will head down the 470 trail and ride Inspiration.

RECAP: April 30th Chatfield/Titan Rd.

Wow, what a ride we had on Saturday.  It was a small group of 6 of us (Solomon, Ben, Jan, Eric, Justin and myself) to start this ride.  Cold temps, cloudy skies and wind were the theme of the day.  Our adventure started by going through the CC Res, which lead us to Jordan Rd were we were treated to a really nice tailwind (the only one of the day) that allowed us to cruise at about 26-28mph the whole way down Jordan to the 470 trail.  That is where we lost Justin because he had some things to take care of in the early afternoon.  From there we headed west down the 470 trail towards Chatfield.  We ended up loosing Ben as well because he didn't have his legs, (sorry Ben, it happens to all of us some times) so now we were down to 4 of us.  We had made it to Chatfield and were blessed with a little sunshine for the first time of the day.  We had a blast riding around Chatfield and we were really pushing the pace as much as we could.  After a leg burning trip around the res. we had a quick jaunt down Titan Rd. to the Safeway gas station were we took a much needed break.

By the time we remounted our bikes the weather had clouded up once again and the temps seemed to drop and we saw what we thought was rain/snow falling towards home.  We had a really hard trip down Wadesworth due to the gusty winds and our energy sapped legs.  After re-entering the park we headed north on the S. Platte trail which is always a great ride and then headed east on Dartmouth.  Our final few miles were ridden on Yale as it is a little quicker and easier than heading back through the DTC.  After all was said and done we had covered 65 grueling miles with an average speed of 18.2 mph.  Solomon helped pull for some of the first half of the ride while Eric and Jan helped for a little on the second half.  Hopefully this weekend will bring warmer temps and sunny skies for us.  Thanks for a great ride guys and I look forward to seeing you all again this coming Saturday.

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Advanced Ride Chatfield/Titan Rd. by edge705cb at Garmin Connect - Details

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