Busy Weekend

I did a bunch of stuff today:  went for coffee, dug up and transplanted half a dozen saplings (from front yard to back), figured out a bike build for a gal, began reassembly of a mtb refurbish and met with D. Funk about the ti bike.

Yesterday, I did this:

Brad and I drove down to Parker, and took off on a ride that he had mapped out.  We wanted to get as much dirt road under our wheels as possible.  So we headed south, down the Cherry Creek Trail.

Scott Road was a lot drier than the last time I went through there, in February.

We followed the trail down to Highway 86, and then headed up the road into Castlewood Canyon State Park.

The road turns to dirt, soon after you enter the park...

and there is a bit of climbing involved.  Eventually, though, it pays off with a pretty awesome view:

 Castlewood Dam burst in 1933, and a 15 feet tall wall of water swept through Denver, causing millions of dollars in damage.  The ruins are pretty impressive.

Back on pavement, for a spell, then the road headed for the sky.

The view from the ribcage of an unfortunate deer (antelope?) in a ditch alongside the road.

Brad brought along some tasty home-made energy bars.

Properly refreshed after our stop, we continued on.  Little did we know what was ahead.

The hills began to roll, and we would coast down at 30 mph, just to crawl up the next one.  Still, the day was awesome, and the views were tremendous.  Here, Brad is taking a shot of Pike's Peak.

Rollin', rollin', rollin...

Eventually, we ended up in Larkspur, and headed north along the railroad tracks, toward a figure-eight loop on the west side of I-25.

"I swear it's on the map!"

Unfortunately, the loop appeared to be on private property, a fact that Google Maps failed to point out.  I checked with the only resident I could find:

But, he just tried to steal my pic-a-nic basket.

So, we turned around and headed back, along the railroad tracks.

Brad, on his Rivendell Bleriot, had no problem with the rugged terrain.

My new bike handled the same hill with aplomb.  Both of us were happy with the mixed-terrain performances of our bikes.

Well, that's enough for one post.  Next time:  Climbs, mountain biking, backtracking and hamburgers.

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