Riding Day

Kathleen and Sage early on Saturday. Kathleen had to work, so she was heading out for a road ride near home and Steve was headed to Denver for a group ride.
Off and riding, Kathleen ended up riding 19 miles and had a good pace. It is amazing that as little riding as we have done this summer, we can still hop on and punch out some strong rides!

Meanwhile, Steve headed up to ride with some of the guys from the Océ North America Printing Systems office in Denver. The plan was to hook up at Curtis' home in the Greenwood Village area, head north through Cherry Creek and into the Downtown Denver/Confluence Park area, utilizing the Cherry Creek bike trail system. This was all new for me as we do not spend much time in the Denver metro area.
Steve, Curtis, Matt, and Dave getting some Colorado sun. We got in our ride as planned and got to see some of the competitors in the Crescent Moon Triathlon being held at Cherry Creek Reservoir. We also rode through the farmers market in Cherry Creek, where they were roasting some great smelling green chiles - almost good enough to quit riding and start eating!!! We reached our turn around point at the REI - Denver Flagship store, where one can be lured into purchasing all type of outdoor oriented goodies! We sat out on the deck for a bit while Matt and Dave took in a little Starbucks "fuel" for the return trip. With the brilliant sunshine, this hub of outdoor activity was buzzing and we soon made way for others to use the deck and started our return trip. It was a great ride and we ended up logging about 34 miles. Broken record here but we have almost limitless outdoor opportunities in our area and never cease to be amazed by all that we can enjoy. Denver metro has more parks per area than any city in the US and Colorado Springs ranks pretty high as well - very cool!

Racing Daylight

Denial can only go so far ... we are at that time of year where daylight and post-work runs are mixing less and less! We headed over to Palmer Park for an evening trail run and squeezed in some nice miles and warm temps. Steve got in a quick lap and Kathleen joined in when she arrived. We lost the sun behind Pikes Peak with about a mile to go so it was not too bad. Off in the distance, you can barely make out the red rock formations of Garden of the Gods against the mountains. It is nice not having a lot of skyscrapers to block the views around town!
Steve put together 7 miles and Kathleen 5, so it was a good weeknight trot. We saw a lot of folks out on the trails, so it appears everyone is trying to maximize their outdoor time. We'll take every night like this we can get and we might even consider some night running this fall - anyone have suggestions for good headlamps that work for trail running? We have done a bunch on bikes at night, but not really any runs. Get out and enjoy the trails!!!

Santa Fe Trail and AFA Ride Day

What a difference one day can make! Yesterday was gray, cloudy, and cool. Today was a a perfect day for a ride on the mountain bike. Brilliant blue skies and "just right" temperatures - 65 to start, 72 at the end - greeted us. Becky and I headed over to the Santa Fe Trail for a more mellow, non-technical ride.
I love the scene above. It is along the trail on the AFA. It is gorgeous. I wish there was a trail that meandered down into this area!
We stopped for a "group photo" near the area on the AFA where the cadets do some of their glider training. There is another area near this spot where they practice parachuting - that is very interesting to watch. Note SNOW covered Pikes Peak way in the background. That is SO wrong! :-)
We detoured from Santa Fe Trail and headed up "the dirt road climb". It is a dirt road that is about 3 miles long (??? - haven't measured it exactly in awhile) and climbs steadily, gaining about 1100 feet in elevation. In past years, (when Steve and I were in excellent mountain bike shape - which is not now!!! :-) ) we utilized this road frequently for our hill training. No hard intensity today - we just put it in a small gear and spun our way up and just enjoyed the beautiful day!
Kathleen heading up the climb. It is a beautiful setting!
We took a detour and did some exploring on a couple of the dirt roads that split off from "the dirt road climb". This particular road leads to the AFA stables and continues beyond. This section was a nice discovery because it is kind of flatish and is in and out of the trees. I forgot to take a photo at the top - the views are expansive and awe inspiring. We were both marveling at the beauty that we are so blessed to be surrounded by!
Time to head back down! We ended the day with around 27 miles. I thankfully savored the beauty and blessings of today - perfect weather, a beautiful area to live and play in, good health so that I am able to get out to ride, run, and enjoy all our area has to offer, my wonderful friends like Becky, and an awesome hubby! Not much more to ask for! Happy Trails to all this week!