Yay, I took my new bike for a ride (finally)

So I was all gung-ho to go camping and hiking friday night and saturday, but then it snowed... I got to Empire and decided there was way too much snow above tree-line to make it really worthwhile (as I was planning to camp around 11,000 ft and hike to over 13,000). So I went home and played Spore.

So instead, I rode my bike to the downtown REI. It was about 42 miles round trip. The great thing about riding a bike to REI is that only have to carry everything back on the bike, so it keeps you from going crazy. In all seriousness though, it is pretty ride. Almost exclusively on bike trails off the road. REI itself is parked right by the river -- it’s really quite scenic. You’d almost forget you are in the middle of the urban jungle.

So the days finally came - the MS 150. It was a great time. The weather was great, ride was great, and furtunately, I felt great the whole time. I am a bit tired now, but felt really good during the ride.

What a neat event. Aside for being for a good cause, it was just a fun thing to do. The event is really well put together - lots of course support (those rest stops were great, even if the potty lines were long), traffic control, etc.

I think the most enjoyable part was all the people I met along the way. The EKS&H team was absolutely awesome and the ride was so much more fun as a result.

Thanks EKS&H for adopting me in your ranks, it was an experience I will never forget!

Managed only about 42 miles this week. I was sleepy saturday and didn’t get on the road until 9:40 or so. Plus, it was brutally hot (ok not that bad, but I’m a cold weather guy).

So, here is the sign you had a good ride though...


Last week I didn’t wear any sun screen and my arms took a beating. This week I wore some, but I guess not enough eh?

Jason and I rode up Berthoud Pass today. I was thinking it was going to be the longest nastiest ride ever, but it actually was quite fun!

It is certainly a much longer climb than the carter lake road, but much less intense so it kind of evens out.
check out some pictures, all courtesy of my cell phone (so they aren’t the greatest).



Here is the elevation profile: 36 miles round trip


or for the metric lovers out there: 55 km around trip