Stardate 2018.729

Fall Is In The Air
Hi guys! Post Parkinson's blog number two. Nothing has changed. I have not yet discovered a cure. Give the Lizard some time. On the other hand, I'm learning strategies that make it easier to function normally, more or less. The number one thing to do/learn is to be very, very active. That will be easy for me. See, I'm already ahead. It's amazing what you can do with a tennis ball and walking, or a medley of aerobics moves, and even balance moves on my bicycles. Parkinson's is progressive over time and a major goal is to slow down its progressive nature.

Things are starting to look like fall, even though temperatures are far above normal for this time of year. As for leaf color, the high country (above 8,000 feet) is peaking, or has peaked. The higher terrain has already been blanketed in snow as well.


We have a good assembly of bears in Waterton Canyon. Occasionally you see one or two. However, those bears marauding tent and camp sites get a sign for having aggressive tendencies. Yes, I do have a loud bell on my mountain bike.


Upper Lenny's Bench is being replaced with a new memorial. Bears, bikers, hikers and time have all but demolished the existing maker. Lenny was kid doing service work in the area when he was killed in an accident. And, that's all I known about it.

That's it for now. See y'all on the next round. Be good!

Adios

2017.710

12,987-foot Peak 8

Seasons Be A Changing

High country leaves are beginning to change, and fall is in the air! I wanted a late season ride at altitude. Off I ventured to the Tenmile Range to prospect some colored, two-wheeled fun. I was a bit early; leaves in this area still have 1 to 2 weeks until peak color.



Initially I rode the Breckenridge Ski Area Peak 9 access road to hasten the climb to more than 12,000 feet in elevation. My plan was to ride the access road to the Wheeler Trail, hook up with the Colorado Trail on top, drop to Copper Mountain Ski Resort, then swing around the northern terminus of the Tenmile Range on a bike path, ultimately catching the Peaks/Gold Hill trails to my vehicle.

If that sounds like a haul, it is; I didn't quite make it. I needed another 2 to 3 hours of time. As you'll see below, I was close. Nonetheless, I had a 2 p.m. turnaround because I needed to be back in the Denver metro area by 5:30. The following pic portrays a diminishing 4x4 route reaching treeline on 13,195-foot Peak 9.




Breckenridge Ski Resort is huge. Adjacent to my north was the Ski Area's Peak 8.




Below is a juvenile stand of bristlecone pine. This species occupies the krummholz and can live thousands of years.



The following zoomed pic shows what I needed another hour or two to accomplish. After leaving the 4x4 track, the switchbacks of the Wheeler Trail top out at 12,400 feet, at which point I could light the afterburners and quickly drop into Copper Mountain. Nonetheless, the bewitching-hour had arrived, and I disappointingly aimed the Black Pearl down.




Breckenridge lies at the base of the lower slopes of Peak 9.




Hopefully there will be more leaves to come.

Adios!

Stardate 2017.430

During a recent evening ride, the moon slowly ascended over Waterton Canyon, sharing a portion of its perpetual journey.


Spring is Giving Way to Summer
Hi folks! I haven't been writing because I've been busy doing other things during the evenings, plus I wanted to take a breather from the computer. Nonetheless I have a few pics taken during recent bike rides. So, let's let the show begin with my usual bike-in-the-road shot.




Vegetation has greened nicely.




The farther up the canyon one travels, the more complex and wild the views become.




Evening low-angle light is sharp, yet a tad nebulous as a whole.




Bike cockpit...




This book was at my turnaround. Not my type of reading, but if you have any insight, do enlighten us.




Thanks for reading.

Adios

Stardate 2017.277

Lay It On The Line
Hi, people! Lay it on the line doesn't really have anything to do with the ride. I just had the old Triumph song from 1979 on my mind. You can listen to it here. On to business at hand. Ever so slowly we are getting our cycling legs in tune. This past weekend we did a half road and half mountain bike ride for about 40 miles. That's not far, but not too short either. The mountain bike was used for both legs of the trip. Moreover, I have spring fever something terrible. We've been able to get out quite a bit, and I pulled some older helmet cam videos for fun.


Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park (road bike)



Kokopelli Trail, Western Colorado (mountain bike)

Our ride was good, although my toosh was sore from the previous day's ride. We saw a lot of bighorn sheep (as usual) while in Waterton Canyon, with some good-size rams. On a side note, we're also playing with food. I can hardly get down and stomach an energy bar these days. Instead of high-dollar energy foods, we're drying our own fruit, thanks to Snowcatcher. The day's snack was apple and peach slices covered in cinnamon. The cinnamon dries into the fruit. MMMmmmmm...



I turned around at upper Lenny's Bench. It was down to the flats now. I don't write much here as I'm always writing about Waterton Canyon and surrounds. I'll talk about several things along the trail. The Chatfield area had a surprise or two.




This little character had some nice markings.




The last of the snow was going, going, soon to be gone!




This is a bull snake; rattlesnakes are on their menu. This particular specimen would stretch out to 4 or 5 feet.




That's it for now. Thanks for reading and viewing!

Adios

Stardate 2017.252

Bear Creek

Ride Weather Reminded Me of Oregon Mountain Biking
Yesterday (31March17) was the usual Waterton Ride to upper Lenny's Bench; then around the Roxborough loop, which is now thawed-out, at least until the current storm gathering. I had hoped to beat the forecasted storm. However, it captured me about halfway around the loop. Approximately half of my ride was in the wet.


I attended graduate school at Oregon State University located in western Oregon. It's wet and misty in the winter, and Waterton Canyon yesterday was the epitome of that area. Enjoy the following pics. The first is the storm slowly working its way out of the Front Range about 45 minutes before capturing me.




We're expecting freeze with snow tonight, so the blossoming leaves may be kaput for a while.




I was halfway up the canyon and still mostly dry.




Denver Water's Strontia Springs dam was releasing a fair amount of water.




Overheating, I stopped to shed some layers.




At the trail's high point, the clouds were descending and wafting throughout the forest.



There is a fair amount of blowdown this year.




This bubbling brook almost always flows year-round.




The singletrack is pretty good through here.




The concluding pic is of the down, down, down drop to the South Platte River at the Strontia Springs dam.




Later gator!

Adios

Stardate 2017.225

Colorado Trail Segment 1 — Out and Back
Prepping for the Summer and Ride the Rockies
I had not ridden into the heart of Segment 1 of the Colorado Trail (CT) for quite some time. I had a Tuesday off and decided to give it whirl. I write about the ride up Waterton Canyon to upper Lenny's Bench all the time. Beyond Lenny's exists an entirely different animal. Yes, lots of hike-a-bike down into and up out of aptly named Bear Creek; followed by medieval sections of forest heavy in haunting spirit, a siren if you will.

Segment 1 of the CT is 16.8 miles in length (Kassler start) with an elevation gain of 2,830 feet to the 7,517-foot high point at mile 12.6. I didn't start in Kassler and rode 15.2 miles to the high point. I turned back at the high point. A handful of photos follow — enjoy!



The first 6.7 miles of dirt road parallel the South Platte River, and the road is a service access road for Denver Water. The road also is the roadbed used by the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad, built in 1877.



It's time for some trail.




I'm about to begin the big drop down to Bear Creek from upper Lenny's.




After the decent to Bear Creek, it's time to climb the other side on ball bearing rock.




There was old ice that should be covered by new snow upon reading this post.




Bring on the singletrack. The most difficult climbing was now behind me.



Cathedral Spires (8,520 ft) rise to the west. Yes, there are spires there. The area is closed to rock climbing in the spring for raptor, including Peregrine falcon, nesting.




'Tis the wind season and its aftermath.




This pic kind of shows how large some rock steps were. Upper center is a patch of ice.




This is the flowy descent down into the bowels of Bear Creek.




Stay tuned for more lizarding...

Adios

Stardate 2017.205

It's Baa'aaack
Hi all! Well, the white stuff returned. South aspects melted, and north aspects shivered. Better yet, there was no ice layer under the snow, so it was relatively easy to ride. For the most part I was able to stay on top of the snow, which was a tad packed from previous use.




A couple inches of snow remain in the shady aspects.




The retreat from upper Lenny's Bench begins. The tree roots were a bit wet and hazardous going down.




Snowcatcher and I made the lottery for 2017 Ride the Rockies. The blog docket will be more active.

Adios