Stardate 2019.129

Is That Spring in the Air?
Not quite; albeit I was in shorts and long sleeves today. Not bad for February 13th. Our snowiest month, March, is still to come. We can get some cold temps, too. Nonetheless, a lot of melt was taking place. Locally, all but the northerly aspects are snow-free. The Denver Water access road up Waterton Canyon was mostly dry with a few icy and muddy spots.


Today may have been my best ride since being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease last August. I hate the word disease! Don't you? It is what it is. Better yet, I felt good and strong throughout the ride. Take that Parkinson's! Following are a few more pics from the ride. Enjoy!


Looking upstream at impounded water behind one of several diversions.



The diversion dam is downstream in the distance. Can you pick it out?



There is lots of shore ice.



Main channel ice development is ice buildup on large in-stream boulders.



That's it for now. Think spring!

Lizard: 6
Parkinson's: 0

Adios

Stardate 2019.030

Finally
Greetings!

We finally received some snow at lower elevations. It was the heavy wet stuff that falls at warmer temperatures; a good ground soaker. When said and done, we had a little under a foot of snow. Believe it or not, I was on dry rides in shorts and long sleeve jersey as recent as January 10th. We need some winter! However, north aspects are still dicey in spots and require some hike-a-biking.




There's still a fair amount of shore ice along the South Platte River.






How about some bighorn sheep skating?






Here's a little plug for Giant Bicycles. It's a fun 29er.



Lizard:2
Parkinson's:0

Thanks for reading!

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 2017.304

Coming to Life
Hi everyone, I think spring has sprung. The bighorn sheep — both ewes and rams — are lounging together. Other reclusive ewes will soon be showing off reasons for being solitary in the form of little newborn lambs with doey wide eyes full of wonder. Rattlesnakes are sunning themselves. The ubiquitous anglers are infiltrating Waterton Canyon. And, more and more cyclists are enjoying the warming days. Following are several rides worth of pics. I hope you enjoy them.




Warming days become lazy days...




Beautiful and toxic, all in one package...






Classic singletrack zigging and zagging through the forest...




Late afternoon light wafting through coniferous tree boles...



Always be on your toes...




Stay tuned!

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