Stardate 2016.833

Happy Halloween!
Carbon Dating Part 2

My previous post detailed sidelining road riding for the greater part of the summer to focus more on mountain biking, which I prefer. Mid-October, and I'm finally in the mood to go on a carbon fiber date for several autumn rides.

I just spent two days trashing my legs with two road rides totaling 74 miles. Of those 74 miles, 20 miles was steep mountain climbing up pitches in excess of 10 percent. Interestingly, I still wanted to take the road bike out; I decided to stay on the flats today with only a handful of rollers for climbing. These two rides took me to the Chatfield area and the horse farms scattered on the high prairie south of Chatfield State Park. Each ride was about 80 percent asphalt and 20 percent compacted road-base/gravel.



It was a beautiful day to be heading out amongst ranch and horse farms. Nestled up against the foothills, a large Lockheed Martin Aerospace compound may be seen in the upper right of the following photo. The deep canyon in the upper center to upper left (below the lenticular cloud) is the Waterton Canyon of which I often post.



Parting shot! I just spent four consecutive days on a road bike. I still feel like road riding, so I think my little break from road riding worked, which is good, because road riding is an excellent way to train for mountain biking; this because you tend to spend many more hours per ride on a road bike enhancing endurance. Moreover, you tend to push larger gears and even utilize different muscle groups. You're better rounded by combing road and mountain biking.

I'll close with an autumn color shot. That cold white stuff isn't too far away!




Adios!

Stardate 2016.238

Get It While You Can...
The Black Pearl and I ventured to South Valley Park for an afternoon ride just hours before a fast-moving storm blanketed the Deer Creek Canyon area with 15 inches of heavy and wet white stuff. The accumulation was some variant of snow; hence, the word stuff suffices.




Sections of South Valley Park were an active cattle ranch until 1980. Off topic, but the approaching storm may be seen in the background.




The area is for now preserved and home to elk, deer, bear, lion, coyote, fox, rattlesnake and humanoid, et cetera.



Headquarters for the Johns Manville Corporation (I believe they owned the farmstead, too) were built on a parcel of the ranch in 1971. Then in 1987, Lockheed Martin purchased the property, adding to the several Lockheed compounds already in the area. The property turned over again in 1999 when Jefferson County acquired 909 acres to set aside for open space preservation of wildlife, archaeological and scenic values.




Violators will be shot on site! Just kidding! Trail erosion is the reason for the closure.



The Grazing Elk Trail sits above the beginning of one of the finer road bike climbs in the area – Deer Creek Canyon. You can make out the entrenched, narrow canyon below.




Riparian areas are turning green. I haven't seen any rattlers this year, despite the warm weather.




The Park has a lot of smooth, somewhat flowy, singletrack upon which to ride.




Here's a parting shot for this post; thanks for reading!




Adios

Stardate 2016.203

A Change Of Pace
Several days ago, I managed to get in a short-sleeved (green plaid for Mrs. Micawber) hike-a-bike with the Black Pearl at Deer Creek Canyon Park. This park is a couple of miles north of Waterton Canyon. However, often during this time of year, ice and snow still may cover the trail, making passage interesting. How slick was it? Well, my average speed for the "ride" was 3-miles per hour. That tells me I walked more than I rode. When dry, the route is rocky, steep and technical in places. However, any time loss to upward travel can be regained on the return downhill. Following are a few pics of a beautiful spring-like day.




My destination is a tight little drainage where prairie meets mountain – Plymouth Creek.




The initial ice encountered had enough embedded detritus to allow riding. I wasn't so lucky on most of the ice.






How about some nice, dry, singletrack?




The mile-high city is about 28 miles away. That's not dust or water vapor in the sky. Yuck!




I love afternoon sunlight wafting through Lodgepole pine boles.




My parting shot for the Deer Creek Canyon area.



Thanks for reading!

Adios

Startdate 2016.159

Spring?
For A Day Anyway
Last Tuesday's snow quickly melted. Today's (Friday) mercury catapulted into the Low 50s. Spring was in the air. It'll all change come March and April. In fact, March is our snowiest month. Nonetheless, it was a good day to take the steel steed south of the metro and pound some asphalt and prairie. Following are some pics.




I left the carbon fiber bike at home and went with steel today.




The wide-open prairie grows on you, just like the mountains, desert and ocean. Each is unique.




A hidden aerospace compound catches my attention.




That's it for now...

Adios