Day 65...It Hurts...Not So Good

Well, the ball has started to roll.  Today was the first official day of getting back on the bike.  Ive been off the bike for 6mos now.  Id lost that need to ride, which in turn led to a loss of the desire to throw a leg on the bike.  Its a long story I wont get in to, but the thing to know is that its done. This is the longest Ive ever been off the bike ever. 

Today I loaded the boys in the trailer and got the new bike out for its first official ride.  After a couple of quick stops to make some minor final tweaks it was an awesome feeling bike.  It felt stable.  There was no brake chatter from the fork/brake setup.  It took quite a bit of thunk out of the road for sure.  

Riding it with the boys and the trailer, as well as diaper bag and lunches, was quite the experience after a long hiatus.  It hurt.  We went downtown to visit the woman we all love to meet for lunch outside.  

I took the Sand Creek Trail west to the South Platte River Trail and then went south into town.  The Sand Creek Trail is such a nice ride.  There are very few people ever on it, and with the dirt sections, it was super nice to take the Colnago through them.  

I felt every bit of the weight Ive gained over the past few years, and especially the past few months.  It hurt.  By the time we got downtown, I think I was hitting about 10mph on the flats with that trailer trying to drag me backwards every foot we rode.

  

View Parkhill/Stapleton 2 Downtown(Sand Creek/Platte River Trails) in a larger map

I decided to take the short way home as we'd just had lunch, and I was feeling like a ton of bricks under 2 tons of iron. I also didnt want to hurt anything, as I usually do because I feel like I can push myself more than I should.  Baby steps...thats the motto for the next couple of  months.  Starting from ground 0 sucks...its my fault.

View Downtown to Parkhill/Stapleton in a larger map

Here we go...

...boots out.

Sunday "Trail" Ride

This past Sunday, the wife kicked me out of the house for a bike ride...solo.  I was a bit reluctant at first, and then I remembered the Sand Creek Trail is right around the corner.  Ive wanted to explore the southern half of the trail as it goes from being all nice and paved to sandy, gravelly, cyclocross potential type surface...so I headed out.

The weather was perfect...started in the mid 60's and by the end of the ride it was in the low 70's, which for Colorado this time of year is a gift from the weather gods indeed(to contrast that with waking up this morning to mid 20's and a light dusting of snow on the ground).

The pics below I took on the ride.  I managed to tool around some and figure out a nice steady route that took me east/south on the Sand Creek Trail, and eventually wind my way back towards the house on the Highline Canal Trail.

If you've got a 'Cross bike and enjoy just going out for a "cyclocross" type ride, then these 2 trails are perfect.  There were also lots of sections(ill check out later), that have some single track that runs along both creek beds.

For my friends back east in NC, Ill be posting pics of the upcoming snow soon.  Ive actually missed riding in the snow, and I thought that wouldnt happen again.  Looks like I might get a chance tomorrow, for a commute in the snow home!

Next time I go out, ill fire up the GPS and route it out.  Im curious to see if there's workout potential on this ride.  

Sand Creek running low

you can sort of make out the downtown & mountains over there

Sun and gravel for lots of the ride

there's trailer parks out here too!

considering the creek is directly to my right, i hope these things dont leak!

there are some paved sections on the southern part of the sand creek trail

the "Green Machine" wants everyone to know the Lottery pays for CO trails!

rolled through a beautiful nature preserve

those clouds rolled in right as I pulled into the driveway

yes, this will be an "indoor mall" in the near future(old Lowry Airforce Base)

great CO day for a ride

little bit of desert, little bit of grassland