My wife had asked me what I wanted to do for Father's Day, and without hesitation I said, "I want to go on a big-ass ride!" After talking it over with my riding buddies, decided on going to Buffalo Creek. Our usual route is around 26 miles, which wasn't quite long enough for me. "Let's do 30!" I declared and that was that. By the time Sunday arrived, everyone had pussed out except Charlie, my main partner. I was a little apprehensive that I'd bitten off more than I could chew, as I haven't put in many miles this season. New babies will tend to do that to you. But I had confidence that Charlie could pull me through, as he's been putting in lots of miles, both on dirt and road, and I wasn't disappointed.
We met up at a restaurant called The Fort, just outside of Morrison, CO.
After about a 40 minute drive we arrived at the trail head. It was going to be a beautiful day. The entire ride was in the mid 80's an hardly a cloud in the sky.
Here's Charlie, figuring out where we're going to go
The ride starts with a nice mellow 3 mile climb up an access road, followed by a moderate climb up through an area that was burned a few years ago. Here's Charlie climbing through the rather surreal area
Here's me climbing through the same area
Here's me trying to tell Charlie to F-off, but he didn't quite get it
It may be hard to tell, but that's me continuing on up
After you get through the burn area, you get on the Colorado Trail. This section of the CO trail is nothing but beautiful singletrack. Some climbing, some descending. All fun. Here's me climbing some more
As you can see, I have some Captain in me
Here's Charlie, chillin after a bit of a climb
After that, I didn't take any more pictures. I was too busy riding and wondering if I'd bitten off more than I could chew. I brought plenty of Gu and granola bars and I'd filled my 100oz camelbak with 1/2 strength Cytomax and had an extra bottle of water, but around mile 20, both quads and hamstrings suddenly cramped up bad. I didn't stop riding though, for fear that I wouldn't be able to get back on my bike. Charlie was still going strong, so he basically pulled me the rest of the way. Luckily for me, the last 6 miles are pure downhill, back down the same burn area as the first climb. When we got back to the trail head, we were both disappointed to see that we'd only put in 29.1 miles. We contemplated heading back up the access road to make it an even 30, but we both had had enough. We headed home and I spent the rest of the afternoon with my family.
We met up at a restaurant called The Fort, just outside of Morrison, CO.
After about a 40 minute drive we arrived at the trail head. It was going to be a beautiful day. The entire ride was in the mid 80's an hardly a cloud in the sky.
Here's Charlie, figuring out where we're going to go
The ride starts with a nice mellow 3 mile climb up an access road, followed by a moderate climb up through an area that was burned a few years ago. Here's Charlie climbing through the rather surreal area
Here's me climbing through the same area
Here's me trying to tell Charlie to F-off, but he didn't quite get it
It may be hard to tell, but that's me continuing on up
After you get through the burn area, you get on the Colorado Trail. This section of the CO trail is nothing but beautiful singletrack. Some climbing, some descending. All fun. Here's me climbing some more
As you can see, I have some Captain in me
Here's Charlie, chillin after a bit of a climb
After that, I didn't take any more pictures. I was too busy riding and wondering if I'd bitten off more than I could chew. I brought plenty of Gu and granola bars and I'd filled my 100oz camelbak with 1/2 strength Cytomax and had an extra bottle of water, but around mile 20, both quads and hamstrings suddenly cramped up bad. I didn't stop riding though, for fear that I wouldn't be able to get back on my bike. Charlie was still going strong, so he basically pulled me the rest of the way. Luckily for me, the last 6 miles are pure downhill, back down the same burn area as the first climb. When we got back to the trail head, we were both disappointed to see that we'd only put in 29.1 miles. We contemplated heading back up the access road to make it an even 30, but we both had had enough. We headed home and I spent the rest of the afternoon with my family.
