Slow and Steady

Sometimes when I'm out riding my bike or running or whatever, the old tagline moral from The Tortoise and the Hare crosses my mind: "Slow and steady wins the race."

The next thing that crosses my mind is, "What a load of hogwash!"

I mean, slow and steady will always get you to the finish line (unless you're in the mountains and some heavy weather starts moving in - struck-by-lightening loses.), but the truth is, fast and steady wins the race.*

At the first 10k I ever ran, I overheard some guys talking a little way off the starting line. "All these people start out too strong. But they'll all tire out before they're halfway through and then we'll be passing them." Once I'd passed, I didn't see them again.

Don't get me wrong: in general there's nothing wrong with slow and steady. Sometimes just making it from start to finish is what it's all about. But don't let that adage be an excuse not to push yourself to your full potential. I'm not out there to win; I'm out there to see what I'm made of.

But isn't it supposed to be about having fun? Yeah, that too. The thing is, there's a certain confidence and gratification that comes from finding out that you are capable of more than you previously thought. And that feeling, to me, is a big part of fun.

So get out there and push it. Hold today's performance up against what you think you can do. As long as you're beating that self-image, you're winning.


* I'm not here to spray about how great I am. For the record, I'm much more in the "moderate and steady" category.

Pedal Terminology: there, I fixed it.

Today I found myself getting all fired up about bicycle pedals. Specifically, the names we have for different types of pedals has always bothered me.

It all comes from not being able to see the future. But maybe that's not where I should begin.

Okay, so let's look at what we have. First is your basic platform pedal.

Platform pedal

You may find these in the bottom of a spare parts box. They were removed within five minutes of some newly-purchased bike's homecoming (right after the pie plate behind the cassette was taken off, but those are never saved). They can also be seen on cruiser bikes (as witnessed above), or fancier models might grace the cranks of a BMX or trials bike.

The second kind of pedal is still basically just a platform pedal, but it has "toe clips" on it.

Pedal with toe clips

These are employed on hipster-style fixed-gear and gentrified randonee bicycles. Okay, and also track bikes, maybe. And in this case, my daughter's WeeHoo 3rd-wheel trailer bike thing. The straps mostly just keep your feet from being thrown from the pedal when either your bike decides it's going to keep going whether you want it to or not (fixed-gear); or when you find yourself out of your depth, cadence-wise (all other types). They are also a training mechanism for the dexterity needed to graduate to the next evolutionary stage of foot-bike interface....

Finally, we have pedals which lock onto cleats on the bottom of special-purpose cycling shoes.

Clipless pedal and cycling shoe with cleat

In one form or another, these are found on most road and mountain bikes. Aside from the obvious revenue boost to the cycling apparel industry, this kind serves a couple of purposes beyond the toe-clip variety: 1) they allow a greater amount of upward force to be applied when pedaling, which increases efficiency; and 2) they cause new would-be bike racers, having failed to wrangle their foot free in time, to fall over when they come to a stop. The latter helps the cyclist learn the humility required to be seen in public wearing brightly-colored Lycra during future bicycling ventures.

So back to my terminology gripe.

Platform pedals are reasonably named. They do, after all, provide a platform for you to push your foot down on just before it slips off and your shoelaces get caught in the chain.

But the second two types cause some major problems. You see, through an unfortunate lapse in foresight, the things that hold one's feet to the pedals of the second type were called "toe clips" rather than "toe straps." Little did they know that some genius would come along some years later and invent a pedal that you actually clip into. So once the final pedal came along, eliminating the "clips," this piece of technology came to be known as "clipless" pedals.

That's right. You clip into clipless pedals. How confusing is that?

So here's my proposal:

1. Clipless pedals should be known as "clipful"
2. Pedals with toe clips will be called "strapish"
3. So long as we're renaming everything else, let's call platform pedals "backups" or "spares" or "little Billy's ticket for a new pair of shoes"

I think you'll have to agree that this arrangement clears up a lot of confusion.

You'll note that there's not a single Wikipedia reference or Sheldon Brown citation here. That's because all bike geeks suddenly know all of this stuff the second they walk into their first bike shop. Please just accept everything here as unquestionable truth.

Happy is on the road: bicycles in Korea and Japan

Transportation in Korea, at least outside of major cities, was a free-for-all. We saw everything from cars, trucks, and bikes to tractors, 4-wheelers, and gas-powered wheelchairs on the roads. Bicycles were common, but I can imagine riding there to be a risky prospect.

"Happy is on the road" - almost enough to make me start carrying a purse.

Old man with a bicycle at the street market in Osan, South Korea

In Japan, transportation seemed to be much more regulated. Bicycles were much more prominent, and it was interesting to see how they integrated into pedestrian and vehicular traffic. They freely flowed from sidewalks to streets as necessary, and though it felt like it would be easy to get hit by one while walking, it was probably never unsafe.

A typical Japanese town bike at the playground of the Imperial gardens, Kyoto, Japan

Bike parking at a train station

A small shop that sold wire bicycle models. I really wanted to buy one, but resisted the urge to accumulate more useless stuff.

I got the impression that there wasn't much of a bike culture, per se, but that bicycles were just part of the larger culture in general. But in both countries, along with the masses of people using bikes for practical purposes, there was some evidence of an enthusiast camp who rode for fitness and sport. That is to say, they also have roadies in Lycra and mountain bikers pounding down the unpaved trails. And as evidenced above, there were accessories for people who just love bikes.

Nearly all of the town bikes had kick stands attached to the rear hub which allowed the bike to stand freely (visible in the playground picture above). I almost bought one of those to bring home and put on my touring bike. The two-legged stand I have on there now gets in the way of the chain a little bit.

Some bikes also had arms extending from the handle bars with a clamp on the end to hold an umbrella, but it was more common to see people just steering with one hand and holding their umbrella in the other. When not deployed for protection from sun or rain, the handle of the umbrella was hooked onto the seat post while the other end ran back between the wheel and either the kickstand or fender mounts.

It was also not unusual to see people riding around while smoking cigarettes. On town bikes, squeaky chains and brakes were the rule. I'm not sure any of them actually cared, but I wanted to get a big bottle of Triflow and put up a sign advertising free bike lubes.

My observations of Asian bicycle security were interesting, too. The approach seemed to be that, as long as someone couldn't hop on the bike and ride away, the bike was safe. So cable locks were often wrapped between a wheel and the frame, but it was rare to see a bike actually chained to a stationary object. I wish bicycle theft were as small a problem here in the US.

Riding in the Rain

In Colorado, as in many places, it's the rainy season right now. For some people avoiding being caught exposed to the elements means that the bike has to stay at home while they drive to work. For my part, I'd rather take a chance with an afternoon shower than miss a perfectly good bike-commuting day. And honestly, riding in the rain is kinda fun.

But there are a few small things you can keep handy to improve your experience. My backpack always has the following in it.

• A light rain shell
• Rain pants
• Trash bag
• Quart-sized zip-lock bags

The rain shell came with a stuff sack, so it packs down pretty small. The pants and trash bag get rolled up and bound with a rubber band to keep them tidy and out of the way. If it's raining when it's time to hit the road, I wrap my laptop inside the trash bag. Phone and wallet go into a zip-lock. Anything else that can be damaged by water should be sealed up as well.

Or you could spend a bunch of money on a solidly weatherproof backpack. In some parts of the country that kind of investment makes a lot of sense. But it just doesn't rain that often here.

What to do with the wearables should be obvious enough. I like to put my helmet on over my hood, since it tends to get blown back if I do it the other way around. If you're worried about your feet getting wet, you can either get waterproof shoe covers, or you could put plastic bags over your socks and allow your shoes to get soaked while your feet stay relatively dry (except for some extra sweat).

Another thing to take into consideration when riding in the rain is safety. Puddles can hide road hazards and can sometimes be deeper than they look, so avoid them when possible. And use caution when a fording is necessary.

Lightning is a serious risk, especially if you have to ride through open terrain. So try to choose a route that minimizes the time spent being the tallest thing around, and haul ass through any unavoidable fields. You're not going to outrun lightning, but you can limit the time spent exposed to greater risk of a strike.

Finally, rain inhibits visibility, so make sure you're equipped with appropriate lighting and reflectors if you're going to be riding in traffic.

If you're always prepared for a little stormy weather, you can bike your commute without worrying about gambling with the forecast. The weather is going to happen; just roll with it!

S is for Spring

S is for...

Seeds (and some transplanted seedlings) that I planted yesterday in my community plot at the office. Chard, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. Yum!

An pre-sunrise spinning workout on my trainer in the basement - there is an end in sight. I'm so looking forward to riding outdoors again.

Shaving the winter beard, but leaving a sweet trucker 'stache. F says I should keep it indefinitely. My wife thanked me for giving her such a good laugh first thing in the morning.

Slacklining in the front yard after work. (I still suck, but I have fun!)

A special family supper, with sweets for dessert. Sauteed greens, asparagus, roast, and sweet potatoes. And of course, the bunny cake with skittles for the eye and nose.

Vegan roast & sweet potatoes

Chocolate bunny cake

Skiing tomorrow. Seriously, it's a work-sanctioned event - I'm not playing hookie. The imminent end of ski season makes the arrival of spring somewhat bitter-sweet. But there are plenty of other things to do. I can't wait!

Happy Spring, everybody!

Fatties vs. Studs

It's not often that I embrace controversy in my SPL posts, but today I'm writing about a fairly contentious topic: Fatties and Studs. That's right, the question is whether it's better to have a wide, chunky girth, or more svelte and angular.

For bicycle tires, I mean. For winter commuting.

For the past couple of years - excluding last year, which was so devoid of snow that I never had to change out of my 28mm Gator Skins - I've been using 35mm studded tires on my touring bike for my winter commuting. But this year I've done a lot more riding on my mountain bike with its fat 26x2" tires. It's got me thinking about whether it's worth it to invest in those expensive snow tires, or if it's better, assuming you have one in the stable already, to just use a mountain bike.

Skinnies, studs, and fatties.

The studded tires are designed to give superior traction on ice, of course. And for that they perform admirably. And in my experience, the narrower tire cuts into deep snow better.

I haven't really gotten a feel for what the fatties do on black ice. And in fresh snow of 5 inches or so, they get mired and bogged down, forcing me to walk the bike to a plowed/shoveled surface to remount.

But what happens on the rutted, frozen footprints from school-kids, crusty ice kind of conditions I mostly see on the multi-use paths on my commute? My snow tires often failed to ride up the edges of those ruts, instead either rerouting me wherever the previous path user was headed, or sending me into an emergency foot-dip to avoid a topple. The mountain bike tires, on the other hand, gain a better purchase on the sides of the ice and allow me to go up and over the ruts without too much trouble.

Another annoyance, which I was not industrious enough to solve definitively was that the fenders on my touring bike were installed with normal-sized tires in mind. So the wider 35mm studded tires often scrubbed the inside of the front fender, making an awful racket. In wet conditions, I guess that's better than having no fenders at all, like on my mountain bike. On the other hand, the mtb has disk brakes, which work decidedly better in those same wet conditions.

So in conclusion... I don't really have a conclusion for you. I think that both kinds of tires have a place for winter commuting. But unless next year is snowier than this one, I'll leave the skinny tires on my touring bike and use the fatties on snow days.

Bike Law

Yesterday was kind of a big day for bike news here in Colorado.

The first item was that an ordinance in the casino town of Black Hawk from 2009, which banned bicycles from most (all?) city streets was overturned by the Colorado Supreme Court. Cycling was declared a "matter of state and local concern" which couldn't be arbitrarily restricted. The state law says that roads may be barred from bicycle traffic only if there is a reasonable alternative route within 450 feet (137 meters).

I will concede that there are probably very few cyclists who, while pedaling through town, will stop to play the slots at Harrah's (or whatever it is they have there). But Black Hawk is along one of the more obvious routes for riders going from Nederland to Golden. So it's nice that Clear Creek Canyon (Hwy 6) will again be an alternative to Coal Creek Canyon (Hwy 72) when riding down Peak-to-Peak Highway.

There is enough bike traffic in that area that towns along the way should be able to capitalize on the passers-through. The revenue may be dwarfed by that brought by gambling, but it's better than alienating the outdoor-recreational demographic.

The second piece of news was that the city of Aspen is considering a law which would allow cyclists to treat stop signs as a yield. There are already places that do this in other states (e.g. Idaho), also downgrading red lights to the equivalent of stop signs for bicycles.

This mostly makes a lot of sense. The article discusses several of the reasons such a change may be a good idea. I can say from personal experience that stop signs are often a source of confusion for both cyclists and motorists. And when the only traffic at an intersection is behind me, coming to a full stop does nothing but slow everyone down. I do the best I can to obey stop signs and red lights, but from the standpoint of courtesy, I think the best thing I can do when I'm riding on the road is to get out of people's way as quickly as possible.

However, I believe (without any real data to support it) that much of the tension between drivers and riders is the perceived sense of entitlement that bicyclists have when it comes to ignoring the rules of the road. Much of the frustration associated with driving comes from needless delays. If a red light has stopped traffic when there is nobody coming from the other direction, it can be really annoying. If a biker can ignore the law with impunity while drivers have to sit and wait, it isn't really fair.

Traffic laws are problematic because the primary directives should be 1) safety for everyone on the road; and 2) getting everyone where they need to go efficiently. But the infrastructure we have in place doesn't always do a very good job of supporting those goals. I'd like to see the whole system get much smarter.

In the meantime, small changes like this one proposed in Aspen could be beneficial on both counts - safety and efficiency. But I wouldn't want to see it become a cause for increased friction between users of the roads. They say that in Idaho it's just accepted as the way things work. Hopefully Aspen's proposed measure will pass into law and will turn out to be effective for everyone.

Busy body, muddled mind

How can life be so busy without producing anything in particular to write about? I think maybe I just suck at introspection and making connections between the physical and mental aspects of life. I have not been idle, but I guess I'm feeling uninspired. So I'm just going to dump a bunch of stuff here. Thanks for letting me vent. Just smile and pretend like you're listening.

At the beginning of the month, I went out to Indian Peaks with a guy named K, whom I met on South Arapaho peak back in August. We were most of the way along the ridge of Mt. Neva when some scary looking clouds started blowing our way, so we bailed. As the clouds rolled in, they were so low that the Arapaho peaks were completely obscured. But we were only a little way along the trail back to the truck when everything cleared up and the sky was a perfect, uninterrupted expanse of blue. I think we were both kind of kicking ourselves for not going for the summit, but given the evidence we had to work with, I think we made the right decision when we turned back.

The next weekend I was supposed to go climbing in Golden, but things fell through with my partner. So instead I went to Boulder and got in a good bike ride. Up Lefthand Canyon to Peak-to-Peak highway, and back down the St. Vrain canyon into Lyons. When I got to the top of Lefthand, I ended up getting mixed up in the Buffalo Bicycle Classic, which followed my route all the way back to where I was parked.

After I got home and we all had lunch, the family and I went down to Sloan's Lake for Adventures Denver - an expo put on by a number of outdoor companies to promote recreational activities to urban dwellers. That was a lot of fun. We didn't have a whole lot of time before things closed down, but F and I ran around and did as many of the activities as we could, including paddling around the lake a little bit in a canoe.

So all said, I wasn't too heart-broken about the climbing plans not coming to fruition. At least I was able to salvage the day.

My father was in town the following weekend. I wanted to take him up to Indian Peaks, but we didn't have time for that. We did try to get out to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Nat'l Wildlife Refuge, but it ended up being closed due to road work. I managed to make him have a few vegetarian meals, including a dinner at Leaf in Boulder. And though he put up some joking resistance, I think he enjoyed it plenty well.

Another climbing trip cancelled last week due to an illness ravaging the household of my partner (not the same one who flaked on me before). Bummer.

Meanwhile, I started taking classes for the Colorado Mountain Club's Wilderness Trekking School. While many of the topics it covers are not new to me, it's a prerequisite for taking their Basic Mountaineering School, which I'm hoping to do next spring. And I'll still be learning a lot in WTS, and I'm meeting new people, making connections, and trying to figure out how to be sociable. The school's field days will be occupying many of my weekends for a little while.

We had our first WTS field day yesterday, which took us to Watrous Gulch, just the other side of I-70 from Torrey's Peak. The aspen trees are in the midst of their autumnal turning from silver green to the most vivid shades of yellow and orange. At times, while walking through the fallen foliage on the trail, I imagined that the round leaves were coins of gold from some lost and scattered treasure.

One of the biggest challenges right now is trying to stick to some kind of fitness routine. I'm mostly avoiding running right now, still trying to let the PF in my right foot work itself out. The weather is great for cycling, but the sun rises so late these days that there's no time for a ride in the morning before I have to get F up and ready for school. And with C's evening classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, and my WTS classes on Tuesdays, afternoon workouts aren't much of an option. When school isn't preventing it, F and I have been going to the climbing gym after I get home from work. That's something, at least.

So I finally resolved myself to the fact that, though it's still prime cycling weather, I have to start doing my workouts indoors on the trainer, early in the morning. Riding outdoors will be relegated to weekends. And even though I suck at bouldering, right now that may be my best bet for getting out and climbing on actual rock on a regular basis. It's something I can go out and do without worrying about finding a partner, and I'm sure I ought to be able to squeeze that into my schedule somewhere.

Chimney Rock in southern Colorado has been in the news recently, as it was newly made a National Monument. Reading about it sent me back two years to my Grand Canyon bicycle tour. It's got the wanderlust stirring in the back of my mind. Don't know when I'll be able to hit the road again like that, but I think I need to get out of town for a while.

Time to Go

The autumn school term started this week, not only for my wife, but also for my daughter, who started kindergarten on Monday. So not only do I need to be home from work early twice a week, but I also have to get my daughter to school in the mornings. And as will happen with the year waning, sunrise has been gradually coming later and later each morning. These things have necessitated some major adjustments to my schedule.

My routine throughout the summer had been to get up at 5:00, eat breakfast, and get out and ride for an hour or two after the sun was up and my food had a chance to start digesting. Recently, I've been trying to get out of the office for an afternoon run a few times a week.

But now, by the time the sun is coming up, my daughter needs to be well on her way to getting ready for school. And she needs to be there earlier than I was typically returning from my morning ride. Running in the afternoon cuts into my work productivity and sometimes conflicts with my ability to get home to watch the kids so my wife can go to class.

It has been tempting to complain that there are just too many obligations and needs competing for my time. But I'm not the only one having to make adjustments to accommodate the changes we're experiencing. So I've just got to try to figure out something that will work. The best plan I've come up with is to turn my whole work and exercise schedule on its head.

1. Get to work earlier. After dropping my daughter off at school, I'm going straight to the office. Heretofore, I've enjoyed coming in a little later, but that's going to have to change.
2. Leave work earlier. I have to do this some of the time anyway, so I'll make it part of my normal routine.
3. Daily morning rides are out. The weather is too nice for me to resign myself to spinning on the trainer in the basement. Since I don't want to ride on the road before sunrise, this is just going to be a fact of life for a while.
4. Daily morning running is in. I like pre-dawn running, and right now my mileage is low enough that I can get back to the house at a reasonable time. This morning I set my alarm for 4:45, started running at 5:30, and was back just in time to wake my daughter. I think I can do this five times a week.
5. A few afternoon rides during the week will have to do. On evenings that my wife doesn't have school, I should be able to squeeze in a ride after work but before supper. They can't be long rides, but an hour or so of intervals will serve just fine to keep me in shape.
6. Weekends are for longer, more enjoyable rides. If cycling were just about getting a workout, I'm not sure I'd be able to keep up my motivation. Hopefully I'll be able to do at least one fun ride each weekend to help me relax and recover from the higher-intensity work during the week.

Between these changes and some help from the rest of the family to keep things going smoothly, I just might end up in better shape that I have been all summer. We'll see how it goes.

Whirlwind Weekends

The last couple of weekends have been packed full of little things that add up to a whole lot of fun.

August 6th was the (rescheduled) Lookout Mountain Hill Climb race. As expected, I came in toward the front of the middle of the pack (15/40). But I'm pretty pleased with my time: 21:25, which is a new PR for the course. My family was able to get up to the top and cheer me through the finish line. All of the other riders I talked to had similarly positive experiences.

Later that afternoon we went to the Adams County Fair, where we looked at the chickens, turkeys, rabbits, sheep, goats, pigs, and horses. I didn't want to spend a whole lot of time on the rides, but the kids did get on the carousel and a boat ride, and my daughter and I went on the ferris wheel.

The next morning I got in a nice recovery ride on the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Loop. That afternoon I attended the volunteer orientation for the USA Pro Cycling Challenge - the new stage race here in Colorado starting on the 22nd of this month. I'm going to be working security on the Denver end of the final stage on the 28th. I wish I could take the whole week off of work and see more of the race, but it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to squeeze in much spectating.

Since the Lookout Mountain race was the last one I signed up for this year, I'm trying to get back into running. I got in three runs throughout the week, but I'm having to start at low mileage and work my way back up. Back in the winter, I was up to about 13.2 miles, but now I'm doing 3 to 5. That's no surprise, though, and running in the heat is a pretty different experience.

On Saturday the 13th, F and I took a canoeing class at the Boulder Reservoir presented by Avid4Adventure. It was pretty terrific. I've been wanting to look into canoeing or kayaking for a while now, and this was the perfect opportunity to learn more about it. And it was my daughter's first time in a small boat.

The class started at 8:30, and my wife and son were coming along for the ride. Since there wouldn't be much time for fussing with breakfast, I made some steel-cut oats overnight in the slow-cooker. Steel-cut oats take forever to cook, but they have some nutritional advantages over rolled oats. This is one of my favorite ways to have a hot breakfast waiting for me when I wake up.

• 1 cup steel-cut oats
• 4 cups water
• 2 apples, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 or 3 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp Truvia sweetener

(Note: I don't actually measure the salt, cinnamon, and sweetener, so those amounts are just guesses.)

Before going to bed, spray the slow-cooker bowl with cooking spray to reduce sticking. Then mix all of the ingredients and cook on low. Get a good night's sleep. In the morning, stir well before serving. This makes 4 pretty good sized bowls full.

Obviously, there are endless variations on this theme. You can use chia seeds, blackstrap molasses, carob or cocoa powder, any kind of fresh or dried fruit, etc. And the leftovers taste good cold too, so don't feel obligated to eat it all in one morning.

Today (Sunday) I got up early and did one of my favorite rides in the Broomfield/Superior area which will soon be appearing in my Road-biking Denver's Northern Suburbs series. While I didn't get to do everything else I planned on doing today, I got some yard work and other errands done and made some salsa after supper. I'll wait until it has had a chance to sit and let the flavors combine before declaring it a success and posting the recipe.

The coming week has some more adventures in store. More about that later.

Road-biking Denver's Northern Suburbs, Part 4: Rocky Mountain Arsenal

For much of the latter half of the 20th century, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal was a site for the manufacture and storage of chemical weapons. In more recent years, it has been converted to a wildlife refuge. It features a nice visitor's center with activities for children and some walking trails.

The fourth cycling route in this series is a loop around the Rocky Mountain Arsenal lands and its surrounding rural and suburban areas.


View Rocky Mountain Arsenal Loop in a larger map

This is a ride I like to do early on a Sunday morning. A major reason for that is SH2 (the diagonal road on the map) is not a good cycling road. It has no shoulder and can have quite a lot of industrial Commerce City traffic. But on a Sunday morning, while everyone else are still in their slippers and drinking coffee, the roads are almost empty and even highway 2 isn't so unpleasant.

The route begins at the park next to Themmig Elementary School, just off of Peoria Street. From there, head south on Peoria, take a quick left on 104th Ave, and then right on SH2. South of 96th Ave, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal flanks the road to the East.

Turn left on Quebec Pkwy (called Rosemary Street when turning right). My experience has been that Sunday morning traffic on Quebec is actually heavier than on SH2. But the road is much wider, so it still feels safer. There is a convenience store at the corner of Quebec and 72nd Ave, should you need any refreshments.

56th Ave starts out as a sub-par biking road as well. Dick's Sporting Goods Park can tend to bring in a lot of traffic, but that doesn't last very long. Soon traffic dies down and the road widens, and you're rolling along with the open lands of RMA on your left. A left-hand turn onto Havana would take you to the RMA visitor's center.

Heading north on Tower Road, you will soon come to a cluster of hotels and restaurants which serve some demographic related to Denver International Airport. Presumably there is a demand for these places, but it seems like an odd location to me. Farther up the road, around 104th Ave., is the community of Reunion. There are some businesses around that intersection, probably including a convenience store, but I've never looked closely enough to be able to say exactly what you'd find if you were to turn in there.

At 120th Ave, the RMA route overlaps with the Adams County Loop, so you could keep going on Tower Road and head up toward Brighton. Turning left on 120th takes you westward, back to Peoria and the beginning of the loop.

The beginning and ending point on Peoria is presented here because it's the closest public parking I've found for those who might be driving to get there. But when I'm approaching this loop by bike (heading east on 120th), I actually prefer to take Chambers to 96th Ave, and then head west to get back to SH2. That reduces the amount of time spend on the highway and increases time spent along side the Arsenal. This alternate route is marked in purple in the map above.

Road-biking Denver's Northern Suburbs:

• Part 1: Adams County Loop
• Part 2: Thornton, Erie, Dacono
• Part 3: Thornton, Dacono, Fort Lupton

Don't just mind your own business

I made a coworker mad yesterday as he was telling a story about how his wife got hurt while riding on a bike path. "She was just riding along, minding her own business, when some Lance Armstrong type going way too fast tried to pass her..." I couldn't help but laugh. I don't think the accident was her fault, and I sure don't think bicycle accidents are funny. But all of these stories begin that way: "I was just riding along, minding my own business, when suddenly I noticed there was a puppy caught in my sprocket."

Upon further reflection, it occurs to me that "minding my own business" is double-speak for "had my head up my ass." Trust me. I have a vacation home in Rectal Vistas, CO, so it's not like I'm just passing judgement on everybody else, here. I have been guilty of not paying enough attention. And I'm fairly sympathetic to both parties in the accident related by my coworker.

You see, I'm pretty sure the guy that hit her was also just minding his own business. Two people in motion, each of them insufficiently aware of the other, is a recipe for disaster. Heck, one person in motion is enough to do the trick. The last time I nearly got in an automobile accident, I was just driving along the freeway, minding my own business, when suddenly the cars in front of me weren't moving anymore. (Hooray for modern brake technology!)

So whether you're a roadie keeping an eye on your power output, a runner with earphones blasting your favorite song, a dog-walker on a cell phone, or a motorist cruising down the highway, minding your own business is, at best, likely to be a nuisance to others; and at worst, liable to get you both seriously hurt.

When you're out there doing whatever it is you do, stay alert. Be aware of your surroundings. Make it your business to know what the people around you are doing. And above all, be courteous. It isn't always enough to avoid an accident, but wouldn't it be better to have a story that begins with "I saw him coming and tried to stay out of the way, but that erratic SOB ran into me anyway."

Road-biking Denver's Northern Suburbs, Part 3: Thornton, Dacono, Fort Lupton

This third route in the "Road-biking Denver's Northern Suburbs" series is another loop through the farm lands north of the suburbs.


View Thornton, Dacono, Ft. Lupton in a larger map

The route begins at the ball fields on Holly Street, just south of 136th Ave. There is ample parking available, and it's a good spot to meet up with friends if you're going for a group ride. Construction is currently in progress to extend the complex with a skate park. There are several opportunities along the route for picking up snacks and drinks.

From Holly Street, go north and take 136th Avenue east to Colorado Blvd. From there, it's a long, straight shot up to SH 52. As you approach Dacono, the blue water tower just south of the highway becomes visible. Here we intersect with the Thornton, Erie, Dacono Loop from part 2. Combining the two makes for a nice, longer ride.

Colorado Blvd, south of Dacono

As in part 2, SH 52 is higher traffic than the rest of the route, but it's fairly moderate, at that. Heading east, the shoulder varies and is rough in places, but it's rideable throughout.

Just before Fort Lupton, you will cross the South Platte River before the underpass at US-85. Ride through town, through a couple of traffic lights, and turn left on what is variously known as Business US-85, County Road 27, or in these parts, South Denver Ave.

South Platte River, Fort Lupton

As you come near to Brighton, there is a large factory where wind turbine parts are manufactured. Sometimes the huge blades will be loaded onto railroad cars, ready for delivery.

The intersection at 168th provides another chance to extend the ride by heading east and following (in reverse) the Adams County Loop described in part 1.

Heading west on 168th Avenue, you will cross back over the river, past a concrete loading site, and then turn left onto Tucson. Here, and farther on Riverdale, there are some sand quarries which provide some large truck traffic, but I've never found it to be a problem.

From Tucson, turn right on Highway 7, or 160th Ave. Then take the first left onto Riverdale, just before the hill. The stretch along Riverdale is quite pleasant. At the stop sign near the golf course, turn right onto 128th, leading back to Holly Street and the end of the ride.

Road-biking Denver's Northern Suburbs, Part 2: Thornton, Erie, Dacono

This is another of the routes I like to ride in the morning before heading off to work. It quickly takes you out of town, past some of the outer subdivisions, and into the rural countryside. On clear mornings the view of the mountains out to the west is quite nice.


View Thornton, Eerie, Dacono in a larger map

I usually ride this loop clockwise, if only because the right-hand turns are easier to make. The map shows the ride beginning and ending at the parking lot of the shopping center at 136th and Colorado Blvd, but as with the first installment of this series, it is easily accessible from most of the northern Thornton area.

There is a landfill at the northern end of Sheridan Parkway which results in a little bit of extra traffic from garbage trucks. But it isn't bad and doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the ride.

It is common to see hot air balloons in the sky to the west as you ride north along County Road 5, and the view of the mountains is usually very nice. That road takes you past Erie High School, an airstrip community, and a salvage yard for old VWs. The route then turns onto SH 52 just before the county road turns to gravel.

SH 52 is the highest-traffic road on this route, as it is an I-25 tributary, but the shoulders are pretty good, and even at the intersection with the interstate, it is quite manageable. There are a couple of convenience stores accessible from this point - one near I-25 and the other just past the turn onto Colorado Boulevard, also known as Weld County Road 17 in these parts.

I like to note the four radio towers on the east side of the road just north of 168th Avenue, or Baseline Road, which serves as a good distance marker as you head south. Shortly after that is the intersection with 160th/SH 7, and then the home stretch back to the beginning.

Race weekend

We just finished up Memorial Day here in the U.S., which meant a 3-day weekend with lots of barbecues and special events going on all over the place.

The events of the long weekend really started for me on Thursday, when I participated in a friendly competition with coworkers at our Boulder office's 3rd annual Flagstaff Rider/Runner Challenge. The idea is to see whether it is faster to run the trail or ride the road. It was a lot of fun. I came in first amongst cyclists and second only to my friend and colleague Jim, who ran to an overall first place.

On Saturday and Sunday, I participated in the Superior Morgul Classic. I had originally planned to only do the road race on Sunday, but I got a package deal on Handlebargains for both the crit and the road race (plus some socks and a t-shirt).

Start of the crit, SM4 category.

The crit ended up being more of a non-event for me. I dropped my chain shortly before the end of the first lap, got it good and twisted up, and took forever to get it untangled and back on the chainring. I managed to get a few more laps in before being told by the race official to pull out before the main field lapped me. It was disappointing, but that kind of thing just happens sometimes. The family was there to support me and we had a good time anyway.

Sunday I woke up and, with much apprehension after the previous day's mishap, I headed out for the road race on the famous Morgul-Bismarck circuit. The weather was somewhat dreary and cold, but after warming up, it wasn't unpleasant for riding.


View Larger Map

My category did three laps around that loop, which actually amounted to four climbs up "The Wall" where the finish line is. We had a neutral start on Coalton Road, and racing began after the first climb.

I had better mechanical luck, though there were a few close calls. I nearly ran into some cones on the road, almost flatted out when I hit a seam between concrete and asphalt at the roundabout on McCaslin, and went over a dropped water bottle in the feed zone. But I made it through unscathed. It was much more my type of ride anyway, and I came in 13th in a field of 66 riders. I felt like that was a perfectly acceptable result for my first (completed) race.

Finish line at the road race.

My family almost made it out to see the end of the race, but children and complications come hand in hand. Jim was there at the finish line, though, and I caught up with my wife and kids back at the event coordination area.

That left me with one more day for rest and recovery. On Monday we got out our bikes, trailer, and tag-along and rode up to the park for some play time. I had every intention of spending the afternoon grilling some kabobs and drinking a beer. But there was no beer in the fridge, and the wind, which picked up mightily after we got home, blew out the flames on the grill. I finished up the cooking inside, and we had a great Memorial Day meal nonetheless.

Flagstaff, and then some

View Larger Map

Today I drove up to Boulder and rode the route pictured above. I've been meaning to give the Flagstaff climb a go for quite a while now, so I started from there and made a good loop out of it. I wrote down my turns on a strip of masking tape and stuck that on my top tube so I would be sure not to get lost. But maps rarely tell the whole story when you're planning a ride in unfamiliar territory.

I parked near Chautauqua Park in Boulder and went straight for Flagstaff. I knew that I should have rode around a little bit to warm up first, but I'm not exactly known for my patience.

The climb up Flagstaff did not disappoint. My lungs were burning, heart was pounding, legs were threatening to quit, and in short, I was in pain until the exit from the Boulder Mountain Park and the turn downhill. Not that the climbing was completely finished or anything, but there's a pretty good reprieve from it for a while after that.

I stopped briefly at the turn onto Gross Dam Road (point B), caught my breath, and verified that I was on the right track. Everything from point B to point C on the map is dirt and gravel. It took me by surprise and made me a bit nervous, but my road bike handled it just fine. Admittedly, I took it really slow. A wipe-out or a pinch flat would really have put a damper on things.

Gross Reservoir

The stretch on Coal Creek Canyon Road (Highway 72, from D to E) is some very scenic, very fast riding. I'd been on that part before last summer. Traffic on Highway 93 can be pretty hairy, but it doesn't last too long.

Shortly after point G, there is a sign that indicates that you have to abandon Marshall Drive and get back onto Highway 93. But that only applies to cars. A multi-use path picks up where the road leaves off. The route is mostly on paths until you get back to Baseline, and a good bike lane will take you back up to Chautauqua Park.

I envy those who live close enough to the mountains to be able to do this kind of ride from their front door. But I'm going to be making every effort to get out there and hit the hills in the coming weeks. My climbing legs aren't anywhere near where they were at the end of last summer. Hopefully I'll get them back in shape in time for the Mount Evans Hill Climb in July.

Lookout Mountain race postponed

The morning of Saturday, April 23, I went out to Golden to spend some time riding up Lookout Mountain in preparation for the race on the 30th. It was cold and snowy and generally unpleasant. So rather than the 2 or 3 times I thought I was going to do the climb, I just went up once. I even skipped the back-side loop on Paradise Road.

On the way back down I saw something I've never even heard of before: a black fox. From what I've read, it's just a red fox with a genetic mutation. They say it's more common in young foxes, and that they usually grow out of it. But this one was pretty big, so I believe it was a rarer adult specimen.

Anyway, I was all ajitter as I prepared for the race Saturday morning. The wind was quite blustery on the drive out, and the temperatures were cold. I tried to convince myself that the previous weekend's training effort was going to serve me well. But when I got to Golden, I found out that the race was postponed to a later date due to dangerously strong wind farther up the mountain.

It was pretty disappointing, but it wasn't quite as breezy and cold near my home, so I got out for a ride despite the weather conditions. The rest of the day was spent hanging out with the family, reading, napping, and shopping for groceries.

Sunday morning I got up and did an indoor workout on the trainer. I tried a new CTS video with some criterium-specific work in preparation for the Superior Morgul Classic coming up on Memorial Day weekend. I had planned to only do the road race, but a bundle package came up on Handlebargains (it's like Groupon for bike stuff), so I put aside my fear of fast cornering and signed up for both races. Anyway, that CTS workout is a butt-kicker. It was nice.

Bike fitting

Last week I went and got a professional bike fitting for my Motobecane Immortal Force. I've had the bike for a year, and while the setup wasn't bad, there were a few things that I felt could be better. Based on the recommendation from a couple of coworkers, I scheduled an appointment with Annie at Integrated Cycle Fit in Lyons, Colorado. Now that I've had several training sessions, I can say with certainty that I'm pleased with the result.

Integrated Cycle Fit is a small outfit, so you don't get the ultra-fancy computerized video analysis system which you see in some of the larger bike shops. Instead what you get is a couple of hours in a quiet atmosphere with someone who has a ton of knowledge and experience with cycling and biomechanics. Annie is, after all, a physical therapist and former road racer. And since she isn't selling bike components, I would have taken any suggested part replacements seriously. Fortunately, she didn't think I really need to replace anything.

She spent plenty of time examining me both on and off the bike. After talking about my background and goals for the season, we tested the flexibility and strength in my legs, arms, and back. Then we looked at my form on the bike. From there we worked to determine not only how the bike and shoes can be adjusted to fit me better, but how I improve how I use my body on the bike.

So Integrated Cycle Fit has my resounding endorsement. If you don't feel like your current bike setup is optimal, send Annie an email and see what she can do for you.