So this week, I’ve been recovering from a cold, and I’ve finally got the upper hand over it. I don’t really need an excuse to ride, but the fresh air does my sinuses well, so there’s my excuse.
I started late, by going out to lunch at my daughter’s restaurant, and time to hatch my route. I was planning on heading out east of the city, which is a pretty boring ride, but I was looking for fresh air-not interesting views. I remembered that I had suggested a ride to Breckenridge this past week, so I decided to go west, which is a ride filled with great views and good roads. The air was just as clear out west as it was to the east.
I left town at about 1 PM. The sky is mostly cloudy, but there is enough blue to keep me clear. The air felt great. I rode up Ute Pass along side of two other bikers, and some surprisingly heavy traffic. I discovered later that there was an Oktoberfest going on in Woodland Park.
I rode through Woodland Park and stopped at a custom bike shop there to stretch my legs and look at new stuff. There wasn't too much there that interested me, so I rode onward. The route was pretty familiar, and easy to look at. In between Divide and Florissant are a great deal of trees and rock formations that look down on the biker zipping by.
Clouds were growing on the western horizon, and the unmistakable vertical gray of rain coming down was ahead of me. I didn’t want to get wet, seeing as I’ve got this upper hand on my cold-and I hadn’t sneezed once during the ride so far. I figured that I would stop at the Wilkerson Pass ranger station to re-evaluate the ride and put on my rain suit, if necessary. That meant that I had about 7 miles to ride in a light rain.
What bothered me the most wasn’t that my pant legs were getting wet, but that the drops were stinging my neck. The rain felt like tiny beestings, and I needed to get out of the rain pretty quick. The ranger station appeared in time, at the western edge of the Front Range.
I went in to the book store at the ranger station, and spent a great deal of time looking at the tour books. There were maps that I wanted, and a huge relief map on the wall that gathered my interest. The route to Breckenridge looked close to where I was at the time, and the clouds were clearing. I bought another map at the station, and headed out again.
I considered headed back in to town just in case the rain started up again. It was a little after 3 PM, and the sky was pretty clear, so held a quick vote when I exited the parking lot. Breckenridge won, and I started out again headed west. The next leg of this journey was down the western slope, and in to South Park. This open area of land is a straight shot out west towards the Sawatch Range.
I went through Hartsel, a small town nestled next to one small hill which looks to be like a bump on a huge putting green. There were a couple of buildings and two abandoned gas stations to pass by, before I turned off of Highway 24 and north on Highway 9.
I never took this road before. It darted up along the side of a ridgeline that became a wall along the eastern side of the road. It wasn’t more than 20 or so minutes before I reached the town of Fairplay.
I turned off of Highway 9 and on to Highway 285 for a few moments when I came to a gas station. While I topped off, I looked off into the distance to where I was headed. It was not looking good. As much as I wanted to go to Breckenridge, I didn’t want to screw up my fight with the cold. I examined the map and looked at the distance I was headed back over. Suddenly, I had another idea. Instead of heading back to Colorado Springs the same way, I decided to head up to the northeast along Highway 285. This went straight in to Denver, and I would hit C470 outside of Denver that would take me back home.
This was also a new route for me. I was patting myself on the back for this route. I didn’t want to take any more gravel roads and wanted to stay close to civilization. Highway 285 would meet that criteria. I headed up northeast. The road took me up a hill that overlooked the northern edge of South Park, just south of Red Hill Pass. I would go through this pass, then more; Kenosha Pass, Crow Hill, and Deer Creek Pass.
There were small towns to go through, such as Webster, Singleton, Glenisle, and Pine Junction. It was in Glenisle where I found a hot dog stand in the shape of an actual
Coney Island dog. It was one classic building similar to the giant covered wagon building along Interstate 70 or the world’s largest rocking chair in Penrose. I love those buildings, and it was strange to see it out in the Rocky Mountains.
I stopped down the road at a gas station for an apple and a Coke. While I was there, I noticed on the map that another road would take me right down to Deckers. Deckers would take me right back to the Springs, and cut off an hour on my ride. My only problem was that the map didn’t tell me what condition the road was in.
I learned a long time ago to not argue with certain fates, and my risk was high. If the road was not paved, I may knock off some time from the ride, but if I had any problems, I would be in trouble. Fate told me to continue on my route toward Denver. The view was excellent while I skirted along south of Mount Evans. I did not argue with my route.
At about 6 PM, the Denver skyline appeared in front of me. I had no trouble finding C470. I really enjoyed riding on 285, and decided to do it again sometime. After a quick ride on 470, I found Highway 85 and headed south. It had rained earlier, and the air was still cool with the moisture. I was anxious to get home, and was happy that I hadn’t sneezed once during my ride. The fresh air did me a lot of good.
I started late, by going out to lunch at my daughter’s restaurant, and time to hatch my route. I was planning on heading out east of the city, which is a pretty boring ride, but I was looking for fresh air-not interesting views. I remembered that I had suggested a ride to Breckenridge this past week, so I decided to go west, which is a ride filled with great views and good roads. The air was just as clear out west as it was to the east.
I left town at about 1 PM. The sky is mostly cloudy, but there is enough blue to keep me clear. The air felt great. I rode up Ute Pass along side of two other bikers, and some surprisingly heavy traffic. I discovered later that there was an Oktoberfest going on in Woodland Park.
I rode through Woodland Park and stopped at a custom bike shop there to stretch my legs and look at new stuff. There wasn't too much there that interested me, so I rode onward. The route was pretty familiar, and easy to look at. In between Divide and Florissant are a great deal of trees and rock formations that look down on the biker zipping by.
Clouds were growing on the western horizon, and the unmistakable vertical gray of rain coming down was ahead of me. I didn’t want to get wet, seeing as I’ve got this upper hand on my cold-and I hadn’t sneezed once during the ride so far. I figured that I would stop at the Wilkerson Pass ranger station to re-evaluate the ride and put on my rain suit, if necessary. That meant that I had about 7 miles to ride in a light rain.
What bothered me the most wasn’t that my pant legs were getting wet, but that the drops were stinging my neck. The rain felt like tiny beestings, and I needed to get out of the rain pretty quick. The ranger station appeared in time, at the western edge of the Front Range.
I went in to the book store at the ranger station, and spent a great deal of time looking at the tour books. There were maps that I wanted, and a huge relief map on the wall that gathered my interest. The route to Breckenridge looked close to where I was at the time, and the clouds were clearing. I bought another map at the station, and headed out again.
I considered headed back in to town just in case the rain started up again. It was a little after 3 PM, and the sky was pretty clear, so held a quick vote when I exited the parking lot. Breckenridge won, and I started out again headed west. The next leg of this journey was down the western slope, and in to South Park. This open area of land is a straight shot out west towards the Sawatch Range.
I went through Hartsel, a small town nestled next to one small hill which looks to be like a bump on a huge putting green. There were a couple of buildings and two abandoned gas stations to pass by, before I turned off of Highway 24 and north on Highway 9.
I never took this road before. It darted up along the side of a ridgeline that became a wall along the eastern side of the road. It wasn’t more than 20 or so minutes before I reached the town of Fairplay.
I turned off of Highway 9 and on to Highway 285 for a few moments when I came to a gas station. While I topped off, I looked off into the distance to where I was headed. It was not looking good. As much as I wanted to go to Breckenridge, I didn’t want to screw up my fight with the cold. I examined the map and looked at the distance I was headed back over. Suddenly, I had another idea. Instead of heading back to Colorado Springs the same way, I decided to head up to the northeast along Highway 285. This went straight in to Denver, and I would hit C470 outside of Denver that would take me back home.
This was also a new route for me. I was patting myself on the back for this route. I didn’t want to take any more gravel roads and wanted to stay close to civilization. Highway 285 would meet that criteria. I headed up northeast. The road took me up a hill that overlooked the northern edge of South Park, just south of Red Hill Pass. I would go through this pass, then more; Kenosha Pass, Crow Hill, and Deer Creek Pass.
There were small towns to go through, such as Webster, Singleton, Glenisle, and Pine Junction. It was in Glenisle where I found a hot dog stand in the shape of an actual
Coney Island dog. It was one classic building similar to the giant covered wagon building along Interstate 70 or the world’s largest rocking chair in Penrose. I love those buildings, and it was strange to see it out in the Rocky Mountains.
I stopped down the road at a gas station for an apple and a Coke. While I was there, I noticed on the map that another road would take me right down to Deckers. Deckers would take me right back to the Springs, and cut off an hour on my ride. My only problem was that the map didn’t tell me what condition the road was in.
I learned a long time ago to not argue with certain fates, and my risk was high. If the road was not paved, I may knock off some time from the ride, but if I had any problems, I would be in trouble. Fate told me to continue on my route toward Denver. The view was excellent while I skirted along south of Mount Evans. I did not argue with my route.
At about 6 PM, the Denver skyline appeared in front of me. I had no trouble finding C470. I really enjoyed riding on 285, and decided to do it again sometime. After a quick ride on 470, I found Highway 85 and headed south. It had rained earlier, and the air was still cool with the moisture. I was anxious to get home, and was happy that I hadn’t sneezed once during my ride. The fresh air did me a lot of good.
1 comment:
Next time you're at the Coney Island restaurant you have to ask one of the locals about its history. It was moved in recent years from Aspen Park, several miles away to its present location, when 285 was widened to 4 lanes.
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