Boulder Training Camp/Vacation - Day 2

How could the second day in Boulder be better than the first? I wasn't sure since we biked up a beautiful canyon to Jamestown and had a great session at masters swim. But damnit if Bolder didn't have something planned that would blow me away.

I woke up around 4AM, 6AM Cleveland time. I wasn't quite ready to be "up" so I hit the bathroom and went back to sleep. I managed to get another 1.5 hours in before getting up around 5:30AM. I knew I would be up before Bolder stirred so I made myself comfortable watching some TV and catching up on sports, news and weather...on three different channels.

I did some surfing of the web and waited patiently for Bolder to wake up. We weren't meeting up with the Boulder Tri Club for a group ride until 9:00AM. I waited for Bolder to wake up. I mixed up some fuel for the long ride he had planned for us. I called Aimee to chat for a while. I waited for Bolder to wake up. I read the local newspaper, Friday and Saturday editions. I waited for Bolder to wake up.

I wasn't sure quite when Bolder was going to wake up. Briefly the thought of my host lying dead in his bed flashed through my mind. OH.MY.GOD....I killed him. Bolder finally wakes up. Dude it's like 8:00AM and we have to meet the group in one hour. We high-tailed it up to the bagel shop to grab a bite to eat pre-ride. Drove back to the HABC and kitted up for the ride. We rode to the coffee shop where the group was to meet, only 5 minutes away, and waited for the ride to begin.

We set out with a group of seven riders. Conversation was good and the pace moderate at most times. We rode out to Carter Lake. This is a cool reservoir type lake that you have to climb to get to. It was about a 750 foot climb with two switchbacks. It was very cool to reach the top and see the lake on the other side. At the boat launch area for the lake was the campground grocery store. At this point were had 30 miles behind us in 1 hour 30 minutes. Not bad. Most was flat or downhill, except for climbing to Carter Lake.

I have to mention how much I enjoy seeing cyclists out riding.....a lot of them....all sorts of them......waving hello.....smiling......enjoying their ride. I saw so many cyclist that I thought I was in cycling heaven, which I think I am. Throughout the day I literally saw over 100 cyclists. If I didn't see a cyclist every 5 miles I would be surprised.

After refilling bottles we continued on. After another short climb we crested and started a screaming decent to the plains. We rode with the group a little longer until they turned right to head back to Boulder and we turned left to continue the days adventure.

Oh...the views of the foothills and mountains were spectacular. Some of the snow is still on the peaks and no picture can capture what I saw. Unfortunately I didn't have a small enough camera to bring along for the ride or else there would be some pics to accompany the story.

We continued our way towards our destination of Masonville which is southwest of Fort Collins. We climbed and descended. We saw cows, horses and other livestock. The roads were smooth for the most part and had very little traffic at times.

At Masonville we refueled again with water for myself, powerade and Mountain Dew for Bolder. This old mining town has two stores that were the coolest hole in the wall places with charm and character. It was also a popular stopping point for motorcyclists. I couldn't resist buying an ice cream sandwich....Hey I never do that type of thing and I'm on vacation.

We headed back towards Carter Lake retracing our route. Bolder and I had talked about time trials and determining LT values and power levels. So we decided that I would try a TT. I took off and started a 20 minute all out ride. The route wasn't the best because there was one downhill, some sharp turns and a major road to cross. But I did the TT regardless and we have some PowerTap information to look at.

After the TT I rode easy until I could place my right lung back into my chest. I rejoined Bolder and we began the last hour of our ride which would take us away from Carter Lake and into the town of Hygiene. That is not a typo. THE.TOWN.OF.HYGIENE. Don't ask me how they came up with that name. I'm sure there is some good history. Once we made it to Hygiene (I try not to snickers as I type that) we refueled again for the final push home to the HABC.

The rest of the ride was rather uneventful. The entire ride was actually uneventful except for a mysterious chain skip that was plaguing Bolders ride, the BMC ProMachine. We stopped several times and couldn't see any obvious problems. We did narrow it down to the chain though.

I will post the ride route and details in another post. Several comments about this ride.

• It was hot. No cloud cover and direct sunlight.
• The company was great. The others in the group were great to talk to and Bolder is a great cycling companion.
• the views were awesome. Like I said earlier, Carter Lake, the Plains, Foothills and Mountains were gorgeous.
• This was my longest ride for the season. I will not repeat the mileage again this summer.
• I thoroughly enjoyed this ride. From beginning to end. The tired feeling my legs was well worth it.

Once we got back to the HABC we showered and headed out for an early dinner. And boy did we eat. We each had the 12 ounce prime rib. Yes, we ate it all. After dinner we walked around downtown Boulder so I could see the sights. What a great little town.

Back at the HABC we relaxed, talked about the ride, and looked at the PowerTap information. Now I am done for the day. Hopefully the legs will recover overnight and be ready for a 1:30 run tomorrow morning.

Game is still On.

PS.....Good luck to everyone at all of the Ironman events, especially JT at Coeur D'Alene....her first IM.