Up on the Poudre River afternoon clouds started moving out, the sun shone and its warmth started drying out the vegetation. Feeling dryness of the trails down at Horsetooth reservoir open space. I was given the tour of the Horsetooth by the bike shop. I let google maps navigate me to the trailhead right before start of Tower Trail jeep road climb. Open space, costs $9.00 per day paid at a vending machine on my card.
Nice, sunny and warming up but still warranted a long sleeve jersey. Tower trail is the smooth well maintained access road to the electronic towers at the top. Pedal, pedal, pedal, then get off and walk. There were 2 very steep pitched I lowered my expactations of pedaling even in the 46T. The climb was substantial, impressive vert per mile, took a lot of time.
I made the intersection of Spring Creek which was the high point. Old school single track with challenges.
I followed the tour. Enjoyable ride and trails.
Next was driving back to Fort Collins to find a laundromat then drive down past Denver to Buffalo creek area. Let google find laundromat near me. Clean clothes for another week. Let google route find down to Buffalo. It adjusted the route to avoid construction on I 25. Just lots of traffic. Routed onto I 25 past construction slow down. 3 lanes high density and it wasn’t even 5 PM rush. Up ahead on opposite lane I saw emergency flashers and maybe smoke. My south bound lanes slowed to a crawl finally arriving at source of smoke and slow down: simple rear ender caused the crasher’s car to catch fire and burned down to the metal. Once by the speed resumed. Looking at the north bound traffic back up was almost heart breaking for those drivers as the back up stretched literally for miles.
Then more fun as google navigated me around western Denver. Big road climb out of the flats topping out at 8,000′ and the Pine Valley exit, this road twisted and dropped may miles to Pine then to Buffalo Creek at the lower TH. Big climb up to fist FS road to the right and gateway to established primitive sites. It is dark. I turn on the wash board resource extraction road and looking for open legal spot. Passed site 1: occupied, same as 2,3,4,5,6,7,8, then open 9. I grabbed it. All the spots were just parking spots just off the road. I was maybe 10′ off the road. But I had a spot. No internet.
Sat was bright blue sky. Trail tread is decomposed granite: larger pieces of kitty liter which just moves under wheels. Grain size appears to be larger here. Today I rode going north from the camp spot dropping down to lower trail head then finishing the ride on a hump back up.
I passed several riders pedaling up, my smile was bigger than theirs. The climb back was almost painless, to me was easier than my descent.
Back at the van: sunshine enough for no shirt. So many rigs drove past heading deeper into the forest that continued to well after dark. I have no knowledge of open camp spaces would be for all that traffic. I was just smug that I had a spot even if I was dusted by each passing rig. I could hear pulled travel trailers before U saw them because they emitted a sound something like a beaten drum.
Sat afternoon I planned on driving back out of the valley then into Denver environs to visit with my cousin and her husband. But first was a ride again from camp but staying high riding south on Little Scraggy then returning on Little Scraggy west, rated black. Trail dropped per Trailforks 1051′ in 4.2 miles. Kitty litter scratchy tread. A posted sign told riders not to skid as it damages the trail. Shortly I was passed by a rider who rear brake skidded his turns. I could hear the skid. Perhaps more front brake would moderate his speed for the turns lessening or eliminating that skidding. Pleasant challenging enjoyable ride, Trail crossed the road at bottom of punishing steep uphill on stutter bumped gravel. Bike suspension slow dampens the bumps.
Back in the fall of 2008, the first year of my travels I rode here then drove to my cousin’s house. This trip re sequenced the events.
Back at the van cleaned up then made ready for driving. Plugged in cousin’s address in Google then just made the called out turns. Climbed out of valley to high point on US 285. I descended while bumper to bumper crawling was the climbing traffic. Again miles of back up. Just too many people wanting to be at the same place at the same time. Made Susan’s house.
Visited with Susan and Don. Susan and I are the same age, her mother is my mother’s sister, she is 92 years old still living independently. My mother died 41 years ago. Her husband, Don, is an artist. Family connection. Spent night in their driveway. Today was another bluebird day. I used their ladder to look at the van roof to figure out where water is still finding its way inside. I retaped 2 body joints with Gorilla tape. We visited till 1 then I put the van in gear and drove south on I 25 thru the gut of Denver urban sprawl. Turned off interstate for 2 lane heading west to Canon City then out to Oil Well Flats Trail system.
At the TH I walked a short piece of a trail. First off was lots of Cholla cactus, the stuff you would rather take a . 45 to the temple than fall into one. Lots and lots of the plant, mixed in a are small like prickly pear cactus. Welcome back to the desert. Going to ride here tomorrow and spend the night. Next day I will drive into town out to the South trails. Then on to Salida and the arrival of my new PUSH shock.