Freewheeling with Friends
"Don't stop!"
Only two more workdays until summer vacation! The last couple weeks of school are so chaotic. The kids are disregulated, the staff is exhausted. Everyone is looking forward to the break.
One way to get through May (“December’s Evil Twin”, as hilariously coined by a teacher friend) is to get outside for exercise and a healthy dose of fresh air. The warmer days have provided great opportunities for just that. While I thoroughly enjoyed my solitary and somewhat leisurely ride to Superior recently, it’s also a lot of fun to ride with a buddy. It’s usually an incentive to get moving faster and go a little farther. Plus, they know new places to explore that I might not have tried yet.
I’m fortunate enough to live next door to some pretty serious cycling enthusiasts. The Neighbor Man (NM) has worked in the cycling industry for decades. The Neighbor Lady (NL) is very health conscious and is a strong rider on both road and gravel. Plus, they just so happen to be great neighbors and nice people! They’re also the owners of our “bonus dog”. We have an amazing dog-sitting arrangement where we take each others’ dog when out of town. Neither of our dogs has ever been to a kennel.
On occasion, NL and I walk our dogs together through the neighborhood. While I’m usually content to take Penny on the 1-mile loop around the block, NL has a regular 3-mile route that snakes all through the subdivision. She’s hard-core! Penny and I joined her for the 3-miler last Saturday and while we were walking we decided to also go for a bike ride afterward. I didn’t feel too intimidated owing to my new e-bike and the assist it can offer if needed.
Well, it was needed! We ended up riding almost 18 miles and there was a pretty fierce uphill stretch at the mid-point. We left from our neighborhood, rode to Louisville, and then continued on the Coal Creek Trail west past the US 36 Denver Boulder Turnpike. The underpass system there is great and there are no busy roads to cross. We ended up in Superior just south of the Target and Costco. From there, we took the Mayhoffer-Singletree Trail just off of Depot Street. You can head south or west on this trail and we went south. Very quickly it merges with the Meadowlark Trail.
These are both very well-maintained gravel trails, but they do have ramped cattle guard crossings that are a bit scary to ride over if you’re a newbie. The instinct was to dismount the bike and walk across, but NL encouraged me to ride through and I got the hang of it by repeating the mantra, “Don’t stop! Don’t stop! Don’t stop!” As long as you keep moving forward, it’s an easy crossing. I forgot to take a picture, but they looked just like this:
This stretch of trail is also where a little boost of “e” came in handy. I was feeling pretty pleased with myself keeping up with NL this far, but the trail began snaking up the bluffs and I shamelessly used a little pep to keep up with her. The new Trek Dual Sport + bike came with a phone app called Trek Central and if you keep your phone in view, you can see just how much power you’re providing and how much the bike is providing. (My phone is mounted to my handlebars so it’s hands-free.) I try to make sure I’m getting a good workout by keeping my motor to rider power ratio low. For example, this entire ride came out to 16 watts of motor power and 81 watts of rider power. I can live with that. Ain’t no shame in taking a little help sometimes.
Our turnaround spot was just a couple miles further south, near where McCaslin and Coalton Rd. merge. And yes, there were more hills. But the views out here were incredible! To the north and east, Boulder County was laid out before us. To the west, the glorious Flatiron Mountains!
Neighbor Lady and I decided we will keep riding together whenever possible. She knows trails I haven’t tried yet and we both enjoy the company. I’m sure she also enjoys my frequent outbursts of “You’re so fast!” and “You’re in such great shape!” Haha. But it’s true! NL, I want to be just like you some day.
If any other friends want to ride, hit me up! I’ll make you feel very good about yourself.
Ride Map:
The best advice for living a happy life is contained in this peppy song. Live for now! Pedal on, friends.