5-16-2010 Canyon Blaster Ride

It was a fabulous day for a ride, despite the rather gloomy forecast as recently as yesterday (depending on which one you checked). We left from Morrison at about 9:15 am with 11 bikes and 12 riders (Lynn, Mark, Bob, Allan, Charles, Rick, Nat, Jerry, Gordon, Fred-a guest, Ed and Susan).

We headed out through Morrison and along the back way into Golden. From there we tackled our first canyon-Clear Creek. We went right up, only getting stuck behind a slow car once (not bad for a trip up to gambling central in Colorado).

We continued on through Blackhawk and went right onto Golden Gate Canyon. While it was still nice and sunny, it was chilly as we hit the higher elevations. There was still snow on the sides of the roads and, in many places, right up to the edge of the roads and even a bit on the shoulders. There was not, however, any snow or ice on the roads. We did run into a few spots where snowmelt was running across the road-and there was still a fair amount of sand and gravel in the center and on the edges of the road.

We headed down Golden Gate Canyon (and back into warmer temperatures) and made our first gas stop. After a brief stop and the loss of two bikes and two riders (Nat and Jerry were just there for part of the ride), our somewhat reduced group headed up Coal Creek Canyon.

Bob pre-checked Clear Creek Canyon for me on Saturday, since he was planning to ride that direction anyway. I also checked it. As of yesterday, the hairpin turns between Wondervu and Pinecliffe were completely sand covered and graveled. However, once we got up there we found that, while it was still sandy and gravelly, it was not as bad as expected. And the scenery was wonderful, with snow still on the mountains and wonderful evergreens standing out against all that white.

The intersection from Coal Creek Canyon to Peak-to-Peak was, predictably, very sandy and had a lot of gravel (in addition to the sharp uphill grade). We all made it around safely by taking our time and being careful around that corner. We took Peak-to-Peak through Nederland and then headed down Boulder Creek Canyon. We didn't see as many bicycles as we expected, although there were certainly plenty of them out. It was another windy fun road down into Boulder, where we stopped at the Thunderbird Café for lunch.

From there, we headed out 36 to Left Hand Canyon. Again, while it was sandy up there, it was not as bad as we expected and we had a pleasant ride. Again, the intersection from the canyon on to Peak-to-Peak required some care, but we all safely navigated the sandy corner.

We headed down Peak-to-Peak again, this time going to St. Vrain Canyon and heading down into Lyons for our final gas stop of the day. We lost one rider (Fred-our guest) at that stop, as he headed straight out to I-25 and home. The rest of us took 36 back into Boulder and stopped at Glacer (you aren't really surprised, are you?) for ice cream and final goodbyes. From there, one group headed up 93 towards home and another group took a direct route to US36 to head home.

It was a wonderful day for a ride. We also saw the Liberty Belle B-52, an antique plane, which was flying out of Rocky Mountain Airport this weekend, fly overhead several times-a couple of photos that Mark took later are also included for anyone who wants to see the plane.

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