A couple days without big mileage have been a nice break. Still riding, just not at the same lengths as last week.
Friday (day 27, Sept 2, also 1 month of retirement!), I rode over and up to Boulder, CO to visit with old friends from State College, Chuck and Susie Anderson. It was a 25 mile ride up and I picked a route that was the most direct and mixed between on road and trails. Can’t say enough about the great cycling infrastructure in Denver and Boulder, and Colorado in general (at least what I’ve seen so far). I rode most of the way on low traffic streets and most of those with bike lanes or shares, but half of the ride to Boulder was on the US 36 trail which runs between the outskirts of Denver into Boulder along the highway. Under-and-over-passes made for a conflict-free 14 miles.
Friday evening was spent reconnecting with Chuck and Susie over pizza and beer. Dana & I had dinner with them when we were here in 2019, but that was way too short. As I mentioned earlier, Chuck was my inspiration for becoming an LCI, and both Susie and Chuck were involved in the folk music scene in SC.
Saturday morning, we all headed out on our bikes (I left the panniers at the house!) and rode into downtown Boulder. There was a farmer’s market going on and I got a chance for a quick tour of the Dunshanbe Teahouse, a gift to Boulder from it’s sister city in Tajikistan. Susie’s still rehabbing from a shoulder injury from a bike crash, so Chuck and I went on to climb up Boulder Canyon. Dana and I rode up there in ’19, but a lot of it was closed and still being rebuilt from the floods in 2013. This time, all was completed and we had a nice ride up through a really beautiful part of the area. On the way back, we walked through Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall and watched a hilarious and talented street performer’s act. Chuck even volunteered as an assistant!
Here’s a link to the video of Chuck’s performance:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/QYrGDJayDGonFWP36
I had only planned to spend Friday night, but when Susie and Chuck suggested that I stay another night, I jumped at the chance. We had a great dinner Saturday evening at the Mountain Sun brewery (and beer, of course!). Sunday morning, Chuck’s made blueberry pancakes and sausages and more catching up, of course. I put the panniers on Papa H, and headed back to Denver by a little different and slightly longer route. The high today was to be 93, so Chuck and Susie loaded me up with ice and water and I hit the road after we all said our goodbyes. Great visit!
Back at Aaron’s, I showered and took a nice nap. Sandra came over about 5 and we headed out to dinner. Aaron and Sandra are headed to a concert tonight, and I’m just chilling and catching up on this blog and doing some planning for when I head to Provo on Wednesday.
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