Denver-Boulder Bike to Work Day - Success!

The Ride In

Well, I did it. 81 miles round trip and a total of about 5 hours and 15 minutes riding yesterday to and from work.

The morning ride was a real blast, although I had one minor mishap on the way and probably provided a chuckle to many people waiting at a red light at the Sheridan Blvd exit ramp on US 36. I left at 5:15 am, and arrived at work at just before 7:45, so it took me just about 2.5 hours, as predicted.

The Sand Creek, Platte River, Clear Creek and Little Dry Creek trails were all quite lovely (okay, Sand Creek wasn't so lovely through Commerce City, unless you consider oil/natural gas refineries lovely) and easy to ride. It took me about an hour to navigate these trails and exit onto Sheridan Blvd at 76th St.

I rode Sheridan's sidewalks/paths north across US 36, where I had my "accident." As I rode across, the sidewalk gets really narrow, and then there is a quick left turn at the east side of the exit ramp. Well, I couldn't negotiate it quickly enough, and I flopped right over in front of a line of cars. I just picked myself up and went on my way without even a glance back... I'm sure they were all amused.

I continued North on Sheridan to 120th. It was all pretty easy stuff. At 120th, I turned west and headed back toward US 36. From there, I followed small, less-travelled streets along US 36 until I got to Superior, where I headed north on McCaslin Blvd. After a steep climb up McCaslin, it was ll pretty much downhill to Gunbarrel where my office is located. I was tired when I arrived, but it sure was a nice ride in.

The Ride Home

The ride home was more difficult, but I still had a great time. I left around 5:00 pm and essentially followed the same route in, except in reverse... except I made one turn too early, and went a bit out of my way to get back on track. Also, I ran right over some broken glass, and got a flat, so I had to spend a few minutes changing out the tube.

To add to the challenge, there was a wind blowing out of the southeast (I was headed generally southeast) at about 15-20 mph, and storm clouds were rolling in. I got a few raindrops in Westminster, at about the location I had fallen during the morning commute, but nothing major. No, I didn't fall again on my way home.

By the time I got back on the Sand Creek trail, I was pretty much ready to get off the bike, but I still had a few miles to go. I pulled into the driveway about 10 minutes before 8:00 pm, so the ride home took a bit more time. I attribute most of that to the flat and the wrong turn. Otherwise, I would have been pretty much right at 5 hours round trip.

Epilogue

I really enjoyed doing the commute. It's not practical, of course, to do it every day (or even every week), but it was nice to leave the car at home. I kind of wish we lived closer to Boulder so I could do this more often. Of course, now that Laura's back at work in Downtown Denver, moving to Boulder is even less practical than before.

I'll definitely do this again next year, although, I plan to get into better shape before BTW Day next time. If I can swing it, I may do it again this year, if Laura is amenable... okay, probably not. :)