Today I rode into Boulder via left hand canyon. The day started out cold with my winter jacket and legs, but within an hour I was super hot. For some reason I saw lots of women on the road today, which is rare. Maybe all the women do all their riding on weekday mornings, or maybe I was on a popular route for women. Whatever it may be, that was inspiring! What was not inspiring was the hills. I am tired of hills. I flat out (har har) don't want to ride any more hills for a very very long time. I spent most of the day being very grumpy because of all these hills. Needless to say, the ride was beautiful. I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. And as annoying as the hills were, the views they allotted were breathtaking. I am taking the long, long descents for granted, and know that I will look fondly back at them when I reach a time where such descents are not so readily available. I also love NCAR. It's one of my favorite places in Boulder. I met my dad there and we walked around. We planned on hiking but a thunderous rain fell upon us as soon as I finished my ride, so we stayed in and l0oked at the exhibits. Then it was off to Tokyo Joes for lunch and Sunflower Market for groceries.

distance: 33.52 mi
time: 2 hr. 38 min.
av. speed: 12.69 mph
max speed: 46.21 mph
av. cadence: 63
climb: 2521 ft
max altitude: 9094
av pulse: 149
max pulse: 171
temp 50-85

Before today's ride I fueled up at Tokyo Joe's. They serve the sort of food that is my "standby" when cooking for myself at home. But the fun and ease of fast food are too much to resist. And, they are damn good. I sat outside and read the paper. Then it was over to the Sunflower market to get some groceries so I can cook at home (what is it with, you Boulder, being so pretentious? The whole Foods is packed, but the Sunflower is empty. They stock the exact same stuff!) I got dressed in a luxious bathroom at a hotel, then I was ready to ride.

I did a route I did many times before in Boulder. While riding, I realized I had to get 2 birds with one stone for a ride to feel worthwhile. The potential "birds" are: healthy, see something new, chat with friends, get somewhere/have destination. On today's ride, I only had one thing; the health. But the scenery was amazing, as per usual. Left hand canyon and it's deep red rocks are gorgeous. Just after I crested my climb, I blasted past some amazing views of the valley below.

After the ride I decided to stop at the Ice Cream Shop in Lyons to get a cone, because, you know, I might get pekid if I don't eat. Apparently the shop was doing some "training" and the soft serve kept pouring freely, so they gave me a free cone. I never had soft serve taste so good. It wasn't you standard flare, it had something else to it. Can't complain about any of today.

Today I stole a route from a fellow map-my-rider. I am tempted to compare today's ride with past times I covered these same roads. I thought I was a mapmyride member back then, but my membership says I've only been active since 2009. I'll have to dig into the old blogs to find old logs. Sadly, they are not readily available. Guess I don't get to geek out on stats tonight.

distance: 21.28
time: 1 hr. 40 min.
av. speed: 12.69 mph
max speed: 42.14 mph
av. cadence: 69
climb: 1207 ft
max altitude: 6400
av pulse: 146
max pulse: 168
temp 80
Ride map

PVGR to NCAR

I ride for stir fry and ice cream