I got back from my vacation to Colorado on Tuesday and wanted to do a blog on it. Overall it was awesome, and the cycling was an adventure that I will be fantasizing about re-living for a very, very long time. Rather than do a minute by minute recap of the trip, I’ll do a semi-chronological retelling of interesting (to me) anecdotes.
Trip Out
While driving on Florida toll highway 528 to the Orlando airport there are, unfortunately, toll booths. This particular toll both is noteworthy due to the hastily printed sign. Apparently, there is a problem with people throwing dollar bills, presumably crumpled into a ball, into a coin chute and that this problem is real enough and common enough to warrant fashioning a sign. I like to think that the whole hur-dur Floridians are dumb thing is a myth but this sign is pretty damning. However, considering the amount of tourists who use highway 528 to go from Orlando to the beach I can at least hope this sign is directed at midwestern mouth breathers instead.
King Soopers
If you haven’t been to Colorado, King Soopers is the Publix of Colorado. Clean stores, good selection, friendly customer service, and high prices. Yes, they are very similar. I will give Publix the edge on prepared foods (pub subs #1) and produce. The bananas I bought at King Soopers were pretty bad tasting. Also King Soopers has self-check out lanes which I am quite against since I do not like replacing human jobs with machines as a baseline philosophy. Anyone who is a cashier at a grocery store needs that job, and I don’t want to do something that is going to contribute towards taking it away from them. All that aside, when you make the trip yourself, shop at King Soopers rather than Target or Walmart unless you are on a tight budget.
Air BNB
Our Air BNB was incredible. For $450 we had a two bed room set up with a half kitchen, full size pool table and fast WIFI in a wealthy upscale neighborhood for 5 days. A hotel of the same quality would be significantly more expensive. I know you can miss with Air BNB as easily as you can hit, but I just don’t see me ever using a hotel again unless there are literally no decent Air BNB in the area which seems increasingly unlikely. Or, you know, unless I plan on throwing a rager and trashing the place.
Bike Shops!
I visited two bike shops while in Colorado. To avoid saying mean things about either of them I’ll call them by fake names. I rented my bike from Bike City, and I’ll have more to say about the bike later. This store was amazing upon first entry. The store was at least 4 times bigger than any bike shop I’d been in, and they had a huge selection of bikes. Ofcourse, they were all Scott, Trek, and Cannondale. I’m not knocking American bikes whatsoever since I ride one myself, but these three brands just scream “generic American bike” the way a Chevrolet does for cars. They are the brands that Americans looking to get their first bike instinctively go for because, at least in the case of Trek, that’s what Lance rode.
Aside from the bikes, this place was the definition of “corporate bike shop.” The employees all seemed like cyclists who were passionate about cycling, but none of them seemed too passionate about working there. Compared to BikeSport in Vero, the staff was a bit demotivated. I find when I talk with the guys at BikeSport I get more stoked about the sport and more excited to go for my next ride. At BikeCity I got no such bump, though I hardly needed it. The service department was especially bad, the mechanics were seemingly confident but when you dont know your customers on a first name basis and you never see a customer again the quality has to drop. I wouldn’t feel comfortable dropping my bike off there for service and I am sure the service there is top dollar.
The second shop I went to was Elite Bikes. This place was the exact opposite. The size of a small closet. They only sold high end Italian road bikes. Pinarellos, Bianchis, Colnagos. The creme de la creme. It was staffed by two older guys who, barely knowing me for 2 minutes, invited me to go with them on the shop’s group ride Sunday morning. If I didn’t have other plans, I would have. It wasn’t all peaches and cream, however. Everything in the store was insanely overpriced, and hilariously they had a sign on the door saying, “no childrens’ or mountain bikes sold or serviced here.” I completely understand the policy but to see it spelled out like that made me laugh. If they wanted to cultivate the elitist road bike snob persona, mission accomplished.
The Bike
I had the (dis)pleasure of renting a Trek Domane 4 Series for the trip. I assume it was a 2014 or 2015 base model. I booked this on their website and asked for Madone but they didn’t have a Madone available in my size when I arrived. I was OK with the Domane since it was more similar to my Roubaix in geometry anyway.
Things I wasn’t excited about on this bike after riding it for about 10 hours:
.1. The saddle. This is my second experience renting a Trek and just like last time the stock saddle on Treks murder me. I’m 100% certain I could have rode faster and longer had I had a good saddle with me. After about 2 hours I was “done” with the saddle and was looking for the exit. This is my fault, I should have brought my own saddle and I’m foolish for not. Lesson learned.
2. The Tiagra groupset. There is a reason that roadies consider 105 the base model for Shimano groupsets and consider Tiagra to be… well they don’t consider Tiagra at all because it’s terrible. Maybe it isn’t the derailleur’s fault and perhaps the bike just needed to be serviced better by the shop but I had a few scary moments. While going up High Grade Road the incline pitched up to 9% around a hair pin with an exposed sheer cliff drop. I am a bit of a pansy when it comes to heights so I was not focusing on the view down. However, when the road hit 9% I shifted to the 28 tooth cog and the chain started jumping from the 26 to the 28 and back with every pedal stroke. It would not stay in the right gear. The first time it happened it nearly caused me to fall over forward which would have been incredibly dangerous given the terrain. Luckily, the shifting problem didn’t happen in the 32 tooth so I was able to safely use that. But really, have no access to the 28 and 26 teeth cogs sucks when so much of the riding is uphill. And frankly, it was dangerous and could have killed me.
3. The tires and brakes sucked. They were the cheapest shittiest tires money can buy, and I’d say the same for the brakes. Normally, these things aren’t bad. In Florida I would barely notice cheap brakes and only slightly more notice cheap tires. Descending down a winding mountain pass in Colorado that is very different. The traction on your tires and the confidence in your brakes is life and death in those conditions. To say that I didn’t have 100% confidence in my bike is a huge understatement. Luckily the roads weren’t particularly wet or slippery and I never had to brake super hard. It isn’t so much that they put me in danger, but more so the fact that if I did get into danger they would be absolutely no help to me. I’m not sure what I could do differently besides bringing my own bike out with me, but that option is really only open to wealthy people.
Cycling Day 1
Ride: https://www.strava.com/activities/689864891
This was a nice long ride with a good bit of climbing. I was based out of Parker which is a good 25 miles from the mountains. My plan was to ride the 25 miles along the C-470 bike trail and then ride up Deer Creek Canyon until turn around time. Being unfamiliar with the area, this planned seemed totally reasonable.
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| Chattfield Park - C-470 Trail |
The trail was serviceable but not fun. As far as scenery, on one side I had interstate and on the other suburban strip malls. It wasn’t scenic and having to stop at every intersection was really annoying. In retrospect, it would have been better to skip the trail entirely and drive to Deer Creek Canyon and ride in the mountains for 4 hours. Live and learn. The trail home was brutal because the mountains were so fun and beautiful that getting subjected to suburban hell for the last 1.5 hours of my ride felt like punishment.
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| Deer Creek Canyon Road |
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| High Grade Road |
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| The turnaround point. |
On the plus side, once the trail hit Chatfield Park and Platte Reservoir just before the mountains it was insanely beautiful. Deer Creek Canyon was really fun. I took Deer Creek to High Grade road and turned around where High Grade becomes Pleasantville. I wasn’t aware that had I continued up the mountain a mile or two more the climb would have become rated HC, and in restrospect I would have definitely done it. As it was it was a Category 1 climb and really fun. Based on how many cyclists I saw there on a Friday morning I can imagine how busy it is on Sundays, and I can safely say it is no secret how amazing this area is for cycling. If you’re in the area and want to ride some epic climbs near south Denver this is the place.
Illegal Pete’s
According to FiveThirtyEight Illegal Pete’s is the best burrito place in Colorado and one of the best in the country. Ofcourse, I had to partake. Unfortunately, I am not a meat eater anymore and it’s impossible to judge how tasty the meat is, which is really what burritos are judged on by them. I got a veg burrito with the fajita veggies, rice, black beans, cheese, quacamole, pico, hot sauce, and corn. It tasted wonderful and I enjoyed it very much. But since meat is usually the star of the show and I didn’t have any I cannot honestly say it was better than a generic Chipotle Burrito. I would still recommend it if in the area to serve your burrito needs.
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