Bear Creek Park Revisited.

After last weeks fun ride through this Lakewood park I decided today that we should repeat it. Although hopefully this time without the wasps.
After an early start changing the front brake pads on the Dodge, Sam and I had a full day planned. After yesterdays marathon like ride in Chatfield State Park I hadn't taken the bike or Sam's buggy out of the car. I loaded Sam up and after filling water bottles and picking up a camera, we set off to to complete errands with an eye to visiting Bear Creek Park later in the afternoon.
We got to the park at around a quarter after four. As we have an annual pass for this park it meant another day without having to fork over money at the entry station.The early afternoon storms had passed over the area ans so we headed to the boat ramp under the main dam. Once there we built the trailer and put the front wheel in the bike. It was helmet's on and we were ready to go.
The first mile or so was hard. I had not been able to follow my usual post-exercise routine of scarfing down a lot of water and two bananas. That usually helps my system to regroup pretty well overnight. I had forgotten to buy bananas yesterday but I did manage to drink copious amounts of water. My legs felt passed through lactic acidosis and continued towards feeling like Jello. The lady on a mountain bike who came along the curve just ahead of us when we joined the circuit road was a mere speck in the distance. Ugh. We never did catch up with her. The pace was well off the mark.
By now we had reached the entry road for the park and my legs had warmed up some. I was still huffing and puffing though when I turned onto the bike trail to climb up to the area above the Soda Lakes. These are the lake areas that can be seen from the highway. The Western-most one is used for water sking with the others for quieter, less frantic endeavours.
We passed the main swim beach and the sailing school. Things were doing a little better. We headed down over the Turkey Creek bridge, the river that flows down along US-285 and Sam squealed with delight as we crossed the small humped-backed bridge.
Once on the south side of Turkey Creek we turned further south following a trail that began to rise through a series of switch-backs. The trail rises quickly here to cross US-265 between C-470 and Simms on a dedicated bridge. The bike traffic had increased significantly with people heading both North and South. There seemed to be a number of commuting cyclists as well as the recreational group out. Everyone was friendly and a nod or a wave was given and received as bikes passed. I was pumping away at the pedals all the way up the trail until we finally reached the top next to a home improvement store. This seems to be the continuation of the cycle trail that runs along C-470 that eventually takes you to Golden.
At the top we had a brief pause for water and then we headed back down the hill into the park. Exploring has no real point sometimes other than just to see where a road goes.Once back in the main park trail system, we turned east towards the dam and another long climb.
This time I did not get lost. We cruised up the side of the dam trail and then crossed down in front of it to get back on the north side of the lake. After a brief excursion to the top of the dam on the north side to establish were the trail ended up (it heads east into Lakewood) we again turned around and headed back towards the car at the base of the dam.
The weather was particularly humid today and I had lost a lot of water on the way. Sam was again cool and happy in his air conditioned trailer (the flaps were open) while the sweaty hippo rode along in front!
We completed the 8.85 miles in just 1:05:00 at an average pace of 7.20 I guess the initial mile didn't hold us back too badly. The Garmin felt I had burned 1686 calories and I want to claim each and every sweaty calorie. I forgot to pick up my BGL meter as I left the house but I had been 140 when checked at the beginning of the day. Another good ride. I am looking forward to a solo walk/run tomorow though. My butt could use a rest!

Free is Always Better

Mondays are often hard as for me it is the first day after the work-weekend. In the Step-Down unit we see many sick people, some old and some way too young. Perhaps the greatest thing is to be around someone when they receive bad news. When someone receives good news its not hard to be a nurse but when the news is of the other sort, that's when you have to be truly on your game. Focused. You have to be There for them. I am starting to crave the freedom of walk/running or on my mountain bike as the work-weekend draws to a close and I am starting to get antsy. Exercise is becoming my antidote.

Today Sam and I set out for a new adventure. We headed down to Chatfield State Park. Chatfield in a piece of land with a 1,450 surface-acre lake that gathers its water from Deer Creek and Massey Draw among others. It was originally a 720 acre ranch belonging to Isaac W Chatfield in 1879. The rivers flooded several times over the years and in 1965 13 people were killed by the flash floods. The Army Corps of Engineers built a large dam in 1967 as a flood control device.
We drove into the park to be greeted by a sign on the Port of Entry saying "Today Free" That was nice and it saved us $7! We picked up a map and headed to the car park next to the swim beach. There were quite a few people there and many of the vehicles had out of State plates on them.
After pulling out the Diamondback and putting Sam's buggy together, we put on our helmets and readied ourselves for the ride. With Sam securely strapped in and with some toy cars, some milk and a snack on board, we set off to the South side of the Res.
The trails in the park have varied surfaces but the majority are concrete paved and well maintained. As we were following the reservoir edge, the route is relatively flat with some gentle up's and downs. We followed the main bike trail down the side of the res and then turned east over the Platt River bridge. The trail then headed off into some areas with mature trees and climbed towards a section of the res called The Heronary. Blue Heron's visit the res and supposedly nest there.
We came upon an area that is a large fenced boat storage and next to the park headquarters, was a great find. There is a small cabin built of trimmed logs with a sod roof called The Slocum cabin. It is set overlooking the lake and looks much as it probably did when it was built in the 1880's. The cabin was moved to it's present site and historic Mountain Men and Women days are celebrated there.
After scoping out this photo opportunity, Sam and I continued around the res. Off to the west we had been noticing regular lightening and we had been keeping a weather eye. When one bolt shook the prairie just to the South of us, we headed for cover and found it at the RV park shower and amenity building. From here we watched the front fly through. Sam got to meet a gentleman who now travels the country with his wife in a very large RV. They snow-bird to Arizona and the Pacific North West each year. Sounds like a decent life.
After the back of the main storm passed we mounted up and started to retrace out route. Around half way I noticed the chatter had ceased behind me. I glanced back to find Sam sound asleep. As it hadn't taken long to retrace the 4.5 miles to the car I continued towards the dam on the north side of the res.
After climbing to the dam wall height I was happy to find a rough but paved road along the top that ran for about 1.5 miles one-way. We came back along the top and then headed for the car. Just as we were almost back to the car park, Sam woke up after his nap. Must be nice!
Well the whole trip (excluding the 25 minutes lay-up due to the storm) took us 1:40:25. We covered a really healthy 14.77 miles at an average pace of 6.47 minutes/mile. As I said, pretty flat. The Garmin claims 2822 calories burned. Now, with the flatness of the site and towing Sam I would like to claim most of these. :)
Sam really enjoyed it and told his mom all about it when she cam home tonight. A great sign as it tells me he really is enjoying sitting behind the sweaty hippo who is riding up front.