As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been getting back into biking lately, and I’m having a blast. My initial ride about 3 weeks ago was around 8 miles, and today I completed a 19 mile ride. I think I could have squeezed out a few more miles if the weather hadn’t been crappy all afternoon and if I were on a familiar route. Granted this is nothing compared to those hardcore riders that think they are in the LeMans, but I think it’s a good start for a rotund-completely-out-of-shape-other-than-being-round geek.
On Monday I started off at REI and rode down the South Platte Bike trail for close to four miles (a bit past University) when it started to downpour in BUCKETS. Luckily I was able to turn around and take shelter under a train bridge (which had a train on it). It let up just a little bit and stopped hailing, I decided to make a run for it and head back to better shelter (I was still getting rained on since only the train was protecting me for the most part).
I finally ended-up soaked, under a bridge near 6th Ave. I got a kick out of my company being a homeless person whom I’m had a brief conversation with until he decided to push his cart further down the trail. I waited around until I’d dried off a bit and decided to head back to REI for some coffee before hitting the Cherry Creek bike path (which was really quite awhile since it rained for a good hour or so).
After drying off a bit more and warming-up with a cup of coffee, I headed down the Cherry Creek bike path. It quickly became obvious that the drain water of Denver ends up in that area, and it was smelly, disgusting, and muddy which did not make for optimal riding conditions. I decided to brave it anyway since a little mud and stinky water had never hurt me.
Once I made it to the area of the Cherry Creek shopping center (about 5 miles down the path), it had been awhile since I’d had food so I stopped by Jamba Juice for a smoothie, where I saw local comedian Josh Blue and his girlfriend ride by (and exchanged hello’s with him). I headed back down the path for a way and decided to turn back since it was getting late and I wasn’t completely sure if I’d been riding uphill or not.
Sometime in August I’d like to attempt a ride that I did many years ago when I rode regularly and was in good shape– a ride between Dillon and Keystone which is somewhere around 40 miles round trip IIRC. I don’t think it should be a problem and will probably give it a try sometime in August.
A few tips I’ve learned along the way, in no particular order:
- Wearing some sort of bike short is important for comfort
- You should roll with at least two insulated water bottles or a Camelbak when riding 10 miles plus
- When riding by water, you need sunglasses to at least protect you from getting bugs in your eyes
- Mountain bikes are overrated. If you mostly ride on pavement, you should consider a road bike or hybrid, instead of the “what if” scenario which keeps you tied to mountain bikes
- A key to repeating something is to make it as easy as possible. That said, a bike rack is a good investment if you want to transport your bike to trails, etc
- The right accessories make all the difference on long rides. Current favorites: Cyclometer, LED Headlight & Taillight, Specialized Handgrips, riding gloves, and insulated water bottles.
- Biking shoes are a good thing to have because they are hard soled. While I don’t have any yet, I think it will help my pedaling quite a bit to use them (and I won’t use the clips, cleats, etc.. I just want some plain, hard soled biking shoes).
I’ll probably post here and there when I reach new milestones and what not, but otherwise I realize how boring it is to read about someone riding a bike. 
Other photos from the trip:
Another tip: Don’t leave your expensive, insulated water bottles in the parking lot of REI. Unless, of course, you happen to have a girlfriend who works near there and can find them in the dark.
Which bike rack did you get (or did you have one already)?
After researching all kinds of racks, I picked up a Saris Bones 2-bike rack. I dig it because it’s made out of recycled plastic, is pretty easy to install/remove, is much less expensive than doing the roof rack system, has a lifetime warranty, and it seems very stable. I think if I had a trailer hitch I would get a trailer hitch mounted one instead, but otherwise I like this solution better than a roof rack.