Despite a slight last minute change in our route plans, we had a great ride leaving the BV Littleton store this morning. The second of three advanced training rides (for any upcoming century that riders may choose) took us up and over a variety of challenging climbs. The nine in our group were a strong bunch which kept Dave, Jacquette and myself spinning our wheels and up out of our saddles to keep up and take our turns in the lead. Fueled with great Hammer nutrition products and bagels, we set out on Belleview. We were convinced to add a little extra elevation gain to our route by going up through the Willow Springs neighborhood. Exerting a little extra juice to make it up the steep climb, rider Damien actually broke a spoke which "handy wrench" Dave was able to remove, loosen up the opposite spokes, and keep the wheel true so Damien could complete the entire ride safely and without any other issues. Avid hill climber (I'd say hill specialist) Ray pushed the pace for the group down through Morrison and up West Colfax past Red Rocks and Matthew Winters Park. Good thing we had Michelle up from CO Springs to give Ray a run for his money up the Frontage Road on the backside of Lookout Mtn. The group made great time and celebrated with refreshing drinks at the top of Lookout.
The quick descent down the front-side switchbacks dropped us down into Golden. Taking Jackson Road out again to West Colfax, half of the group really felt like they hadn't had enough pain for one day and added a few "stoplight" sprints to keep everyone on their toes. Catching some speed back past the beauty of Red Rocks, took us back through Willow Springs, with one final climb back onto Belleview and finished with some pace-lining to take us back to the shop.
Total ride time was a little over three hours for 43 miles covering over 3200' in elevation!! You can check out our route here: http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/co/-littleton/467128130289616996
Thanks for the great ride and I hope everyone used some of the Hammer Recoverite to speed their recovery and we look forward to everyone joining us again next week.
-Malia, Jacquette and Dave
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