Training Trails

Leading up to our trip we gave ourselves two months to train. Right now, I wish it would’ve been more. In those two months we covered about 300 miles. During that time, Denver proved to have some decent areas for cyclists. From our rides, my favorite was a one to White Ranch Park. We took the Cherry Creek Path to Confluence Park where we veered off the path and took side streets to 51st and Harlan where we found the Clear Creek Trail. That, led us the Golden Gate Road, and eventually to White Ranch Park. It was a total of 30 miles, and over 2,500 ft of elevation gain.

Originally, it was mean to be a camping trip to Golden Gate Park. Once we hit the hills in Golden, elevation, gravity, soreness, fatigue, and cramping all came into play. We settled for a closer destination (White Ranch), which still proved to be quite challenging.

We were exhausted. We took breaks as we climbed daunting hills. I wondered whether it would be faster to get off the bike and just walk, we were making little progress. We were not in much of a rush; the only thing making us go faster was our need to get our tent set up before it became dark. We had plenty of time, or so I thought. As we trudged on, we realized we were cutting it close; it became a race against the sun.  Also, since we switched our original destination (Golden Gate Park), we didn’t have maps, cell phone signal, or any idea of how far we were from our new campground. We were also running out of water and food.

We felt relief when we reached the park. That was short lived. We found out that we still had to bike deep into the park. And, possibly hike to our campsite. We found a parking lot, and sure enough, we were faced with a mile and a half of hiking hills before we reached the nearest campsite. We were exhausted and we set up camp in dark.

Some of the other trails we used to train were:

*Cherry Creek trail heading to the Cherry creek reservoir- It’s about 15 miles from the confluence to the reservoir. Highlights: Bicycle Village, Reservoir, about five miles out the city atmosphere is replaced by lakes, water; it just gets nicer the further you go and becomes nature  

*The South Platte trail heading south to Chatfield Reservoir- It’s about 20 miles from the confluence to the reservoir. Highlights: Bicycle Village, Reservoir,

*The South Platte trail heading north to Thorton- It’s about 20 miles from the confluence to the dead end. Highlights: Everyone seems to be going to REI, the foul smell disappears at about 74 and is replaced by view of clear lakes and fresh air, there are less people the further you go