RECAP: Group Ride June 26th Arapahoe Park / Aurora Res.

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What a fantastic day for a bike ride! The weather was perfect with really nice temp and clear sunny skies and barely a hint of wind.  The bonus was making it back just in time before the clouds opened up and started to rain.  The Rec. Group had a nice leisure ride out to the Arapahoe park way while the Intermediate group rode out to the Aurora Res.  We had some new riders in both groups and I hope you had an enjoyable experience. 

The Rec. Group rode the Cherry Creek trail to the top of the dam then into the park and down the gun club road.  Riding on Jordan we passed Arapahoe and took Briarwood to Potomac, which lead us right to the Arapahoe Community Park.  We stopped and took a bathroom break and a bit of a breather.  We followed the same way back as we took on the way out.  Jim you looked fast riding your new rig...

The Intermediate Group enjoyed a very spirited ride to the Aurora Res.  I think this is the third week in a row that we have broken previous ride times of the same routes we have done in the past.  I believe last time we did this route it took us 3 hrs.  Yesterday it took us 2.5 hrs, we shaved off a half hour off the ride.  That's a real testament to every one that we all are getting faster.  Week after week we are getting better at our pace line skills too.  We had some really good rotations throughout the day and it is really fun when done correctly and every one saves energy.  There were quite a few wild life sightings today as well, there was a snake on the Aurora Res. path, a coyote chasing some lunch and a deer wandering around. 

Here is a little eye candy from the ride...

Taking a quick break at a local Walgreens.

Break time...

You look comfortable Ruan... Lani, thanks for wearing deodorant today we all appreciate it!

Cruising down the gun club road.

Hey Shawn how are those hotdogs?  :P

You can check out the rest of the pics by clicking on the link to Picasa...

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=bicyclevillageaurora&target=ALBUM&id=5487525846415395073&authkey=Gv1sRgCOvM_JLSgeqnOA&feat=email

Here are the ride stats...

18.7mph average is really good!!!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I wish you a good week.  I hope every one had a nice ride and I look forward to seeing you all again next Saturday.

Chris

Saturday Group Ride June 26th Arapahoe Park / Aurora Res.

Hello every one, I trust you are enjoying your Friday and are gearing up to ride tomorrow. It should be another nice day with a high of 93 but a chance of rain in the afternoon, but I think we should all be back before that shows its face. There will be two rides as usual with our Intermediate group back this week. The Rec. Group will be taking a nice easy ride out to the Arapahoe Community Park and the Intermediate Group will be riding out to the Aurora Res.


The Rec. ride is mostly flat with just a few little climbs getting to the CC Res. and one nice gradual hill just before you get to the park. Once there we will take a break and use the restrooms if needed. The Rec. route will take you on the Cherry Creek trail to the Cherry Creek Res. We will ride around part of the res. and then take the gun club road to the end of the park where we will hop on Jordan and take that to Briarwood. Taking a right on Briarwood we will wind our way around till we get on Potomac which will take us right to the Arapahoe Park. Our average speed should be a little higher than normal because this is a fairly flat route, we are looking at a ride time of 2hrs and 25 miles according to past ride stats.

The Intermediate ride will be very hilly on the way out and back with some flats going through the Cherry Creek Res. and the loop around the Aurora Res. The Intermediates will follow the same route as the Rec. group but we will peel off before getting to Jordan rd. We will take Orchard out to Liverpool where we will take a left onto Arapahoe road which will take us right to the Aurora Res. We will do one lap around the Res. and then stop in the Res. and take a bathroom/water break. This will pretty much be an "out and back" route so we will back track our route out on the way home. We are looking at a ride time of 3 hrs and around 48 miles, lets see if we can improve on that time, and work on our pace lining.

Come prepared with food, water an extra tube and some sort of inflation device. I'd also wear some sunscreen to protect your skin. Be at the shop at 9 so you can purchase some GU or other munchies and fill up your water bottles and or tubes. We will depart at 9:30 for our rides. I hope you have a nice day and I will see you tomorrow morning!

Chris

RECAP: Group Ride June 19th

What a fantastic day we had for a ride!  The weather was perfect, it was a little cloudy to start out but then cleared later on and temps in the mid 80's.  We had a great turn out for both groups which we really appreciate.  We have a new Rider of the Month who is Jim.  He has been on every ride and has pushed himself numerous times and never gives up.  Jim was awarded a new pair of Castelli bibs for his efforts, so congratulations Jim and keep up the good work! 

Rider of the Month Jim and his shiney new Trek Project One!

The Rec. Group had a nice ride up to REI and then down the S. Platte trail to Dartmouth and then back to the shop.  Lani and Jeffrey took 14 folks for a more civilized ride than Chris's "Triangle of Death".  We shaved a few miles and came in about 30 miles. A little long for a Rec. ride but it was a great route. From REI we went down the river to Dartmouth and then back up to the shop.  We had one mechanical, with a pedal coming off and one flat tire. But, we all got home safe and proud of the ride.

Rec Riders at REI

I hope every one enjoyed the Advanced ride and that your butts and legs aren't too sore...  It was a really nice route I have to say and a good variety of terrain.  Every one road really well and I'd like to thank those of you who took a turn at the front pulling.  We started our route by going up the Cherry Creek trail to REI where we made a quick pit stop and chatted it up with the Rec. Group.  We then started heading south on the S. Platte trail till we arrived at Chatfield and then we made our second stop at a local gas station on C 470.  After a little food and water we started heading east along C 470 till we made our second stop at another gas station off of Cottonwood.  We remounted and continued on and up Inspiration where we had a nice little climb and then encountered some rollers.  There was one more short climb before enjoying some winding descents till we made it onto Jordan.  We followed Jordan back to the Cherry Creek Res. and then back to the shop. 

I was a little off on my mileage prediction but we almost hit 70, and as you can see from the map it kind of makes a triangle shape... :)  One thing we need to work on I feel if you guys want to is our pace lining.  We do it backwards, we have guys coming from the back to the front when we should be peeling off the front and getting on at the back of the line and rotating that way.  We can practice more on our next ride if you want...

Here is a little eye candy from the ride...

Taking a breather at our second stop.

Glad I got your good side Jeff!

Almost home guys...

One last climb...

You can view the rest of the pics here on Picasa...

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=bicyclevillageaurora&target=ALBUM&id=5484936124311327489&authkey=Gv1sRgCIXAodOXzvb8sQE&feat=email

Here are the ride stats courtesy of Jovi, thanks man.  

Thanks to those for riding with us and I look forward to seeing you this coming Saturday.

Chris

Group Ride Saturday June 19th.

Hello every one, I hope you are all doing well. The weather this weekend looks a little better than last week. We are looking at mostly sunny skies with a high of 86, should be really nice day for some great rides!


Well this week we have two great rides again. The Rec. Group will be doing a loop up to REI then take the S. Platte to Dartmouth and then back to the shop. It is a pretty flat route except for a few little hills on Dartmouth and will be around 35 miles. We won't have an Intermediate ride this week, instead we will have an ADVANCED RIDE ONLY that will be putting 3 rides into one big which we are calling the "Triangle of Death." We will take the Cherry Creek trail up to REI, then take the S. Platte down to Chatfield. Refuel at a local gas station, then head up C 470 till we get to Jordan. We will then refuel one more time before we head up Inspiration and then head back on Jordan and through the Cherry Creek Res back to the shop. I am guessing mileage will be between 70-80 miles, so please be sure you are up to it... If you don't feel like you can do the ADVANCED ride, then I would suggest riding with the Rec. Group for one week until the following week when we will resume the Intermediate ride.

Be at the shop at 9 and get any food, tires pumped up or any other necessities you might need for the rides. Both rides will depart at 9:30 so be ready to ride before then. I would suggest bringing plenty of water, food, an extra tube and an inflation device. Also I would put on some sunscreen. Get plenty of sleep and I will see you all Saturday AM!

Chris

RECAP: June 12th Spin class

Well unfortunately we were rained out this weekend.  That didn't stop some of us from getting a nice work out in though.  We had a nice little group for spin class that showed up including 2 new faces, David and Justin.  There was also another David, 2 Chris's and Jeffery.  We spun to a virtual DVD which was nice because it was filmed behind the coach while he was riding outside so it felt like we were out there with him other than feeling the breeze and sunshine on our skin.  We had a good time and a nice sweaty work out while it was raining outside and most of you were probably sleeping in. 
Hopefully next week we will have sunny skies again, have to wait and see.  Till then here are a few pics from spin class...

Left-Right Chris, David, Jeffery, Justin and David.

Left-Rt. David, Justin, Jeffery, David and Chris in the back.

Chris getting it done!  Good effort.

Left-Rt. David riding his single speed like usual, Justin and Jeffery.

Left-Rt. David, Jeffery, Justin, David and Chris.

Hope to see you all next week outside!

Chris

WEATHER UPDATE: JUNE 12TH

Since it is wet and rainy we won't be riding outside today, but if you feel like getting out of bed and getting a little work out in you are more than welcome to come to the shop at 9:30 and we will be spinning to a spinnerval DVD for an hour or so. 

Bring your bike, towel to wipe off your sweat, water, and maybe a little food if you want.  You may want to show up a little early so you have time to get your bike set up on a trainer. 

Chris

Saturday Group Ride June 12th Bear Creek / Aurora Res.

Hello every one, I hope that you all are having a good week so far and are looking forward to the weekend! As of right now the weather isn't looking that good for the ride on Saturday, they are predicting a 60% chance of rain. Hopefully that will either change or happen in the afternoon so we can get our ride in. If it does rain in the morning, that will cancel the ride but we will still spin at the shop for about an hour so we can at least get a little workout in. If that is the case plan to show up at the same time so you will have plenty of time to get yourself set up on a trainer.


The routes we have planned this week are for the Rec. group to head out to Bear Creek Lake and the Intermediate group will head in the opposite direction and ride around the Aurora Res. The Rec. ride will be about 35 miles and is a fairly flat route other than a few little rollers on Dartmouth.  You may encounter a detour along the Bear Creek trail so just be aware of that. We ran into it the other week when we went out that way, and I am not sure if it has been fixed yet. Either way it isn't a big deal... The Intermediate ride will be around 46 milesto the Aurora Res. This is one of my personal fav's that we do out of the shop. There are some good climbs with some fast descents along with some flats for some good pacelines. Basically it has a little bit of everything!

Be sure to bring the usual goodies, food, water and an inflation device.  Show up at the shop at 9 and be ready to ride at 9:30.  Keep your fingers crossed for a clear forcast...

Regards,
Chris

RECAP: Sloan's Lake / Golden

What a great day we had for two super rides!  We had our Rec. group and Intermediate groups heading west for this ride.  Both rides took the same route but the Rec. group stopped at Sloan's Lake and the Intermediates continued on to Golden. 

The Rec. group enjoyed a nice leisure ride out to Sloan's Lake lead by Jeffery.  There were a few new faces that came out for the first time for this ride which we are always happy to see.  We hope you had a good time with our group and join us for future rides. 

The Intermediate group lead by Chris and Tom had a really fast ride out to Golden.  We beat our last time by 20 minutes!  We almost averaged 18mph which is pretty fast for us. There was a really nice tailwind on the way out that helped us out and the ride back is mostly down hill so that always makes it fast.  We had Dawn join us who did the Rec. ride a previous week and she really held her own.  Way to go Dawn, glad you joined us and had a great time. 

Here is a little eye candy from the Intermediate ride...

Cruise'n down 32nd.

Refueling at the Sinclair.

The "group."

Heading home, "what are you doing back here Adam?"

Dawn, Ruan and Brian.

You can check out the rest of the pics here on Picasa...

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=bicyclevillageaurora&target=ALBUM&id=5481211260789952945&authkey=Gv1sRgCNHjrqXHgeLThAE&feat=email

Check out the Intermediate ride stats here...

Hope to see you all again next week.

Chris

Saturday Group Ride June 5th Sloans Lake / Golden.

Hello BV group riders, TGIF! I hope you are as excited as I am. This weekend we have two great rides planned, both groups will be heading west as the Rec. Group will be venturing out to Sloans Lake and the Intermediates will be continuing on to Golden. These are some crowd favorites so I hope you are able to join us. We are looking at some really great weather with a high in the low 90's.

The route this weekend will take both groups on the Cherry Creek trail and then we will pass REI and then hop on 23rd. We will follow this till we get to Quitman where we will take a right and then turn left on to 26th. The Rec. group will then stop once they get to Sloans Lake while the Intermediates will continue on to Golden on 26th. Once the Intermediates get to 70 we will turn right on the frontage road and the make a left on 32nd which will take us all the way into Golden past the Coors Co. The Rec. group may stop at Sloans Lake and at REI possibly on the way back depending on how the group feels. The Intermediates will be stopping at the local gas station in Golden and there is also a Starbucks near by if you need a little pick me up.

Both routes are fairly flat with just a few little rollers along the way. Mileage for the Rec. group will be 30 miles with a ride time of 2hrs and 20 min. or so. The Intermediates will see about 48 miles and a ride time of 3 hrs. Arrive at the shop at 9 and be ready to go at 9:30. A few items to remember to bring are water, food, extra tube and inflation device and I would suggest sun screen as well.

I hope you all have had a great week and are looking forward to a great ride tomorrow! It should be awesome, see you then.

Regards,
Chris

RECAP: REI / Bear Creek

We had two great rides with the Rec. Group going to REI and the Intermediates heading out to Bear Creek.  The weather was fabulous and we had a really great turn out for both groups. 

The Rec. group enjoyed a nice leisure ride to REI via the Cherry Creek trail.  Once we got to REI we relaxed and enjoyed some good conversation and soaked up some rays while refueling for the ride back.  The CC is really nice but can be a little congested at times.  We had a great ride back and every one really enjoyed themselves. 

How can I sum up the Intermediate Bear Creek ride?  I'd say it was quite a fiasco... :)  This particular route seems to be nothing but bad luck every time we ride it.  Things started off with the Intermediate group getting split up and one half going the wrong direction and then we had 4 riders who were off the front and were not paying attention and staying with the group leader ( I won't name names :p and taking their own little adventure)  who got lost.  After about a half hour or so of trying to get every one regrouped we finally got under way again.  We were still a few riders short but we all eventually regrouped on the Bear Creek trail. 
Once we regrouped we had some one with 2 flats followed by a nice little detour.  We finally all made it to the climb on the golf course when we lost a few other riders but we met up at the Conoco where we refueled and shared some good laughs about every thing. 

We took Morrison road back to Kipling and then got back on the Bear Creek trail.  There were a few other incidents along the way home also but I won't go into too much detail about that... 

Kurt we are going to have to revoke your Rider of the Month status if you keep riding off the front and getting lost and then having mechanical problems...  :p

Here is a little eye candy from the rides...

Waiting to regroup.

Who are these two studs?

Malia and I in our new team kits.

Refueling at the Conoco.

You can check out the rest of the pics here on Picasa...

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=bicyclevillageaurora&target=ALBUM&id=5476828856402244929&authkey=Gv1sRgCO2y2-be8rjFZQ&feat=email

Here are the ride stats...

Regards,

Chris