Big Thompson

If there is one thing I need to do in my workout routine, it's more biking. Well, actually, more of everything... but especially more riding.

Friday I spent most of my day off on my bike or in the pool. I rode to the gym, swam, rode to the office, then home. Not an intense workout but a good one. I followed it Saturday by a kickin' swim workout.

So today, we decided to ride from Loveland, CO to Estes Park before meeting our realtor to craft our inspection objections on the house we have under contract. (see photo)

Loveland is pretty much due south of our house in Fort Collins. Estes Park is mostly west from there... all a gradual uphill through the Big Thompson Canyon. Obviously, this is a popular tourist destination at this time of year so traffic can be heavy. The shoulders are wide though so it's tolerable. We did opt for a turn off on a more rural route through Devils Gulch.

We got a later start than planned, as usual. So, we parked a little west of our original starting location. We started pedaling up the canyon at 9:10 a.m. At about 10:55 we decided to turn around. It was obvious from my slow pace that we weren't going to make it to Estes and back in time to meet Kristine. Little did we know she was running late and we would have had the time, if not the energy.

The ride back was mostly downhill, most of it screaming downhill. We got back to the car pretty much at 12:00. A little quick change action at the car and we were ready to grab a quick lunch in Loveland at Henry's Pub. The food was pretty good, the atmosphere very nice. Recommended but not for the burger (the ruben looks mighty tasty).