I know, the title of this report is such a cliché but it is very fitting. Maybe it was the fact that we rode our bike to Boulder, a brilliant experience, had two great meals in fine Boulder eating establishments, spent a number of hours watching, walking, and enjoying the Pearl Street Mall, and slept in a historic hotel, but Boulder truly does feel like a different world.
We left Fort Collins around 9am Saturday morning and began our journey. We happened upon a triathalon just south of Fort Collins on Taft Hill Road and enjoyed zero traffic all the way to Loveland courtesy of the race. It was great. As a side, when we first saw the road closed with a race official waving cars away The “don’t rock the boat, follow all the rules” part of me just wanted to go east and head down Shields. My stoker (person on the back of the tandem), my beautiful wife, thought we should at least ask to see if we could follow the race course. The race official said, “Absolutely, have a great time” and we had a fantastic, car free, care free ride to Loveland. The moral of the story would be that sometimes all you have to do is ask.
Upon reaching Loveland, we wound our way south through rural land and ranchettes to the town of Hygiene. Our legs felt good, the scenery was great and all was well. In hindsight, we should have stopped for some lunch and Gatorade in Hygiene. Instead, we pressed on towards Boulder. It was around 11:30am and it was starting to heat up a bit and we had some climbing to do to get to Highway 36. Our initial plan was to reach Highway 36 and back track a few miles to Lyons for lunch. After reaching 36 around noon, we pressed on towards Boulder.
Christi and I both agree that Highway 36 was our least enjoyable part of the ride. There is a large bike lane and the views to the east keep your eyes occupied, but there is a lot of traffic and the cars pass you at 65 mph. I also think that we were starting to feel pretty dehydrated at this point and it really drained some energy. When you begin the day with 3 full water bottles and a 1.5 liter Camelback it seems like a decent amount of water. Let me tell you that this is not nearly enough water for 3.5 hours of cycling. We were planning to refill the bottles in Lyons, but since we decided to head for Boulder, we didn’t have a chance. This was our biggest mistake of the trip. Never the less, we made it to Boulder at 1pm and began the rehydrating process.
The Boulderado, a historic landmark hotel, was our home while in Boulder. It is a grand style hotel with lots of dark wood, big staircases, and a 3 story lobby with a stained glass roof. Well worth a visit. Just as we were about to lock up our bike and head to the room for a shower, we realized that I had packed the wrong bike lock. In my late night packing haste I had grabbed the lock requiring a key (said key was in Fort Collins) instead of the combo lock. Since Christi and I were both dehydrated and fighting a headache and hunger pains this was not our happiest moment, but it was quickly remedied with a 3 block trip to a local hardware store and a $5 combo lock. Twenty minutes later we locked up the bike and headed for a cool shower.
Around 2:00pm we made the 2 block stroll to the Boulder Café on Pearl Street for a late lunch, which we were really treating as an appetizer for dinner. Our “appetizer” turned out to be a large salad and a salmon melt with fries. Normally this would have been more than enough for the rest of the day, but on this day, it really was just an appetizer. After lunch, we strolled Pearl Street for an hour, then when back to the Boulderado and took a short nap.
By 5:30pm we were back at our favorite Boulder restaurant, Jax, for more fuel. It was fantastic. After dinner we watched street performers, checked out some art galleries and topped of the evening with a beer sampler tray from Redfish Brewery.
At 8am the next morning we checked out of the hotel and were back on the bike. After stopping for breakfast at Moe’s bagels we headed for Fort Collins around 9am. This time we stopped in Hygiene and bought two large Gatorades and refilled water bottles. We both felt much better on the return trip and have realized that hydration is critical and that Gatorade really helps. We made it home around 12:45. It was a great trip and we are both already looking forward to our next tandem adventure.
We left Fort Collins around 9am Saturday morning and began our journey. We happened upon a triathalon just south of Fort Collins on Taft Hill Road and enjoyed zero traffic all the way to Loveland courtesy of the race. It was great. As a side, when we first saw the road closed with a race official waving cars away The “don’t rock the boat, follow all the rules” part of me just wanted to go east and head down Shields. My stoker (person on the back of the tandem), my beautiful wife, thought we should at least ask to see if we could follow the race course. The race official said, “Absolutely, have a great time” and we had a fantastic, car free, care free ride to Loveland. The moral of the story would be that sometimes all you have to do is ask.
Upon reaching Loveland, we wound our way south through rural land and ranchettes to the town of Hygiene. Our legs felt good, the scenery was great and all was well. In hindsight, we should have stopped for some lunch and Gatorade in Hygiene. Instead, we pressed on towards Boulder. It was around 11:30am and it was starting to heat up a bit and we had some climbing to do to get to Highway 36. Our initial plan was to reach Highway 36 and back track a few miles to Lyons for lunch. After reaching 36 around noon, we pressed on towards Boulder.
Christi and I both agree that Highway 36 was our least enjoyable part of the ride. There is a large bike lane and the views to the east keep your eyes occupied, but there is a lot of traffic and the cars pass you at 65 mph. I also think that we were starting to feel pretty dehydrated at this point and it really drained some energy. When you begin the day with 3 full water bottles and a 1.5 liter Camelback it seems like a decent amount of water. Let me tell you that this is not nearly enough water for 3.5 hours of cycling. We were planning to refill the bottles in Lyons, but since we decided to head for Boulder, we didn’t have a chance. This was our biggest mistake of the trip. Never the less, we made it to Boulder at 1pm and began the rehydrating process.
The Boulderado, a historic landmark hotel, was our home while in Boulder. It is a grand style hotel with lots of dark wood, big staircases, and a 3 story lobby with a stained glass roof. Well worth a visit. Just as we were about to lock up our bike and head to the room for a shower, we realized that I had packed the wrong bike lock. In my late night packing haste I had grabbed the lock requiring a key (said key was in Fort Collins) instead of the combo lock. Since Christi and I were both dehydrated and fighting a headache and hunger pains this was not our happiest moment, but it was quickly remedied with a 3 block trip to a local hardware store and a $5 combo lock. Twenty minutes later we locked up the bike and headed for a cool shower.
Around 2:00pm we made the 2 block stroll to the Boulder Café on Pearl Street for a late lunch, which we were really treating as an appetizer for dinner. Our “appetizer” turned out to be a large salad and a salmon melt with fries. Normally this would have been more than enough for the rest of the day, but on this day, it really was just an appetizer. After lunch, we strolled Pearl Street for an hour, then when back to the Boulderado and took a short nap.
By 5:30pm we were back at our favorite Boulder restaurant, Jax, for more fuel. It was fantastic. After dinner we watched street performers, checked out some art galleries and topped of the evening with a beer sampler tray from Redfish Brewery.
At 8am the next morning we checked out of the hotel and were back on the bike. After stopping for breakfast at Moe’s bagels we headed for Fort Collins around 9am. This time we stopped in Hygiene and bought two large Gatorades and refilled water bottles. We both felt much better on the return trip and have realized that hydration is critical and that Gatorade really helps. We made it home around 12:45. It was a great trip and we are both already looking forward to our next tandem adventure.
