Sunday, January 30, 2011

Riding out the Blues....

Saturday was a gorgeous day here in Colorado, the sun was shining, the roads were dry and temperatures peaked out in the low 60's!  Definitely riding weather!  Heck, it was so warm I saw many cruiser riders out, enjoying the warm temperatures as they rode along without helmets.

I had business in the Denver Tech Center in the afternoon but I managed to work in about two hours of riding up and down Deer Creek Canyon Road on the west side of the Denver Metro area beforehand.

Deer Creek Canyon has its twisty stretches but there was also the dreaded patches of sand and gravel left behind from the last snow storm's snow clearing efforts by the county.  Still, I was able to get some enjoyable curves here and there, basking the interplay of light and shadows as the sun penetrated sporadically into Deer Creek Canyon.

Coming back towards town, I turned north and rode up through South Valley Road near the Lockheed Martin Deer Creek Facility.  There's a large stretch of nice looking rock formations along the east side of the road and it was here that I posed Brigitta, my '87 R80 Airhead:

 Just before Deer Creek Park, one of the larger rock formations
along South Valley Rd.

 A different view of Brigitta

 Just some of the many rock formations visible from the roadside

 Rock Mirage

Looking towards Deer Creek Canyon

Pictures done, rode back into town and got my tasks done.  The ride home at 4PM was in the 50's in terms of temperatures with steady drops as the sun went lower into the horizon.  I'd doffed all my warm layers and felt a bit chilled as I got home.

Still, a good ride of about 80 miles or so, it helped shake off a bit of the blues I'd been feeling all week.  

Hope you got a ride in!

7 comments:

Allen Madding said...

Now THAT's what I'm talking about! Glad you got to get out and enjoy some warmer temps and beautiful scenery. It does a body good.

-Peace

SonjaM said...

Riding is food for the soul, isn't it? Hello Brigitta, nice to see you out there. You look mighty pretty in front of the red rocks.

Chris said...

You're lucky. We still have a lot of snow and ice here. I'm itching to get my own BMW (and the rest) out, but don't want to deal with the salt and ice. I'm ready for winter to be over. Being able to only ride one bike is getting old.

-Chris @ everydayriding.org - year round riding in Minnnesota

Oz said...

The next time I have a trip up near Denver I am going to have to check out so many of these places you post about. I enjoy the places that the locals recommend.

redlegsrides said...

Allen, yes the day was too gorgeous not to ride...blues or not.

SonjaM, she does look rather nice doesn't she? thanks for visiting.

Chris, I can't wait to fix my Ural, most of the parts have arrived, waiting for one key seal....

Motoroz, let me know ahead of time, if I've got the time, I can show you....

Chris said...

Dom, I'm glad you could make a decision on the fate of your Ural. Did you go with the new FD or just fixing yours?

redlegsrides said...

Chris, fixing the FD by replacing the wheel hub spline eating driven gear hub....as to long term fate of the Ural....jury is still out.