RECAP: Sloan's Lake to Summit of Lookout Mountain, 6/29

What a spectacular evening. We were delighted the temps were not as projected. It was still toasty outside but at least 10-15 degrees cooler than expected. Just starting out this evening, an RTD bus came far to close for comfort. Had I (Heidi) sneezed or something in it's passing, I might not be here to provide this recap. I was joined by 5 repeat riders (Bonnie, Dana, Rachel, Sabine and Gloria). Gloria ran a bit late and managed to catch us in Golden. Nice work Gloria - we were happy you could join us. It was Rachel and Dana's first jaunt up Lookout and they really enjoyed the view, the wildlife and of course the cooler air. All in all we managed 33 miles at an overall pace of 14 mph, and to Heidi's fault, finished at dusk - sorry ladies. We might have to pick up the pace and make sure we hit the road by no later than 6 p.m. so we don't run the risk of pedaling in the dark. Share your comments on the blog and Meetup, how great Lookout is. I feel like some of our potential riders are a bit deterred by the climb. Ladies, Lookout Mountain rocks! It's one of my favorite rides for many reasons; the road is smooth, the scenery unbeartable, traffic minimal and it is a great workout. Hope to see more of you out with us soon!

Good Night - Ride Leader Heidi

RECAP: The Lake Tour- Sunday, 6/26

Six women joined me for a beautiful yet hot Sunday morning ride. Five of the women were new to the group and we quickly were able to find our groove and kept a great pace averaging 16mph over our 48 mile route that included over 1600 ft of climbing- great work ladies! New to the group was: Jenna, a strong climber and ex-college racer; Lauren, who raced an olympic distance tri yesterday but had no problem keeping our pace; Sandra, the self described "weekend rider" who helped me pull through the head wind in Arvada (so clearly stronger than she lead on, thanks Sandra!); Amy, who maintained a solid pace despite a healing wrist injury; and Mia, who held strong and shared with the group that this was her longest ride ever- could have fooled me! Alissa rounded out the group and I'm going to give her the BV MVR (Most Valuable Rider) award, yes the award I decided we need to start giving. Alissa wins the MVR for riding both group rides- the Saturday Intermediate group ride from the Aurora store, covering over 50 miles, and then came out and joined our group today for just shy of another 50 miles- 100+ this weekend, way to go Alissa!

The route took us on some new territory for a lot of the riders. This is one of my favorite loops as it has a little bit of everything: steady climbs, short steep hills, lots of descents and even switchback climb to make it to the top of the Arvada Reservoir (see group pic above).

Thanks to everyone for coming out- what a great way to spend a Sunday morning! Don't forget to join Heidi this Wednesday again meeting from Sloans Lake and heading out to Golden to climb to the top of Lookout Mountain.

Till next ride!
-Ride Leader Malia

Schedule Change - Please Read!

Good Evening Ladies - I made a change to the schedule for this week. We are going to ride Lookout Mountain from Sloan's Lake this Wednesday, June 29 and next Wednesday, July 6th we will ride from Broncos Pkwy near the Centennial Airport to The Pinery which is in Aurora off of Parker Road. Sorry for the change. Hope we have no confusion.

RECAP: Wheat Ridge High School over Dino Ridge via Golden

No need for arm warmers on our ride on Wednesday 6/22! The sun was beating down on the five women who met at Wheat Ridge High School and started off on a fun ride into Golden. We picked up a newbie to the group, Tanya, along the way to bring the total count to six riders and group leader Malia. This route was complete with a couple steady low grade climbs, fun uphill stretches (check out the action shot of Heidi, Sabine and Gloria tackling Dino Ridge) and lots of downhill descents to give our legs a little breather. The group made great time and we finished in about an hour and 45 minutes covering over 26 miles. What a beautiful and fun way to end the work week and make it over the mid-week hump! Thanks to Gloria, Rachel, Sabina, Tanya, Sharon (can’t wait for you to get acclimated and tackle the hills with us again!) and Heidi for the ride!

Didn’t get a chance to ride with us this Wednesday? You’re in luck! This Sunday, June 26th, ride leader Malia will meet ready to ride at 9am at Sloans Lake in Denver. Covering similar, yet extended terrain, we’ll ride “The Lake Tour” route (http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/36703330).

Hope to see many of you out there this Sunday!

RECAP: Aspen Grove to Chatfield - Wednesday, June 15

Ten women turned out to explore the route to Chatfield to Chatfield Reservoir. However, after learning out pace, four ventured off on their own and we finished with 6. Special welcome to our newest riders in the group Stephanie, Dana, Nancy, Deb, Gloria and Patti. We road 25 miles and the weather was gorgeous. The light at Chatfield was warm and made riding there after work a true treat. Dana recently moved here from out of state and is riding very strong at Denver's altitude. Great job Dana! For this week, join Malia to ride from Wheat Ridge High School to Golden and over Dinosaur Ridge outside of Morrison and back.

RECAP: REI to Golden, June 8th

Despite darkening clouds and gusty wind, seven brave women showed up at REI for the group ride. Lucky for us, the wind was at our back as we made our way from REI around the edge of Sloans Lake and out 26th towards Golden. Once the group hit 32nd, we really picked up speed and unfortunately Amy got a flat and was separated from the group. I looped back to offer assistance, however, no matter how hard either one of us tried, we couldn’t get her tire to budge to change her tube. Frustrating to say the least, but thankfully Amy’s husband was able to pick her up. Hope to see you back next week Amy, with some new tires too right? (smiles) I caught back up to the rest of the group as they we coming back from Golden. We were making great time and I was having a blast, until Jess claimed our second flat of the ride. Another set of stubborn tires, but we were thankfully able to get her flat fixed and back on the road to catch up with the rest of the women.

The wind died down on our return to REI and we pulled back into our starting point a few minutes after 8pm. I think we used all our luck on the clearing weather and had to take two flats as our penance. Alright, Mother Nature, next time can we bargain for a few rain drops in exchange for a flat-free ride? Many thanks to Bonnie, Mary, Rachel (plastic water bottles from now on, right? smiles!), Megan, Katie, Amy and Jess for a great ride!

Hope everyone will join ride leader Heidi next week as she takes the group from Aspen Grove to Chatfield. Please mark your calendars for Sunday, June 26th where I’ll be taking the group back out to Golden via Morrison and the Arvada Reservoir to test our legs on some hills and a solid 45miles.

RECAP: Wheat Ridge / Lookout Mountain June 1st

What a great start to June. Three ladies (Bonnie, Megan and Sabina) joined ride leader Heidi to climb Lookout. It was Megan and Sabina's first attempt at Lookout and we all had a great climb. The weather was calm and the forcast fortunately for us did not reach the projected 90 degree mark. This may be a challenging ride if you have not done it but it is manageable and rewarding. It you are apprehensive about climbing Lookout Mtn, I strongly encourage you to give it a shot. We hope to see you this Wednesday. Malia will be taking the group from REI to Golden.