Saratoga, WY to Denver, CO 239 miles
5/11 - 5/16
To view map on google click here.
Summary: Saratoga, WY to Denver, CO
5/11 - 5/16
I would finally cross out of the dreary weather of Wyoming into the stormy but mostly sunny weather of Colorado. This week was extremely exciting for me because all the territory I would cross would be within driving distance of my home-to-be in Denver. I had the chance to see all the natural beauty that would be surrounding me in my foreseeable future as I attended medical school and beyond. Monday I would leave Saratoga and my newfound friends to stay the first night of this week in an abandondoned and deteriorating cabin on a ranch. The next day I would quickly pass into Colorado, through the town of Walden, and over Cameron Pass where I would stay the night at a very nice, albiet still closed for the winter, campground. I would then do over 80 miles, seeing moose and big horn sheep, as I arrived in the ouskirts of Denver; a place called Longmont. My Warmshowers host, Devin, would be my tour guide the following day as we biked into Boulder and visited the Pearl Street Walking Mall. That evening I would finally pass through Denver and meet some great friends of mine from college, Beth and Jade, with whom I would spend the rest of the weekend. While in Denver I would check out my apartment for this fall, meet my roommate, visit the medical school campus, eat at the Children's Hospital, and wine and dine with some truly good people. It will be hard to leave Denver behind, I already feel so at home here and I only just arrived.
Day 37 - Saratoga,WY to Abandoned Cabin, WY 40 miles
Monday, May 11th
I woke up this day with more than a slight head ache (I’ll give you two guesses as to the cause) but when I saw the sun out, my first time seeing so much blue sky in a week, I was ecstatic. I put Saratoga behind me but didn’t get too far before stopping in Encampment for breakfast #2 and to use the library at the next town over, Riverside, for my blogging purposes. That took the majority of the afternoon and as 4 o’clock rolled around I wasn’t finished but the library was. I would just have to finish the next day in the next town.
I rolled out of Riverside towards the next city of Walden, WY but didn’t make it quite there before the sun started setting. As I was riding passed acres of ranch land I caught a glimpse of a very isolated very abandoned cabin in the middle of a field. There was a stream running right alongside it that had water I could filter for breakfast and the patchy cabin walls would protect me from the majority wind that was supposed to be blowing through that night. The catch is I had to jump over a barbed wire fence in order to get there. So I did. My only payment for a night at Ye Old Abandon was a small tear in my biking shorts where they caught on the wire as I climbed over. I left my bike on the road side of the fence, it was well out of the way of the main highway and such an old road I didn’t foresee anyone using it before I was up and out of there in the morning. I managed to carry all my gear on me to the cabin, having to jump a creek to get there.
Most sun I had seen in weeks.
Whistle pig: another name for a prarie dog.
Some scenic views.
Attractive rock formations in southern Wyoming.
Beautiful brook.
Snow fence.
Skyline.
It was old and full of moldy wood, but the door was functional and would keep all the critters of the night out… well, the ones that weren’t already creepy crawling around inside. I set my tent up inside to keep the majority of the bugs off me during the night. Light streamed through the holes in the roof making sparkling rays of sun dot the cabin floor. Before going to sleep I set my camera up to take a sunset time-lapse shot. Pretty gorgeous.
Cabin picks.
Dinner time!
Day 38 - Abandoned Cabin, WY to Aspen Glen Campground, CO 65 miles
Tuesday, May 12th
I would be woken up repeatedly that night by the sounds of coyotes, 3 or 4, howling just outside my cabin. I laid some boards across the only hole in the wall big enough for them to enter through and then didn’t worry about them. In the morning, I would pack my gear without breakfast, I was in a hurry to no longer be trespassing. Walden wasn’t too far away so I hopped on my bike and persevered through a strong 15 mph headwind all the way there.
I hadn’t finished my blogging the day before, I needed just about another hour to upload the pictures, so I stopped at the library in town. I got there at about 9:50 and they opened at 10:00. Just as I rolled up I saw a lady entering, the librarian I supposed, and I asked if I could follow her in. She responded, very curtly and without looking at me, they didn’t open until 10:00. "That’s OK, I could wait another 3 minutes" I told her, maybe with a little more sass than I intended. Three minutes later I’m in the building on the computer. As I reach down into my bag of electronics to pull out my power cord to charge my phone she informs me that there is no charging allowed at the library. I explain my situation. NO CHARGING. Wow. I chuckle at the lack of hospitality. Although, soon thereafter librarian #2 walks up to me to chit chat and is much more pleasant.
After I post my blog I drop a few post cards for my younger brother off at the post office and head east over Cameron Pass, which would later drop me onto I-25 upon which lie Fort Collins, Denver, and Colorado Springs. The pass really isn’t that terrible. Once I hit snow the sun decided to pop out so I put my Canon on its tripod and snap a few selfies. One, with me clicking my heels in the air, turned out particularly great and might be my favorite pic of the trip so far. I quickly summeted the pass, although not a huge climb, it put me at roughly 11,000 feet elevation. While I was making my way up the pass, I would have sudden, random attacks of breathlessness. They would take me completely unawares. One minutes I would be plugging along at a steady pace, the next I would be bent over my handlebars gasping. It was my first trouble with thin air at high altitudes.
Ye Old Abandon Cabin.
Ant colony I found on the rode.
I made it! State #5
The Rocky Mountains.
You can see the wind on the water.
Rock formation.
Looking back north into Wyoming.
More Rockies
Walden City Hall
More Walden City pics.
Cameron Pass.
Christmas tree on Cameron pass.
Skyline outline.
WooHOO!
After reaching the top I coasted down until i hit a decent campsite. 'Aspen Grove’ the sign read. It was closed and a gate bloked my path, but I tipped my bike over and drug it underneath. Although the campsite’s bathrooms were locked there was a nice flat sandy area to pitch my tent, a roaring river right behind me, and places to hang my bear bag all over. It took me no time at all setting up my tent, devouring a dinner of Mountain Home sweet and sour pork, and snuggling up in my sleeping bag. With the sound of the river to provide some comforting white noise, it may have been my most restful night while camping.
When's recess?
OK, so not 11,000 feet, but still almost 2 miles high!
Day 39 - Aspen Glen, CO to Loveland, CO 83 miles
Wednesday, May 13th
An uneventful night lead to an early rise. With dark clouds all around me I wanted to be on the road and leave as many miles as possible behind me before the rain hit. I left the campground around 7 o’clock and, after looking at my map, figured out that it was all downhill until Fort Collins. As I began coasting down the backside of the pass I entered into Poudure Canyon and quickly came upon a restaurant lodge where I ate breakfast #2. I then continued on but not for long before coming upon my first moose ever! It crossed the road directly in front of me and then began chewing on some tall grass in someones lawn. One of my friends in Saratoga had told me that Grizzly bears are the second most dangerous, maternally protective animals. The first is a moose. So I try to keep my distance while snapping some shots. Not five minutes later, I catch some movement in my periphery and hear some rocks falling to my left. I turn to see a herd of big horn sheep, maybe 6 or seven. You see that’s the best thing about biking; had I been in a car I would have never noticed these guys. Biking is a sensory experience and you really get to take in the country side.
Aspen Glen Campground.
Different style of Adopt-A-Highway sign.
Bullwinkle.
Sleeping Elephant Mountain. Can you spot the elephant?
Coming into Poudre Canyon.
Bighorn Sheep.
Climb to safety!
Poudre Canyon.
During that day, a friend of mine who I had met while studying abroad in Spain years earlier, told me she was living in Fort Collins and I was welcome to stay with her. However, the road to Fort Collins was all down hill and I would make it there well before noon. I wanted to put a few more miles on so I declined her offer, but I told her I would be moving into Denver in a few months and would have the chance to see her soon.
Although I could have taken the road that led to Fort Collins, all downhill, and parallel the interstate towards Denver, that seemed too easy, and not scenic enough. So I decided to turn off the main road south onto a mountain road that would take me directly into Loveland. On the map it seemed like a short cut. It wasn’t. I ended up climbing straight up a 12% grade for three miles. And it started to rain. But eventually I reached the top and then reaped the rewards of all that elevation gain. I coasted down at a blistering pace, passing through one construction zone after another, eventually coming out of the mountains and landing in the town of Loveland. I had a Warmshower offer there, but it was still only around 2 o’clock, I had already done 50 miles, and I had a ton of energy, so I pushed on, eventually arriving in Longmont.
A frequent flash flood zone, they placed hay along the creekbeds.
Mailbox of the day.
12% GRADE.
Coming down off the canyon into Loveland.
I stopped at a brewery in Longmont to escape the encroaching rain. It had a really nice indoor/outdoor seating area where I could watch some basketball while eating a basket of fries. As I wined and dined the sky opened up and it started pouring down rain. I was sitting just under the overhang, could stick my hound out into the storm, but was warm thanks to the heaters overhead. It was bliss. While enjoying the rain, I connected with a guy named Devin via warm showers. He actually drove with his wife to pick me up so I could stay at their place. He had a self-proclaimed “goat beard” and a cycling T-shirt on. His wife and him were incredibly nice, took me home to meet their two middle-school aged kids, a vietnamese exchange student, 2 dogs, cats, and fish. They gave me my first taste of goat milk, which they had collected the day before. It was quite delicious. The couch they had was a little too short for me so I laid my pad down on their carpeted floor and slept the night away.
Devin and his goat.
Day 40 - Loveland, CO to Denver, CO 25 miles
Thursday, May 14th
Devin, a cyclist himself, decided to take the day off in order to bike with me. After having a wheat pancake and sausage breakfast we took off for Boulder. Our route would follow the LoBo trail (a contraction of Longmont and Boulder). It was a sandy trail and my calfs were sandblasted and raw at the end of the day but it was more than worth it. We passed through fields, followed rivers, ducked underneath a dozen bridges, passed through foot deep puddles, and saw countless prairie dogs.
The road to Boulder.
Once we arrived to the outskirts of Boulder we stopped at a bike shop called the Green Guru. They did bike maintenance but focused primarily on repurposing old bike tubes into wallets, panniers, backpacks, and whatever else they could think of. I traded my bike the mechanic for a fold up bike. While he gave my bike a much needed clean/tune up Devin and I biked into town. We parked our bikes in a public garage and walked along the Pearl Street Walking Mall. I saw more people on that mall in one our than I had the entire month prior. I was grinning ear to ear the whole day. I felt so much at home and was ecstatic to be moving here. The atmosphere was so lively. The mall was full of people, musicians, and smells of all kinds. We ate lunch at a Mexican joint called Illegal Pete’s before jumping on our bikes and going back to the bike shop.
Green Guru cycling shop.
Pearl Street.
Illegal Pete's.
Pearl Street musicians.
My sweet, borrowed, foldup bike. Fits in a suitcase.
I would leave Devin there, he would take the bus back to Longmont, and I would ride into Denver to the apartment of my good friends Beth and Jade who lived just east of the city. The route contained much more turns than I was used to so I put my headphones and listened to Droid’s equivalent of Siri give me directional commands on how to get there. It was actually quite simple and took me mostly on bike trails. It seemed to me that Denver was full of trails of all kinds, yet another indication of how active and fit the area is and how well I feel I’ll fit in once I move here in the fall. I roll into my destination around 6:00 PM.
I met Beth and Jade at WSU years earlier through the church we attended called Resonate. Beth and I had studied for our MCATs together and she was now a first year med student at CU, the same university I will be attending in the fall. It was only after hearing her raving reviews of the school that I seriously applied. Good thing too. Jade, her husband, was a chemical engineer and had led the small group I attended. Jade ran down the stairs of their third story apartment to greet me with a bear hug before helping me lug my baggage up the stairs. Beth greeted me with a box of my favorite cereal, Lucky Charms (which I finished in less than 24 hours). We ate a dinner of pork chops that night and then I crashed onto their guest bed.
The road to Beth and Jade's
Denver skyline!
I passed underneath so many bridges I felt like a troll.
My first sighting of Jade, in his natural habitat.
My mileage as I arrived at Beth and Jade's, 1989, my birth year.
Lightning storm passed over us that night.
Day 41/42 - Denver, CO "Rest Days” Lots of miles
I would spend the next two days touring the city. Going all around the area with my head on a swivel, not unlike a kid in a candy shop. Friday, while Jade was at work and Beth studying, I would visit the medical school and check in with Admissions to make sure I had all my ducks in a row. I would then eat lunch at the Denver Children’s Hospital, located right on campus. It was while touring this building during my med-school interview when I knew I wanted to attend school here. The whole building was like a big play-land. It was in the style of a multi-story mall, with clear glass elevators spanning the six main floors, a food court, children run radio station, and an X-box in every patients room. There was even a lego model of the facility which had been a med-students capstone project years prior. I ate a very affordable lunch in the cafeteria and people watched for the better part of the morning before leaving.
Biking around Denver.
My next stop was Lowery Park, the apartment found by my future roommate Andrew, whom I had met in our class’s Facebook group. It will be by far the nicest apartment complex I have ever lived in, complete with gym, pool, hot tub, and indoor theatre area. I was very impressed with Andrews decision. I was given a tour of my future apartment by a lady who was more interested in hearing my story then actually giving her tour. I had to gently prod her forward several times to keep us moving, but I did so happily. She was very nice and told me about the Courage Classic, a charity bike ride put on by the Children’s Hospital. My final destination for that day would be the Verizon store which was located in downtown Denver on 16th street. 16th street was similar to the walking mall of Pearl Street in Boulder, just at a much grander scale. I biked all around the area, dodging trolly cars and pedestrians who shook their fists at me, I was very distracted and kept almost running into people but I couldn’t help but look everywhere except straight ahead of me as I took the entire city in.
That night Jade, Beth, and I would eat dinner with a local, newly retired anesthesiologist named Jack. He and his wife, Aheed, were med student mentors and put on a Bible study once a week. We were joined by about 6 other med students, all first-years, and we ate very delicious tacos while discussing our summer plans and a few chapters in Psalms.
The following day Jade would get called off of work so we biked around the city. Our first stop was to meet Andrew, my roommate for the fall, at a place called Comida, which was a part of a group of stores that inhabited a converted metallurgy mill. Andrew was a super nice guy and I could immediately tell we were going to get along great and that I had picked a good roommate.
After that we road downtown and stopped at the movie theatre where we watched the blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road. It was an extremely good, fast-paced movie which kept you on the edge of your seat literally the entire movie. After that we returned home to cook some stir-fry and grill some steaks. After dinner we wold go out for drinks with some of Beth and Jade’s friends, two of whom were med students as well. I didn’t think I could be any more excited to start school but after talking with them for the night I was bursting at the seams with optimism for the years to come.
Jade's butt.
The Source, where we ate lunch.
In the citayyyy. City of Denver.
City Park.
The crew together after church at the Summit.