Dakota Ridge/MW Ride Report
We hadn't decided which parking lot to meet in, (or which ride for that matter) so as I arrived I decided to park in the lower Mathews/Winter lot since it has a bathroom. There was no sign of the red "Ferarri" wagon, so I had plenty of time to rig up.
After pinching one off (then I knew it was going to be a good ride!) I rode up to the upper lot at the base of the hogback and rode circles for a bit waiting. No red Ferarri. From the first part of the hogback you can see both lots so after a while I just headed up.
The temperature was perfect, and there was no wind. After 5 or 10 minutes of climbing I was already at the top of the ridge, watching the sunrise over Denver.(Sweet!) I rode slowly along the ridge for a bit and appreciated the golden morning light shining on the Red Rocks formations and a long stretch of the front range on either side. I thought I was all alone until I noticed a guy sleeping in a sleeping bag right on top of the ridge! I looked down at the parking lots far below and saw only my car...No red Ferarri, no Subaru, no silver Integra with black ventana!
Rweddy1 flaked!! The other guys? Who knows with all the "let's ride here...no here..no..."
Dakota Ridge is in my opinion one of the most technically challenging rides in the Front Range. For those who haven't ridden it, although it is short and has no long climbs or downhills, it has a lot of very tricky terrain. Without getting "all geological", the ridge is at the top of a fold in the earth's crust so it's all radically jagged rocky climbs and descents. There is one section that starts with a series of water bar ramps and then turns into the radical jagged stuff. I made it past the first set of ramps. Then my rear tire spun out just before my chest nearly exploded on the second set. If you can climb the whole way up to where it levels off, you are badass.
I managed to clean everything other than the water bar ramp section, though in some cases it took a few tries. No endoes and no having to ride out steep rocky sections in sheer terror due to failed brakes (like last time), though I did crash one time resulting in a nasty charlie horse on my thigh.
The Mathews/Winters side starts out with the usual quiet meadow. The wild flowers (without getting "all naturalist") are doing well with all the rain we've been getting lately. The climb heads into a box canyon and gets steeper till it ends at a steep climb up the Red Rocks, out of the canyon and into the open. (cleaned it!) The last section is a fast rolling rocky blast back to the parking lot. Be sure to catch air on the whoop de doos.
Another great morning ride.
Life's short. Ride hard. See you Thursday.
Traffic note: I left just before 8:AM and traffic was a bit heavy on C470. No nasty bottleneck at the I25/C470 entrance/exit though. I was at work by 8:25.