Cinnamon Roller
Remember the Cinnamon Roller ride a few weeks ago? One of the Follies, Michelle DeWaard, recounts the adventure for the rest of us that didn’t make it on the ride.
On February 21, 2016 the Winter Ralleye Cycling Series promised a 50 mile ride with Cinnamon Rolls along the route. Of course the Follies were ready to roll for rolls! Betsy Farris, Theresa Rose Adams and myself set out on this cold (32 degrees) but sunny morning from Bean Cycle Roasters along with approximately 30 other riders on mountain bikes, road bikes and single speeds towards the historic Forks Restaurant in Livermore, CO. By mile 8 the road turned to gravel and dirt as we followed along County Road 1, E County Road 62 and N County Rd 11 where we stopped to regroup and load up on refreshments if you packed some.
From there we continued along the dirt and gravel on E County Road 70 to N County Road 17 where we again stopped to regroup before beginning the last leg of the route to The Forks where warm cinnamon rolls awaited. There was a lot of chatter at this stop regarding the last few miles which included an impressive climb around the infamous “pain in the ass pass” along W County Road 80.
Somewhere along here we lost (Mother) Theresa (the Saint) as she stopped to help a fellow cyclist with a flat. Thankfully this was a no drop ride and she was able find her way with the other cyclists to The Forks.
After sharing a beer, fruit snacks and smashed potato chips that Betsy had hidden in her fanny pack, we headed up the dirt and gravel climb on W County Road 80. It lived up to its name, but as we summited “pain in the ass pass” we had spectacular views in every direction.
With the snow capped mountains of Rocky Mountain National Park as a backdrop, we settled into a nice pace as we took in the majestic northern Colorado landscape. We rode along grassland meadows with flowing streams and rock outcroppings and mesa’s. It was breathtaking to say the least, but we were 34 miles in to this route and hungry, so we hightailed it down the last mile along Highway 287 to The Forks for those famous warm cinnamon rolls.
The Forks was prepared for our arrival with burgers and brats on the grill in addition to their tasty rolls. After our much deserved siesta and refuel, we started on the last leg of this route along highway 287 to Owl Canyon – W County Road 72.
Within minutes of our departure we had headwinds and wind gusts that made us feel even heavier than the burgers and rolls sitting in our bellies. Betsy lead the pack and kept us grinding at a decent pace along N County Road 19 and I pulled a short segment along Taft Hill Road to LaPorte where the ride ended at Swing Station honkey tonk.
The stats looked like this: Total miles 55, ascent 1564 feet, descent 1359 feet and over half of this route was dirt/gravel on my Trek Silque road bike. This was by far the best ride I’ve done since moving to Colorado. The people, food and views on this ride were the best yet… Really fantastic. I will be looking forward to doing it again next year.