Omigosh, A New Road
There were ten of us on nine bikes heading out on an RMMRC lunch ride Thursday–the first lunch ride in a long time. And we went at least some places I had never been before. That’s amazing.
It’s so rare any more that I find myself on a road I’ve never ridden before. This was one.
As an aside, I have to say it’s a bit disconcerting being outside Denver lately. In Denver, any place you go into you must wear a mask. But you get outside the city and very few people are wearing masks. At the Marshdale Store the employees had masks and we all did but almost none of the other customers did.
Anyway, we continued to Conifer and caught US 285 west to Pine Junction and headed south on Pine Valley Road, through Pine to Buffalo Creek, where we turned left (east) onto SW Platte Valley Road, which runs along the Platte. If you stay on this road it turns to gravel and continues along the river but we turned north again on Foxton Road. I know this comes out at 285 just a little west of Conifer. But I knew we weren’t doing that, so I was puzzled. Something about a right turn somewhere.
Well, that right turn is there in that Google Maps aerial photo above, bottom left, just beyond the “S Foxton Rd” identifier. The place where you turn in Running Deer Road and you then make a quick left onto Black Bear Lane, which connects you to Broken Arrow Drive, which you stay on the rest of the way.
We wound our way through this area–which was very, very pretty, with some nice views–and came out onto Pleasant Park Road, there in the upper right quadrant. I had no idea this connection existed.
I had been on Pleasant Park Road numerous times, and I knew it ran from near Conifer down to where it ends at Deer Creek Canyon Road, having become Deer Creek Road along the way. But I had no idea you could turn off Pleasant Park and work your way down to the river. This was a nice ride.
On Deer Creek Canyon Road, of course, you come out at Wadsworth on the west side of Chatfield Reservoir. Then it was time to start scattering as everyone peeled off toward their homes. What a nice day for a lunch ride in the hills. How nice to even be able to do a lunch ride again.
Biker Quote for Today
We know you’re a poser if you only ride on weekends, when you can.
