Early Birds or Early Bikers?

When you are retired for many years, the very LAST thing you want to do is set the alarm to get up early.  But that is exactly what we did....up at 5:15 AM so the three of us (Don, Kyla and myself) could meet up with Kim, Nate and Ella at 6:45 for Bike to Work Day.

My conundrum this morning involved coffee.  I needed to drink enough caffeine so I was awake and alert, but not too much that would involve stopping at each and every bathroom along the way.  Decisions, decisions.  Things like this never came up when I was young.  If you are younger, you might laugh at this, but trust me, it will catch up to you sooner or later!

Amazingly, all of us were wide awake and chipper as we unloaded the bikes at Edora Park in Ft. Collins.  The park is situated alongside the Spring Creek Trail, so it was a great place to meet for our morning odyssey.

 Ready, set, go!

The older two grandchildren and Don were ahead of Ella, Kim and me, which is usual for all of our bike rides when we are in a group.  I'm fine as long as we get to the same destination without a mishap.  Trust me, that doesn't always happen.

 Nate, Don and Kyla crossed Mason Street ahead of us.  Usually, we can avoid crossing the busy street. However, the bike tunnel is still closed due to flooding from all the precipitation in May and June.

Boy, the trails were busy, busy, busy today.  Maybe the overload is due to people like us who come out early for the good breakfast burritos, muffins, fruit, juice, coffee and other goodies.  Nate was disappointed that the Waffle Lab food truck wasn't here this year.  You can almost tell from behind that he was not a happy camper with his stance and his arms across his chest.

 However, Ella and I enjoyed the great tasting burritos they handed out for free.  I ate mine standing up, but she had a built in chair......namely Kim.

Off they head to stop number two..

The Spring Creek trail is a great place to ride.  Normally, there is a minimal amount of bikers and walkers when we arrive around 9 AM, with a nice wide, cement path.  As you wind your way west from Edora Park, you pass by the creek, parks, forested areas, open plains and numerous parks.

 I was proud of amazed at myself for being able to take pictures while riding my bike.  Normally, it is a wonder if I can chew gum and walk at the same time.  I don't think I'm getting more graceful as I age either.  I guess it was just dumb luck.  So, some of the pictures were a little fuzzy or out of focus, but that is my story and I'm sticking to it.

 Along here, the Spring Creek overflow runs right by the trail.

During the five or so mile trip we came across 5 different bike stops.  A few years ago, there were only three.  This is a great way to have fun with our grandchildren and get exercise at the same time.  As a plus, we even came back with a new Ft. Collins bike trail map and hand sanitizers we can hook on our backpacks or belt loops.  It was a win-win for us!

Denver Daze

Our granddaughter, Kyla, came to visit us in Colorado for a few weeks (actually, if you would ask her, she would say 3 weeks and 1 day).   One of the things she wanted to do was to go get some Voodoo Doughnuts.  That meant a one hour drive to downtown Denver, but that was sure a lot closer than going to the Voodoo store in Portland, Oregon.

Success!  One box of sugar goodness...mmm, mmm, mmm.

Next stop, was REI.  Kyla had consumed her first doughnut before we even got there even though it was a very short drive between the two businesses.  I caught Don and Kyla busy texting on their phones while sitting on the patio outside REI.  They were so involved that I don't even think they realized I had taken their picture.

Next on the agenda was Union Station, situated north and east of REI and across the fast running and frothy South Platte River.   

It took a bit of coaxing and cajoling to get Don and Kyla to agree to walking on over to Union Station.  It also involved three different people giving us 4 different sets of directions to get there!  Let's just say that the "smart" phones weren't always so smart and wanted to take us backwards at times...

Union Station was built in 1881,and has survived a fire, multiple floods and a decline in rail travel as it took a back seat to automobiles.   It was built for just over $525,000 by the Union Depot and Railroad Company.  In its heydey it serviced 80 trains a day.  By 2010 it was direly in need of a boost, and the Federal Transit Authority authorized $304,000 in loans for renovation.

Now the main terminal is filled with all types of shops, cafes, a bookstore and even a hotel!

A bar and restaurant now occupy the place where people used to stand in line to buy their tickets to far away places such as Chicago or Los Angeles.

Time for Kyla's second sugar rush and she headed for the ice creams at Milkbox Ice Creamery!  So many flavors to choose from.  Which one will she wind up with?

Here they even have adult boozy shakes, complete with your choice of ice cream and liquor.  Don't worry, Heidi, we didn't let Kyla order one of those!

One malted milk ball shake for her and she was a happy camper.  Nothing like a doughnut and a milkshake within an hour's time to keep her going!  Unfortunately, if she can't sleep tonight, we are the ones that will be impacted.  We can't do the S-S-S routine right now.....spoiling.....sugaring....and sending home.

Time to head back to our truck.  At least we walked off some of the calories we consumed.  If we had opted to walk off all of the calories, we would probably have needed to walk half way back to Loveland and that was NOT happening.

We passed through Confluence Park, situated right on the South Platte, which was running extra fast with runoff from snow melt and recent rains.  All in all, it was a great morning!