commute gone wrong

these past few weeks i've been threatening to make the bike commute from Boulder to our Retül studio in downtown Denver. well, yesterday was finally the day to give it a shot. we've been fortunate here on the front range this past week with day after day of sunshine and warm temps so before another weather change, i put my Elite Joule Pro Carbon to work.

after asking a few cycling friends around town which for a recommended route into Denver, i wasn't left with any good options. i got a bit of a late start and decided to drive out to Superior and eliminate all the familiar riding in Boulder. so with my macbook and clothes packed in my padded Avia backpack, I started up the famous Morgul-Bismarck course from the Kevin Costner movie Breaking Away. on the way into Denver, i stuck to major roads including Hwy 128 past Interlocken golf course, the Rocky Mountain Airport, down Wadsworth Parkway, through Old Town Arvada, down 38th St and Wheat Ridge Cyclery, and finally onto the South Platte River Parkway, past Coors Field and to our studio! the ride down took 1 hr 20 mins. and now for the ride home....

before leaving our studio, i quickly researched the commuter bike routes in the Denver metro area and found what looked like a good route, a path less traveled by cars! with my trustee directions jotted on an old Inside Tri business card secured in my wind vest pocket, i had little trouble navigating through the side streets of Arvada and Wheat Ridge. then, after cruising on the Clear Creek Trail for 5-10 miles, the trail ended and T-d off into a busy highway with no shoulder. stupid me, didn't leave the office until 3:30 and after over an hour of riding, i was still riding around Arvada, easily an hour away from my parked car in Superior! Luckily Arvada has some road shoulders dedicated to cyclists so I was able to ride hard without having to worry about cars. finally, i found a familiar road, Wadsworth Parkway, and linked back up to Hwy 128 and finally McCaslin Blvd and back into Superior. by the time i pulled into the parking lot, it was pitch black outside and it had taken me 2hrs and 25mins to get home.

first things first, i'm investing in a bike light in case future mishaps occur. i'm also researching a better way to navigate through Arvada.