Colorado has been baking in temperatures that are 10+ above average for this time of year. This prolonged heat spell has sapped a great deal of my energy, and limited the amount of time I have been riding. Most of my rides over the past few weeks have been limited to about 30-45 minutes. More than that and I would overheat.
Today the temperatures were much more mild, albeit more humid than normal for Colorado, and the skies were partly-to-mostly cloudy. Which made riding today absolutely glorious. Today’s ride reminded me of why I like cycling in the first place.
The local fauna seemed to enjoy the milder temperatures as well. Below is a deer I managed to take a pic of before it scampered off. There were actually two deer, but one was hidden by the brush when I snapped the photo.
Taking the photo above was something of a disaster. When I first spotted the deer they were crossing the road. I stopped to get my phone out to take a picture, but tripped over my own bike trying to get a good shot and fell into the culvert next to the road.
This caused much R-rated language to be issued at high decibles. When I looked up, both deer were standing in the road staring at me, apparently fascinated by my unique photography techniques. Undoubtedly they were laughing their little deer laughs at the antics of the clumsy human. After I picked my self up and dusted myself off, they quickly lost interest in me and wandered off into the brush.
Anyway, I pressed on through my injury. Aren’t you impressed by my stoicism?
Enjoy these snapshots from the ride:
Toward the end of the ride the temps began climbing into the upper 70’s. Combined with the higher than normal humidity, I began to tire and decided it was time to call it a day. Fortunately, I brought along my cooling towel for after the ride. These towels are amazing. Just get them wet, snap them hard and they instantly get cold. I either put it around my neck or on my head like a biker rag seen below. Either method helps cool me down pretty quickly.
Temperatures are forecasted to rise into the mid-to-high 90’s again this weekend, so this will probably be my last long ride for this week. The good news is that the long range models predict that temperatures should fall back to seasonal averages early next week. I can hardly wait!
