Activity type: Road Biking
Date of activity: 4/5/2015 (Happy Easter!)Distance traveled: 40.076 miles
Total Elevation Climbed: 6,466 ft.
Location: Littleton, CO, USA
This is a somewhat lengthy training ride, but it's been one of my favorite routes that I use when preparing for endurance activities that range anywhere from century road bike rides to mountain climbing adventures. Speaking of mountain climbing, one of the best kept secrets among Colorado climbers is that road biking is the best way to train your lungs and legs for the rigors of climbing the Colorado 14ers. So, if you plan to summit any one of the 53 14,000 ft. peaks in Colorado this summer, hop on your road bike for a few endurance rides like this one and your lungs and legs will be well prepared!
On to the route...
Platte River Trail
For starters, I chose the relatively "flattest" section of the route first and headed down the Platte River trail. I like to use this as a great warm-up stretch because it has a speed limit of 15 mph, there is typically a lot of foot traffic, it's a great place to get the feel of the bike since there isn't much altitude gain as you meander your way along the Platte River toward Denver. Lots of walkers (with dogs), runners, and other bikers so, if you get stuck behind "traffic" for a bit, you can hold back and enjoy the views of the river. By the way, be sure to keep your mouth closed and breathe through your nose when the trail gets close to the river. Every time I ride this trail, I get pelted in the face with tiny, gnat-like bugs that like to hang out over stretches of trail that are close to the river.
Bear Creek Trail
If you're following my route, the turn-off for this trail is either poorly marked or I just failed to notice the sign and I ended up heading down the Mary Carter Trail heading toward downtown Denver for a bit. Anyway, the turn off for this trail takes place immediately after you cross a rather large, iron sparred bridge and you see the Regal River Point movie theater directly in front of you. At that T-intersection, take a left as opposed to a right and you'll be on the correct track. The Bear Creek Trail part of the route is a slow steady climb toward the foothills and meanders through some beautiful, heavily wooded stretches of Bear Creek. One interesting highlight on this part of the route is that you'll pass through a really cool prairie dog "village" in which the trail is surrounded on either side by the home of seemingly hundreds of these cute, fuzzy creatures that will regale you as you zip by. By the way, they get really crazy if someone ahead/behind you is walking their dog and it's comical how noisy the chatter of these little rodents can get when that happens.
Fox Hollow Trail
Now comes the time that you're going to begin cursing me because the next two sections are where a vast majority of the elevation gains and losses occur. At this stretch, you'll come out of the woods and will now begin climbing the low lying foothills on the western edge of the city. This particular trail passes directly through the beautiful Fox Hollow Golf Course and, once you reach the top of a seemingly endless climb, your efforts will be rewarded with a scenic vista highlighting Green Mountain, Bear Lake, the foothills, and downtown Denver. At the summit, there is a nice rest area that includes covered picnic table, a bathroom, and water buckets (these are managed by the golf course) that will allow you to top off your water bottle and keep hydrated. Be sure that you rest adequately here because the next part is where you're going to get your workout on and, if you haven't already, really start cursing my name for sending you on this adventure.
C-470 Trail
After a well-deserved rest, you will now hop back on the bike and begin a rapid descent toward the C-470 trail that runs adjacent to the highway and will take you back to the beginning of the route. This section of the route is definitely a long slog as you'll be climbing and descending continuously throughout it and I'm certain you'll agree that it's a total lung and leg buster. There are some scenic parts of this route; however, I typically find myself going into the "zone" here and just crank away on these hills. One word of advice I have for you is don't get out of the saddle on these climbs or you'll burn out your legs. If you're slogging up a hill and feeling winded, just drop to a lower gear, keep spinning at about 80 to 90 rpm, and be sure that you're leveraging your hamstrings by pulling up on the upstroke (that is, if you're using clipless pedals, of course). That will ensure you've got the most efficient wattage output and will get you up and over the top without totally gassing out. After a couple of climbs and descents, you'll begin a long, steady descent back to the beginning of the route. Here is where you can really punch out a nice average speed up if you've still got gas in the tank. The final turn-off point is pretty easy to miss so as you approach the Chattfield Reservoir, watch out for a left, looping turn that will take you directly under C-470 and back toward the trail where you started.
To finish off this particular ride, I did a quick climb up to the summit of the Chattfield Reservoir and then rocketed the downhill which has been repaved recently. Due to the nice new pavement, the descent felt a lot like skiing fresh tracks after a fresh powder dump. Very nice! After that, it was my usual climb out across Santa Fe and toward the South Campus of Children's Hospital located at the corner of Lucent and Plaza which is where I decided to place the start and end of this route.
Bear Creek
Typical wooded stretch of the Bear Creek Trail
Climb up Fox Hollow Trail (golf carts to the right, bikes to the left)
Summit of the Fox Hollow Trail
