Rocking in the Rockies: Day 22 Bicycles along Boulder Creek

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Tuesday 15 August - Bicycles, Boulder Creek and Bean Burgers

We all had another good night's sleep. There was a high skylight in the bedroom and I'd been worried about getting woken up early by the light but it was fine.

The Lodge did a cold takeaway breakfast - cereal, instant oatmeal, yogurts and coffee, which we had sitting on benches outside. They did bike hire and Paul and me went to check it out, but as you may have noticed, I am pocket-sized and the bikes were all too big.

They offered a discount at a cycle hire shop in the centre, so we decided to go there. First off, however, we wanted to visit Chautauqua Park. The Chautauqua movement was an adult education programme in the last century, where speakers and entertainers would travel to an area to entertain and educate the people.

The Park is lovely and there is a good view of the Flat Iron Mountains, which you can just make out in the background.



There were lots of kids in the park, looking as though they were at a holiday club. There were a lot of foam swords in evidence and a fair amount of fighting - looked like fun!

After the park, we found a street to park the car on and walked to University Bicycles to hire some wheels.

I had similar problems with managing to sit on a bike and get my feet on the ground. (My bike at home is Extra Small!). They had to remove the back reflector to get the seat low enough for me, which, with fairly high handlebars, made me look a bit like Peter Fonda in Easy Rider!

We got helmets and locks and a map of the 5 mile Boulder Creek Trail and set off. Paul and I regularly cycle to work so we were fine, but the kids took a while to feel confident, especially on the short road section, so I took them on the pavement to get down to the trail.

Once on the trail, we formed a peloton, with Paul at the front and me bringing up the rear with the kids in the middle. The trail runs alongside Boulder Creek and is a lovely long and traffic-free ride.

Going West was hard work as it was mainly uphill and quite gravelly in places, and I was riding something akin to a Raleigh Chopper. I was missing my nippy hybrid in parts but it was fun. We got to the turn off for our Lodge, where the trail finishes, and then turned around to ride the rest of it.

The kids began to get more confident and not hit the brakes at every incline and we were all having great fun exploring the city in this way. The trail takes you through the campus of the University of Colorado in Boulder and we could see the new freshers arriving.

We did have an issue with the boys zooming off at a junction. When Hannah arrived there was nobody in sight and we had no idea where they had gone. We followed the signs for the Boulder Creek trail and kept on going, but couldn't see them at all. We were surprised they hadn't stopped for us to catch up and after a while, we decided to turn back and try to find them.

We met up with them at the original junction, where they berated us for riding off without them, until we pointed out that the people who had ridden off were them and furthermore, they had ridden off on the wrong path! They then sheepishly agreed to me taking point for a while!

We rode about 12 miles in total, exploring the whole trail and a little bit further. It was such a treat to have an off-rode trail as interesting as this and we all enjoyed it. We also managed to avoid running over some cops who gave way to us, which was a bonus!

Back in the centre, we handed back the bikes and got some pizza slices from a nearby takeaway. The kids were in need of a restroom and called into a nearby deli to ask where they might find one - the owner took pity on them and let them use the staff loos which was sweet.

Then we drove back to the Lodge to relax, and rest our aching bums!

The rooms

We had the pool to ourselves and had fun with the tubes you can borrow, having tube races and playing dodgems. (The creek wasn't really deep enough for tubing in mid-August, but Boulder does have a Tube to Work Day earlier in the summer, which classes as "one of the most Boulder things ever"! with folk in suits in tubes . . . )

After showers, we headed back into Boulder for some food. Being as it is the home of the hippie and the hipster, we had found a Vegan Restaurant for tea. Hannah is very gracious about the rest of us eating barbecue etc and never complains about having to make a meal out of side dishes, so this was for her. Evan was most unhappy about it and made that very clear, but we told him he had two choices - take it or leave it - and he realised he didn't want to go hungry.

We sweetened it for him by calling to Ross so he could get a pair of bargain converse, before heading for Native Foods. As you can imagine, there were sarongs and manbuns a-plenty, but a fairly extensive menu and we all found something. The food was really good, with lots of variety, and while Evan will tell that that he ate his solely to stave off hunger, that beanburger disappeared in record time . . .

The plan had been to call to Pearl Street and get ice-creams but the heavens opened as we left the restaurant, so we drove back to the Lodge instead. We got back just as a humdinger of a storm started and we watched it from the shelter of our porch. It was really quite spectacular and we did enjoy it, before settling back in to watch the Olympics.